A Japanese breakfast this morning....loved it....

....in our room...

....this ryokan really was beautiful inside....

...and outside...

Back on the trail....we will be walking 21 kms to Ena today....after one hour walking we passed by the Benzaiten pond.

....beautiful rural areas....

I couldn't resist taking this photo...

....more forest....

Ancient stone pavements....

These huge leaves are everywhere...

We think they are from Japanese Magnolia trees...

...another small village...we have seen a few houses that have these hanging persimmons...

Okute

Every house is different...so interesting...

....serene Japanese gardens....

Back into more forest and we saw this wild animal, who was very timid...we had no idea what it was...

Google told us it is a Japanese Serow...(goat-antelope ) it is found in dense woodland in northern and central Honshu.

We  stopped for lunch at Kariyasu restaurant, which is located in a cottage in the forest...we had made a booking. It was a delicious lunch and good company ( a couple from Malaysia sat next to us). The dining room was delightful too.

It rained for a couple of hours after lunch but we didn't get too wet as the trees sheltered us a little....

The prettiest tree so far....

....some great views of the mountains before we arrived at Ena.

Our destination ...Ena ....

Our gorgeous room for the night at the Yuzuriha Onsen Hotel ....

Our view...

...in my Yakata before going to the Onsen....both Pete and I enjoyed the Onsen experience, the warm baths and spa were just what we needed after our long walk.

Then off to the dining room (in our Yakatas) for another wonderful Japanese meal.