Sengen Taisha Autumn Festival

Sunday, I took the train to Fujinomiya for the Sengen Shrine Autumn Festival.

I ate lunch near the shrine area and ate the special food for the area - Fujinomiya yakisoba.

It was a beautiful day and many people were enjoying the day.

There were two sections of an ikebana exhibit.

The children’s karate performance was so cute!

This cherry tree is just branches now, but in the spring, it is full of pink blossoms.

The karate audience

I guess people can’t read.

The best part of this festival are the large heavy wooden carts that are pulled by people all around the town.

Musicians ride the carts and the poles are the brakes.

The carts are pulled by many people.

These participants were doing a dance.

It was a great way to spend an autumn day.

German University Student, Claudio Worm update - from Japan Today

WAKAYAMA

The body of a 21-year-old German university student who went missing on Oct 11 while on holiday in Wakayama Prefecture has been found off the coast of Wakayama City.

According to police, the Japan Coast Guard received a report at 2:50 p.m. on Nov 1 of a "person floating face-up" about 1.5 kilometers offshore from Wakayama City.

DNA testing revealed that it was that of Claudio Worm, the missing student, TV Asahi reported Tuesday.

When his body was found, he was wearing jeans but no clothes on the upper half of his body and no shoes, police said, adding there were no visible signs of injury on the body.

Police said an autopsy could not determine the cause of death due to the severity of the damage to the body.

Worm arrived in Japan on Sept 21 for a vacation. He first spent time in Tokyo and had been staying in Wakayama City since Sept 30. At around 8:30 p.m. on Oct 11, security camera footage showed him walking alone near Nankai Wakayama City Station.

On Oct 12, Worm’s passport and mobile phone were found in a multi-purpose toilet in the city. His suitcase was found in a coin locker at JR Wakayama Station on Oct 30.

Worm entered Japan for tourism in September and toured Tokyo before entering Wakayama Prefecture, but the last time he was heard from was on Oct 10, when he exchanged messages with his mother on social media.

Mt. Fuji snow update - I heard a dusting of snow fell yesterday, but was able to see it myself because of the clouds.This is the latest first snowfall on Mt. Fuji since record keeping began.