Saijo city in ehime is blessed with crystal clear water from under the ground

In this city, the Komyo-Ji temple whose main hall was designed by ANDO stands. Naturally groundwater is welling up in this city. Th same water surrounds the main hall of the temple. 

The second visit after a long interval.

UCHIKO snaps

UCHIKO can be easily visited from MATSUYAMA by car. The area was once thrived with wax making. The old streets with former wealthy merchants ' houses remain. The Kamihaga residence is open to the public. The old-fashioned UCHIKO-ZA is a theater and has survived as such thanks to local people's' effort and passion. About 100 years old.

Aonagi or blue lull in the wind is a sleek hotel designed by ANDO

Originally built as an art museum and only that part was open to the public and the other part closed, the renovated building now hosts overnight visitors. It just recently opened. It's a very sleek hotel that provides you with something very special. It has two swimming pools; an outdoor public pool for every body staying there and an indoor private pool which has to be reserved in advance. The private one, if my memory serves right, has an onsen water jacuzzi. The number of the rooms is very limited and the ANONAGI SUITE has a splendid ocean view.

The hotel is out of nowhere but more people will come finding out the path leading to it.

The painting farthest below is a gift to the hotel by ANDO the architect.

Adventure in Higashi Iya or east Iya

Buckwheat noodle making can be tried with a local cerebrity Ms. Tsuzuki in Higashi Iya. She starts making the noodle by milling the soba buckwheat grains. She is a splendid folk song singer, too.

Iya has a pair of vine bridges as well as NOEN or wild monkey cargo. Humans or their luggage can be carried across the river. 

Try the Ochiai village whose significance is recognized by the central government. It looks like a Togenkyo or a fairly land on the hillside. 

Adventure in Nishi Iya or west Iya

Iya is still remote and that's the way it attracts people. In ancient times, Iya sheltered defectors and refugees. It might still cradle those who would like to be away from busy every day affairs and think about life. Here are pictures of West Iya first.

Awaji Yume Butai is unique

Once a barren hillside due to the soil taken away for the construction of a big airport but miraculously restored with great architecture and flower beds, the Awaji Yume Butai was complete in 2000. 

The Hyakudan-en flower beds - unfortunately no picture this time - were made not only to restore the land but also to pay condolences to the dead in the Kobe Awaji Great Earthquake which hit the area in 1995.

Museum in Kobe designed by Ando

The Kobe Myseum of art facing the sea. 

Osaka green wall

The green wall is architect ANDO's idea. Nearby stands the Umeda Sky Building. 

Hiroshima's new landmark

The Hiroshima Orizuru Tower is now partly open. The grand opening is coming in a few months but people couldn't wait and the building owner listened. The first floor has a cafe and a store both of which carry goods and products made in Hiroshima. The observation floors and the spiral corridor are unique. The Orizuru Wall is an excellent idea. Their web site is as follows:

http://www.orizurutower.jp/phone/en/index.html

Terraced rice field, village kabuki outdoor theater, and artworks in NAKAYAMA, SHODOSHIMA

It's fantastic to be easily able to visit both the seashore area and and mountain area. NAKAYAMA looks like a mountain village. Now several artworks enhances its pastoral settings. The summer period of the international art festival setouchi has started and the area usually quiet should be to some extent noisy. 

This installation DREAM OF OLIVE by Wang Wen Chih, though, keeps the surroundings somewhat peaceful. 

Maze town walking in tonosho, shodoshima

The town feels like a maze with many forks. Two reasons: one for defense during Japan's Middle Ages when warriors fought for hegemony; another for mitigating the sea wind and prevent the houses from wearing easily. 

It's fun to walk with a local guide and get to know the local history, people's lives, and the issues and challenges they face now. The town recently named the district MAZE TOWN and people began to come though the fad is now over. But the art project has been settled and MeiPAM is enjoyable. 

Now the international art festival SETOUCHI, summer period is in and the area must be very busy. Artworks and projects for this festival are now open to the public. 

Angel road in shodoshima

The road appears for about six hours, three hours respectively before and after the lowest tide.

Get real soy sauce

Get real soy sauce at shodoshima island. In the first picture, some 100 or more kinds of yeast are seen living on the wooden barrel. Soy sauce making mechanism is still a mystery and more complicated than sake making since it requires many years to make soy sauce than make sake. Sake in general does not need a year, a couple of months, more or less, from rice milling to sake storing. And the yeast working for sake making is now carefully chosen. Whereas, the soy sauce making yeasts simply live in the factory and there are countless of them. Researchers cannot tell which yeast is doing what. In fact, it's an collaborative work by all the different types of yeast and they co-exist. I bought three small bottles. Once the bottle is open, its quality begins to change, though it's hard to tell when used in cooking. Thrilled to use my brand new soy sauce. They are from my favorite factory, YAMAROKU.

Awaji puppet theater will make you happy

The performance was unexpectedly good. So traditional but up-to-date. So much fun. Anybody, including those who do not understand narration, will enjoy how the puppets show emotions or how the Ebisu God tries to bless us on many daily affairs by drinking. He this time wished we would all have a healthy retirement and get good pension. Yep, with increasing numbers of senior citizens, we need to retain a good pension system. Children and foreign visitors will enjoy the shows, too. The theater is for everybody. Come over to this very friendly place. I fell in love with this entertainment at AWAJI NINGYO-ZA.

Memorial for the war-dead youth

This is the only facility in Japan solely dedicated to the young war dead, designed by TANGE Kenzo.

It was reopened to public in the spring of 2015. The eternal flame dedicated to these young members of the country is there. The view is remarkable, which makes thoughtful visitors ponder why they had to die. 

The Nojima active fault is visible here

At the HOKUTAN earthquake devastation memorial park, you can see how the Nojima active fault emerged from the ground. Here are some photos from the facility. At the end of the tour, you can experience two earthquakes in the experiment corner. It's completely safe but you have to sit down and be prepared.

Sen-nen-ichi sake brewery

This is one of the two remaining SAKE breweries in awajishima. 

The brewery suffered from the Hanshin Awaji  great earthquake in 1995 but reopened after restoration. Fortunately the water from the mountains they use did not affected by the earthquake. Hope they keep on going as a local brewery.