We went to see a Buddhist statue exhibition being held as a summer special exhibition at the MIHO　MUSEUM, located deep in the mountains of Shiga Prefecture.

The approach to the museum takes you through a very unique and cool tunnel to an exit that is used for Lous Vuitton commercials, and finally into an entrance hall with a magnificent view of the Shiga mountainscape.

At this museum, you can see Buddhist statues designated as Important Cultural Properties from the 7^th to 14^th centuries, collected from Horyuji Temple, Todaiji Temple, Hasedera Temple, Yakushiji Temple ,Toshodaiji Temple, and more, as if you were touring the temples.

There are also hundreds of ancient art pieces from before the Common Era, including those from Egypt, East Asia, South Asia, West and Central Asia, Greece and Rome, which are well worth seeing.

After leaving the museum, we visited Amanomikanushi Shrine, a power spot. The corner filled with off-limits stones is a place only God can enter, and when you put your hand there you can feel a cold breeze rising from the ground.

The next power spot is Taga Shrine. It enshrines Izanagi and Izanami, who are mentioned in Japan’s oldest book, the Kojiki（7^th century）, and are said to have given birth to the Japanese land and its eight million gods.

The shrine building, with its hiwadabuki (roof made from cypress bark), is beautiful and elegant.

The scorching hot days exploring ancient Japan have finally come to an end.