Our Quest to Kompirasan

While we have shown you pictures of this place before, our second ascent up the 1,400 steps of the Kompirasan shrine in Kotohira, Japan was nothing short of epic. For on this day a deep-rooted rivalry finally came to a head in a fantastic display of martial arts (in a fighting style similar to that of Street Fighter 2), minds were melted by the infamous Kompirasan "Mirror of Confusion" (similar to any mirror found in a fun house), and two young lovers were united in a passionate, yet refined, kiss atop this holy mountain as the Japanese sun slowly sank into the western sky.

On any other day Peter "Ryu" Dangerfield and Chris "Ken" Thompson would appear to be, at the least, civil co-workers. Some might even goes as far as calling them friends. However, on this hot day in Kotohira, a tenacious battle was fought for alpha male supremacy at the Kompirasan shrine. This photo is just a small taste of the incredible event, but if you look close enough you can see the word "Hoduken!" coming out of Peter's mouth.

In all honesty, the panoramic view from the largest lookout point is incredible. As for the expression on Peter's face in this photo, I believe the word "pining" comes to mind. As for Lacy, she simply can't help herself from being fun and innovative with her posing.

These stone blocks may look really cool, but the truth is that they are nothing more than potential billboards. No, seriously, it's true. They can be purchased by anyone who is willing to fork over a ridiculous amount of donation money to the shrine. Neither of the Dangerfords actually speak (or read) Japanese, but we have been told that some of these cool looking stones will have company names on them. Kind of like when people donate money and get there names engraved on a brick in America, but on a much larger scale. We don't know about you, but we find it a little bizarre.

Is your mind melted yet, or are you just shocked by how much this mirror emphasizes Peter's receding hairline? It was strange, mirrors like this are somewhat a dime a dozen, but on this particular day all of us couldn't get enough of the way this mirror was distorting our bodies. Maybe we were all just in the mood for a laugh, but this mirror was absolutely mesmerizing. Kind of like Peter's thinning hair.

Love is free, free is love.

Love is living, living love.

Love is needing to be loved.