Last Sunday (9/10), since the weather was lovely, my friend (Yukiko) and I decided to visit Kakashi-no-sato (literally: Scarecrow Town) in northern Himeji (I went there once before , about 4 years ago, during their autumn festival). The town is famous for having more scarecrows than people and seemed like a great place to spend a beautiful afternoon. First, we stopped at a traditional Japanese restaurant on the way and add a wonderful lunch! I was so hungry I forgot to photograph the appetizers--ごめなさい! Then, once we arrived in Kakashi-no-sato, we met up with another friend (Masaki) who had grown up in the area. He said that there were two different waterfalls in walking distance of the town square and offered to guide us to both of them! It was a wonderful hike, with dense foliage and babbling creeks along the well-maintained trail. Masaki knew everything there was to know about the plants and creatures of the area, and it was really interesting to learn about them all. Not ...