tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79754211404466684772026-09-16T10:41:43.608+09:00More glimpses of unfamiliar JapanOff the beaten track in Japan:- Nature, Culture, History, Spirit, Art....Ojisanjakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05506748719638540152noreply@blogger.comBlogger2739125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975421140446668477.post-89672710117519182832026-09-15T11:48:54.765+09:002026-09-15T11:56:52.656+09:00Saka Shrine Origin of Sake in Japan Down below Ichibata Yakushi Temple, and not far from Ichibataguchi Station, is Saka Shrine, sometimes called Matsuo Shrine.October 2nd, 2015, and this is where I start day 43 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage.This is an ancient shrine connected to the production of Sake, and the areas around it all have names connected to sake.The first time sake is mentioned in the ancient Ojisanjakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05506748719638540152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975421140446668477.post-60729612426123825032026-09-14T08:51:55.114+09:002026-09-14T08:51:55.114+09:00Kaburaiji Temple 11 Kinki Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage Kaburaiji is claimed to be an ancient temple established by none other than Shotoku Taishi in 581.His mother was born here, and the mountain, Mount Dokko, had been considered sacred long before the temple was established.The name derives from a kabura given to the temple by Shotoku Taishi. Kabura is a turnip and it refers to whistling arrows which had a turnip-shaped head and whistled when Ojisanjakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05506748719638540152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975421140446668477.post-62084224867165177582026-09-12T08:07:23.595+09:002026-09-12T08:07:23.596+09:0084,000 Medicine Buddhas One interesting feature of Ichibata Yakushi Temple is the 84,000 Buddhas project. Buddhism says that we have 84,000 mental impurities that impede us from enlightenment. Also, it is said that the Buddha had 84,000 teachings. The project here is to amass 84,000 statuettes of Yakushi, the healing Buddha.I'm not sure how many have been set up, though it is many, many thousands. New ones Ojisanjakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05506748719638540152noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975421140446668477.post-71715807091089075972026-09-11T10:37:43.749+09:002026-09-11T10:37:43.749+09:00Kishigawa Line The Kishigawa Line is the only line of the Wakayama Electric Railway. It runs 14.3 kilometers from Wakayama Station to Kishi Station. Japan has some delightful small railway lines, and not far south from here is the Kishu Railway, the shortest in Japan.Some cars of the Kishigawa Line have interiors designed by Eiji Mitooka. I have ridden several of his trains in Kyushu, and find them quite Ojisanjakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05506748719638540152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975421140446668477.post-32209210157791647502026-09-10T10:02:36.791+09:002026-09-10T10:02:36.791+09:00Ichibata Yakushi Temple 26 Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage I head inland from the coast of the Shimane Peninsula and reach Ichibata Yakushi Temple, number 26 on the pilgrimage.From the car park and main entrance a road is lined with 108 stone lanterns.At this level are several large halls, including the Hodo and the Honboshoin.The temple was founded in 894 and the honzon is a statue of Yakushi Nyorai, known as the Medicine Buddha.A fisherman "Ojisanjakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05506748719638540152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975421140446668477.post-46703169622266491972026-09-09T11:51:54.952+09:002026-09-09T11:51:54.953+09:00Dofuchi Kaikyo. The Narrowest Strait in the World A strait is a narrow body of sea between two landmasses. Right now in the news the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman is much in the news.Not sure how wide the channel must be for it to stop being a strait, but they can get quite narrow.The narrowest strait in the world is in Japan, between Shodoshima and Maejima.The casual visitor might mistake it for a river.It is more than 2 Ojisanjakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05506748719638540152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975421140446668477.post-91753131770511276042026-09-08T15:21:57.477+09:002026-09-08T15:21:57.477+09:00Koizu Inari Shrine & Sansha Shrine At Koizu fishing port I headed over to see what seafood was being dried in the baskets, only to discover it was nets.Koizu is, I think, the biggest port and fishing village so far along the Shimane Peninsula..The road switchbacks up and out of the village. This is mostly a steep coastline.I come to the familiar vermilion toriis of an Inari Shrine....The shrine itself consists of just a Ojisanjakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05506748719638540152noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975421140446668477.post-889605413550140242026-09-07T17:00:58.588+09:002026-09-07T17:00:58.589+09:00Lower Sagi Toriimoto Historic Preservation District Sagi Toriimoto is an Historic Preservation District in Arashiyama, near KyotoIn an earlier post, I covered the upper section, a group of thatched, 400 year old buildings, a couple of which still operate as eateries.This section is more visited and includes plenty of retail establishments as well as private houses.One of the old houses is open as a kind of free museum about the district.The Ojisanjakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05506748719638540152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975421140446668477.post-70200406929804039592026-09-06T13:15:56.381+09:002026-09-06T13:15:56.381+09:00Koizu Coast Washboard Rocks After leaving Mitsu Shrine, the road carries on down the narrow valley into the fishing village of Mitsu itself.As with all small fishing harbours, huge concrete seawalls and breakwaters create a safe harbour for a handful of small inshore boats...The peninsula is part of a large Japanese Geopark and so there are plenty of signs about the geology of the area.Not much of a geologist myself, Ojisanjakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05506748719638540152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975421140446668477.post-46418887248162389872026-09-05T13:10:13.771+09:002026-09-05T13:10:13.771+09:00Tosa Shimizu Sunrise Christmas Eve, 2011, and just after 7am the sun announces its impending arrival.It's the 23rd day of my walk along the Shikoku Pilgrimage, and with winter solstice just a few days past, the days are so short I need to be off before light.....Of course, the reward of getting up before the sun is to be out and about at a magical time...I was walking down the Tosa Shimizu coast towards the Ojisanjakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05506748719638540152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975421140446668477.post-78744484945449681952026-09-04T17:15:14.483+09:002026-09-04T17:15:14.483+09:00Takao Gongen to Mitsu Shrine From the fishing village of Shiotsu, the road rises steeply and then heads inland a little.I stop in at a small wayside shrine called Takao Gongen. It has a torii and gohei in front of the statues, both "shinto" symbols, but the statues are Buddhist. A nice reminder of tradition.On the very first walk along this coast that I did more than 20 years ago, this was where I spent the night, so IOjisanjakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05506748719638540152noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975421140446668477.post-84033922429506261302026-09-03T15:11:52.183+09:002026-09-03T15:11:52.183+09:00Scenes From Rural Oita Oita is a large prefecture in northern Kyushu with quite a varied set of landscapes, these scenes are from my walk on the 6th day of my walk along the Kyushu Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage.My route was roughly southeast from Nakatsu to Ajimu. I have no idea what the Easter Island heads are about.....Compared to much of Japan, it was fairly wide open with a lot of agriculture... I do realize lots of Ojisanjakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05506748719638540152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975421140446668477.post-58142991580188997562026-09-01T14:16:31.568+09:002026-09-01T14:16:31.568+09:00Funamori Shrine to Ishigami Shrine Coming into Shiotsu Funamori Shrine is enclosed within high concrete walls to protect it from storms.Until Meiji it was called Hachioji Daigongen and enshrined Hachioji Daimyojin but was renamed Funamori Shrine and the deity renamed Sonosazuchi no mikoto, but I can not find such a kami anywhere.Little history is kniown but an old timber was dated to 1536.The Aragami Shrine in the grounds Ojisanjakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05506748719638540152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975421140446668477.post-8321286838749025592026-08-31T08:36:21.768+09:002026-08-31T08:36:21.768+09:00Momen Kaido Hirata Cotton Road Hirata lies close to the north shore of Lake Shinji, Japan's 8th biggest lake, and for a while it was a bustling trading port exporting Hirata Cotton up to Osaka and beyond.A small secrtion of the old town along the navigable river that fed into Lake Shinji has now been renamed Momen Kaido, "Cotton Road".There is a large merchant house and garden open to the public which I will cover in theOjisanjakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05506748719638540152noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975421140446668477.post-51062938530989308412026-08-30T10:27:23.429+09:002026-08-30T10:27:23.429+09:00Kamaura Coast By 6:30, the sun was already painting the western sky seen from my night's rest stop on the Uppurui Cape on the Shimane Peninsula.The road east along the peninsula was narrow and there was no trafficAfter a few kilometers I started down some switchbacks into the tiny fishing village of Kamaura.Up ahead another wind farm.Route 23 now hugs the waters edge and leaving the tiny settlement I Ojisanjakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05506748719638540152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975421140446668477.post-72147710605449529072026-08-29T11:11:50.341+09:002026-08-29T11:11:50.341+09:00Motoyamaji Temple 70 Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage Temple 70, Motoyamaji, was a very pleasant surprise. Large, with lots to see, but not overcrowded...The blue walls surrounding much of the compound was interesting and quite striking.The 5-storey pagoda was started in the late 19th century and not finished until 1910.The temple was founded by Kobo Daishi in 807. It is said he carved the honzon, a Bato Kannon, Horse-Head Kannon, the only Ojisanjakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05506748719638540152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975421140446668477.post-24002496987422128132026-08-28T10:16:11.604+09:002026-08-28T10:16:11.604+09:00Cape Uppurui Sunset After climbing up on the other side of Uppuriui Bay I came to the Uppurui Windmill Park on Uppurui Peninsula.This was my resting stop for the night.Public toilets and covered picnic areas took care of my primitive needs....The solitude and beauty took care of my spiritual needs....With no people around to distract me, no phone, and no chores other than eating, I was free to concentrate on Ojisanjakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05506748719638540152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975421140446668477.post-81401408391756742272026-08-27T10:36:42.171+09:002026-08-27T10:36:42.171+09:00Upper Saga Toriimoto Historic Preservation District Saga Toriimoto is a small district at the very edge of Kyoto, up a narrow road leading to the mountain Atago Shrine.It is one of the historic architectural preservation districts in Kyoto, though I would wager probably the least visited.In my last post, I looked at two of the 400-year-old thatched buildings still operating as eateries.This time, some of the other thatched buildings around Ojisanjakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05506748719638540152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975421140446668477.post-47481074127431184132026-08-26T08:55:12.808+09:002026-08-26T08:55:12.808+09:00Uppurui Bay After coming down from Gakuenji Temple I reach the north coast of the Shimane Peninsula at Uppurui Bay.My way is around the bay to the mountains on the other side where Ichibata Yakushi, the next temple, is situated.Tye name Uppurui seems a difficult one for many Japanese to read. The double P is unusual. I have heard that it derives from Ainu or ancient Korean.I once spent two nights on a Ojisanjakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05506748719638540152noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975421140446668477.post-68736488857893816282026-08-25T08:22:03.365+09:002026-08-25T08:22:03.365+09:00Kasuga Shrine Fuse Fuse is a small fishing village on the East coast of Dogo, the largest of the Oki Islands in the Japan Sea off the coast of Shimane.I reached it late in the afternoon on my first day walking around the coast of the island.The shrine in the village is a Kasuga shrine and is said to be older than the mid-16th century. The shrine is most well known for the main path which is directly east and Ojisanjakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05506748719638540152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975421140446668477.post-2958472354890857922026-08-24T06:47:26.593+09:002026-08-24T06:47:26.593+09:00Gakuen-ji Temple 25 Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage Gakuenji has always been one of my favourite temples. Located in fairly remote mountains, it takes some effort to visit.Unfortunately, even in the twenty or so years I have known it the temple has lost several large structures. As well as being number 25 on the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage, it is also number 3 on the Izumo Kannon Pilgrimage. Some shots from that visit can be seen here.The Ojisanjakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05506748719638540152noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975421140446668477.post-44840957479275614032026-08-22T18:19:40.310+09:002026-08-22T18:19:40.310+09:00From Kasubuchi to Hamahara Bridge I start day 4 of my walk up the Gonokawa River to its source from the same place I ended dsy 3, the defunct Kasubuchi Station.Not sure of the protocol for naming riverbanks left or right...... but I am sticking to thye right bank as I walk upstream.At the end of day 3 I was walking directly north, and now early on day 4 I am heading directly south. The river has done a serious horseshoe at Ojisanjakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05506748719638540152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975421140446668477.post-89528210116077477072026-08-21T07:40:23.335+09:002026-08-21T07:40:23.335+09:00Through the Mountain Forest to Gakuenji Day 41, and I cross Izumo and head into the small range of mountains that form the western section of the Shimane Peninsula.Gakuenji, the next temple on the Chugoku Pilgrimage, lies on the other side, and a trail crosses over and connects with other trails in the mountains that are part of the Chugoku Nature Trail.When I walked the Izumo Kannon Pilgrimage, I used this same trail but in the Ojisanjakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05506748719638540152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975421140446668477.post-19294101186012243292026-08-20T09:58:50.145+09:002026-08-20T09:58:50.145+09:00Ayuchaya Hiranoya & Ayu no Yado Tsutaya After visiting the delightful 1200 Rakan at Otagi Nembutsuji Temple I descended the narrow mountain road and came into the area known as Saga Toriimoto, an absolutely delightful area of old thatched buildings at the top end of Arashiyama.The area is an historic preservation area, but in this post I will concentrate on just two buildings, both of them eateries with long traditions.The top Ojisanjakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05506748719638540152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7975421140446668477.post-7723897936030726192026-08-19T10:01:44.537+09:002026-08-19T10:01:44.537+09:00Kando-ji Temple 23 Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage Kandoji, is a fairly small and nondescript temple in the south of Izumo City. As well as being temple 23 on the Chugoku Kannon pilgrimage, it is also temple number 5 on the much older Izumo Kannon Pilgrimage. The post from my earlier visit is here.Though now quite modest, it was in ancient times very large and powerful and is said to have had a strong relationship with Izumo Taisha, but I Ojisanjakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05506748719638540152noreply@blogger.com0