Yachiyo-za theater in YAMAGA, Kumamoto

Latticed ceiling with gas lighting and business ads

 

In a small city tucked in an inner northern Kumamoto lies a theater calls YACHIYO-ZA built in 1910. About 20 of this type of old-fashioned theaters remain in Japan today. YACHIYO-ZA uses gas light and the lighting equipment on the ceiling looks delicate. The lady who acted as a guide was quite an entertainer. I translated what she said into English but her enthusiasm was easily communicated to her audience. What a fun memory we all got. Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, Yamaga, ASO, and Kumamoto Castle make a great combination of diversity. It sure made a good tour.

SAKE evolves this way

This is how the character SAKE has evolved. Artistic, isn't it? Saijo is in serious sake making season. Brave the cold wind and walk the sake district. It smells good.

Active Mt. ASO

Smoky crater!

 

One of the craters on Mt. ASO is active, which often makes the aerial cable service stop, usually connecting the lower station next to a large parking lot and the upper station near the crater. As the phot suggests, it was a clear crisp day, ideal to view the peaks, sommas, and caldera basin. But of course the cable did not work at least for a while and visitors were not allowed to go to the closest area to the crater when it worked. This photo was taken from the area called KUSA SENRI, now a grassy field but once a crater. The life cycle of the active crater is pretty much predictable and that's why tourists are allowed to go to the crater area when the gas situation is tolerable. Try your good luck and go for Crater No. 1, the only active crater of Mt. ASO.

Near the lower cable station

 

Three towers seen at the same time in Kumamoto Castle grounds

 Taken near the largest parking lot 

No utility poles and wires! This must be how it originally looked when built at the beginning of the 17th century by KATO Kiyomasa, a feudal lord noted for his excellent castle building technique. Two of the towers are reconstructions in the 20th century but one is from the  castle's inception. Thanks to the inauguration of Kyushu Shinkansen services, Kumamoto is easy to go to. Try the castle and perhaps Mt. ASO as well and you will feel the grandeur of Kyushu. 

Saga chrysanthemums

Saga or Sagano in Kyoto has its own species of chrysanthemums. Yellow and purple mums in the photo are a few of the examples. A gentleman was selling odd crops most likely from his private garden. The flowers were sitting with him when my guests and I were strolling around Sagano. 

One of my favorite spots in Nara

 Near Daibutsu-den great Buddha statue hall

I go there on duty so do not expect to have great opportunities to take super photos. Always some or more humans are in my photo, either strangers or my guests! We are completely overwhelmed by the gift from the tree, a spread of natural yellow carpet and deer playing on it.

Circle of life naturally felt in Japan

 Ginkgo tree burning yellow at Nishi-honganji temple, Kyoto 

There's another one, nicknamed Sakasa Icho or Upside-down ginkgo tree. Below is the one.

Four seasons go around in eternity or nothing does not stay. Both is true.

Lunch at Tsujihana

 Just arrived and admired the table setting!

Come and dine at Tshjihana near the east area of Horyou-ji temple, Ikaruga, Nara. Slow down and spend two days in Nara. Todai-ji, of course, but Horyu-ji and its vicinities. Pastoral Nara has more to offer but first get away from the notion that Nara would be done in a day trip from Kyoto. 

Drip sake available at Fukubijin Brewry

 Sake tasting counter of Fukubijin

The bottle in the front collected drips of sake from sake sacks. No machinery is used to press sake but only natural dripping. The drip sake tastes subtly different and interesting but the the bottles are limited in number and only available at the brewery. 3500 JPY a bottle, expensive but of high value. You can also taste a small cup of this sake at 200 JPY at the counter. You shouldn't miss this!

Autumn foliage just awesome!

  

Glad to be in Japan. These are the autumn pics of Miyajima. Quite a crowd at this time of the year. The ferries connecting MIYAJIMAGUCHI and MIYAJIMA leave every ten minutes, more frequent than usual. Very crowded but there are clever ways to navigate the move and be away from the noise. 

 Colorful leaves and caps!

 Looks like a sculpture.

 Maple leaving burning red.

 And yellow.

 Excellent Miyajima carving.

But the store is going to be closed soon and they are giving you 30% discount on most of their merchandize now. So sad this store, HIROKAWA, will be gone. This fall must be the last to see the store open and the master craftsman carving wood at a small workshop in the store. 

Saijo sake town with brick chimneys

 

Chimneys and the roof of SAIJO TSURU's unique three-storied wooden building

These pictures were taken from the veranda on the third floor of the SAIJO TSURU Brewery factory. It is off limits but I had this privilege of going up there with TV crew preparing for filming the sake district. I had had a bird's eye view of the Saijo chimneys at several locations before but this is the best. The sake factories are closed up and I feel like I am seeing their real operation. More people are coming to Saijo including travelers from abroad. I wish i could be of help to make their time in Saijo memorable. 

 

Factories of SAIJO TSURU on the right and KAMOTSURU on the left

John Mung's story translated into English

 Ashizuri Misaki, which Manjiro saw.

In the normal course of life, Manjiro would have lived and died a fisherman in Tosa, present day Kochi Pref. His fortunes changed when he, aged 14, was marooned along with his four shipmates, later saved by an American whaling boat, taken to Hawaii and eventually to Bedford, Massachusetts, the ship's mother port. Captain Whitfield took a shine to this young boy and gave him an opportunity for education at American school. Captain renamed him John Mung. He sailed for several years on a whaling ship. In total, he lived overseas for about ten years, during which his horizon was expanded. The life was not always easy and there was discrimination and misunderstanding, but John Mung absorbed and learned through his experiences and after returning to Japan, he became a valuable source for the country to know about overseas when foreign countries demanded Japan to open up. He was allowed to carry a family name and picked up Nakahama. Now that his story is available in English, he will be better known from now on. The Nakahama family and Whitfield family have kept in contact over generations. Their tie is solid.

Fall at Nukui Dam in the north of Hiroshima Prefecture

 The red sign shows the highest possible of water.

One-hour drive from downtown Hiroshima will take you to Nukui Dam and its surrounding gorges. Autumnal colors and crisp air can be enjoyed there in October to November. A visit to the dam is an interesting experience for you to witness modern engineering in the fresh natural settings. Try an elevator downward followed by a corridor inside the dam which leads to a little square right next to the bottom of the dam. The dam is a great place to take pictures at some interesting angles. Let me post some of the photos taken in October, 2013.

 

A 190-cm tall whitish mannequin standing at the deck looks so small.

 

The passageway you walk through after descending by an elevator from the ground level of the dam.

 Autumn foliage seen at the bottom the dam.

 The stairs off-limits on the dam.

Gardens at ADACHI Museum of fine arts

The leaves are beginning to change colors. Soon more red leaves will be seen and the garden will look different accordingly. Without the presence of water, water can be expressed. Somewhere remote in the mountains, there will be falls and the water will flow into a stream, the stream will become a river, and eventually the river will meet the sea. Sea the landscape and see how you feel.

 Dry landscape garden

 White gravel and pine tree garden

The Dome seen from the boat on the river

 The Dome; the tide is relatively low.

There is a route which connects the island of Miyajima and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park directly by boat: The World Cultural Heritahe route. My guests and I often take this when we travel from the island to the park. It cruises on the sea and river. It goes fast on the sea but slows down on the river and That's when you are allowed to go out on the deck. You see the city from the river and eventually go under the reconstructed T-shaped Aioi Bridge - the intended target for the atomic bombing on August 6, 1945. Then the A-bomb Dome appears on the riverbank and you arrive at the park. While on the boat, you see a round tank in the distance. It's just a gas tank. You also see a dome-like building to the north of Peace Park. It's part of the Children's Science Museum - a planetarium- and not related to the Dome. But overseas travelers often react to them. 

Scenes from Hon-jima, one of the venues for the Setouchi Triennale 2013

A photo taken from a small passenger boat connecting Kojima in Okayama, Honshu and Hon-jima island.

Thirty-minute ride on the boat to the island and Sacchi and I did a little walking around the port looking at artworks.

 Like this one, a clay house made by those from India.

They were from inland India and had never seen the ocean. The octopus relief on the wall, not seen in this photo, has more legs than they really are but looks very vivid and alive. 

 

This one was peaceful, in the middle of a little orchard of oranges. 

 Colorful and pretty but profound message.

Wooden pieces and sticks from Rikuzen-takata, one of the most devastated areas by the earthquake and tsunami in 2011, were colored and used as the material of this artwork, comprehensively entitled Disintegration and Regeneration. Yoko joined from here.

 Another scene from the same site.

 Tinnitus 

 Bridge

What does the bride connect? An artwork at an old abandoned temple.

 To be here

The artist talked to us, which made a difference. We managed to come here by bike thanks to our lucky mistake. After Yoko joined, we walked around the vicinity and came back to the port accidentally but some of the rental bikes were back and we rented them for our continued tour by bike. 

 Departure

And our tour is over. 

ANDO Museum in the Honmura district of Naoshima

 

ANDO Museum is one of the newest permanent additions to Naoshima, opened in the spring of 2014. The exterior looks like a traditional house commonly seen in the island but inside stands Ando's concrete. Besides the slanting concrete slab, Ando's two significant works are introduced inside: the Church of the Light and the Row House of Sumiyoshi. The museum uses only natural light; thus the light does a magic as it changes all the time. Under this glass cone lies basement. Go down there to find out how the basement let light in. 

Shikoku offers unforgettable memories through its nature and tradition

the Pacific Ocean at the Ashizuri area

Some of the stone steps at Kotohira Shrine

Here's one examples of a tour all around Shikoku:

In Kagawa Pref., the Ritsurin Japanese Garden and Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum should not be missed. Kotohira Shrine, which transformed itself into a pure shrine at the beginning of Meiji, was fun too but you have to tolerate 785 stone steps to the main shrine building (but there's a way to skip the first 365 by taking a taxi). You are welcome to hike up another 583 steps to visit the inner shrine. It's a challenge but you will have a feeling of conquering and achievement. The view you command after the hike will refresh yourself.

Then in Tokushima, you've gotta try crossing the vine suspension bridge. See the Yoshino River below. While reaching the vine bridge, you will enjoy looking at the gorge and rustic setting surrounding it. Another destination I fully recommend is Tairyu-ji temple which involves a dynamic aerial cable ride. The temple stands on top of the mountains. You will see pilgrims, whether they are serious or casual, visiting the Shikoku 88 temples on the looped route in Shikoku.

In Kochi, you should not miss the places associated with Ryoma and John Mung (John Manjiro or Nakahama Manjiro). They are inspiring and represent the Kochi spirit. Katsurahama beach is easy to go and good to take a walk but never go near the water. Once in a blue moon, unexpectedly violent waves would come and take you into the water. Ashizuri Misaki, though quite far from central Kochi, offers you some inspiration. Kongofuku-ji temple, one of the 88 temples on the pilgrimage route, is a must to visit. They have a garden with fabulous stones and rather interesting items including limestone pillars. Also Kochi Castle is authentic and walking up to the central citadel gives you a lot of photo opportunities and encounter with intriguing items on the castle buildings such as Ninja blockers. Kochi has a beautiful river called Shimanto. Several companies offer river cruises. Or if you are a biker, try riding a bike along the river for some distance.

Finally in Ehime, you have to bathe at the Dogo Onsen public bathhouse. If you are too timid, do not despair. Try a guided tour inside (but in Japanese). You will see the imperial quarters of the whole complex and glimpses into visitors chilling in the lounge. Matsuyama Castle is also good. Shikoku has four old castles from the Edo period which retain their original castle towers. Kochi and Matsuyama castles are major two.

There's more Shikoku has to offer: indigo dying experience will be one of them and you can bring back your dyed T-shirt or something; local food should not be missed; different kinds of natural beauties will be appreciated depending on where you are in Shikoku; combinations of the Seto Inland Sea and the Pacific Ocean, and the Yoshino River and Shimanto River expand your natural experiences in Shikoku.

The artistic islands of Naoshima, Teshima, Inujima, and others in the Seto Inland Sea are the places you should definitely go. You can make a great tour covering these islands, Okayama, Hiroshima, and Shikoku. It will be a grand tour, away from the golden tour route Japan beginners would not like to miss.

It's a beautiful country, Japan is.  

Trail at Ashizuri Misaki lined by primeval camellia trees

Dogo Onsen public bathhouse is fun

Here's a picture of the famed Dogo Onsen bathhouse built in 1894. The photo shows the present rear of the building. The three-layered gables on the right were part of the building once exclusively for the imperial visit. Presently the imperial members stay and bathe at hotels and the imperial chamber of the bathhouse is not used anymore but the bathhouse offers a guided tour to this chamber. There's a vantage point where a great photo of the whole bathhouse including the statue of a white heron on top of the highest roof, which is not visible in this picture, can be taken. Well just go there and walk around. I wish you could find that spot!
There's a good ice cream shop in the shopping arcade, named Dolce. Their citrus sorbet is so good.

Blessing from the garden

One of the large round eggplants growing in the home garden. All this summer and at present too, regular crop of this plant has been enjoyed. Veggies for daily meals right from the garden is simply gorgeous and gives you quality life. But I am not the one to take care of them but cook and eat them for the family. I love the eating part !

Katsura hama beach

Katsura hama

The beach is a great place for moon viewing. Part of the TV program, Ryomaden (the story of Ryoma), was taken here. Kochi has always owed a lot to this romantic figure. Making up 2% of Kochi Prefecture's gross production and 40.9 billion JPY nation-wide, the economic effect of the drama Ryomaden was huge.

vine suspension bridge full of suspense!

Biwa-no-Taki

Try crossing the bridge. Some sensation you can feel. The fall nearby - the Fall of Biwa or lute-like musical instrument - had gushing water after the typhoon rainfall.

Kazura Bashi

Breathe deep at Ashizuri Misaki

I was there the day after the typhoon affected the area. One beautiful day. What a blessing.

The cape has interesting trails. It is also noted for primeval camellia forests. They come into bloom in February.

natural camellia tunnel