Japan's most scenic beauty, Amanohashidate

After the Miyajima Island, the following destination on my tour of Japan's most scenic beauty places was the next of the Three Views of Japan - Nihon Sankei, Amanohashidate...

Located in the north of Kyoto Prefecture, Amanohashidate is a pine covered sandbar connecting the sides of the Miyazu Bay. Four centuries ago, the Confucian scholar Shunsai Hayashi was so impressed by Amanohashidate's beauty that he included it in his book Nihon Kokujisekikou as one of the three most celebrated scenic sights from Japan. And Amanohashidate still impresses today...

The local legend says that Amanohashidate was originally a bridge connecting the heaven and the earth, and that you can still see it as a bridge in the heaven if you turn your back and bend over enough so you can... look at it from between your legs! And since this is the canonical way to admire it and for hundreds of years people have looked at Amanohashidate like this, of course, I did the same! So, in today's photo, I decided to show you Amanohashidate as the tradition requires: inverted, as a bridge to heaven... (^_^)