Toun-ji and Sugiyama Shrine

One of the prettiest places I have seen this spring is Toun-ji Temple and adjacent Sugiyama Shrine in Machida. There are cherry trees everywhere, even around the temple car park, which was liberally sprinkled with fallen petals. Behind the temple there is a cemetery on the hillside, which somehow seemed a fitting place to reflect on the fleeting nature of spring, blossoms, beauty, and human life. Above the cemetery there was a splendid view of Machida beyond the cherry blossoms.