Most travelers know about Narita ... they immediately think of the interanational airport they fly into.  Few, though, know about the village of Narita.  It is a lovely place with a wonderful Buddhist Temple that has a very large garden.

The image below shows the entrance to the main building:

Buddhists believe in burning incense in their worship...   Much like Catholics who light candles, many stop, light incense, and say a prayer prior to entering the temple. All of the temples I've visited (including some in the U.S.) have incense burners.  For me, it is hard to pass by without taking some pictures ...

This next image is a close up of the burner shown above;

Some, but not all, wash themselves in the smoke of the incense they've just lit.

Hence, the tongue-in-cheek and slightly irreverent title of this entry!

Speaking of smoke and fire (watch this transition), there was a very large Japanese lantern hanging in the courtyard.  It appeared to have electric bulbs inside but I don't know if it has any function or meaning other than just looking cool:

And just off to the right side of the lantern, were pairs of sandals hanging from a wire mesh screen.  

Here's a close-up of some of them ... note the very tiny yellow one in the middle of the image:

Thanks for looking at this entry.  I will follow up with one more of the Narita Temple.

I hope you have a good week.

Adam