Fujisan Hongu Sengen Kaisha grand shrine

From the premises, Mt. Fuji is visible on sunny days. The clear water comes around here from Mt. Fuji.

premises

Old painting showing people ready for visiting the Mountain Goddess on Mt. Fuji

Reflection on the pond whose water is from Mt. Fuji

And the shrine

Taro district giving you the lesson to be remembered

Gutted but survived: the Taro Kanko Hotel

Scenic Hokuriku seashore at Taro

The Hokuriku Railway running; three cars were donated by Kuwait after the disaster 

Ryusendo limestone cave in Iwate

One of the greatest limestone caves in Japan. Known for its underground lakes whose colors are nicknamed the Dragon Blue.

HIROSHI Sugimoto presents Enoura Observatory

reception house

Gallery where Seascape by Sugimoto is exhibited

Out of the gallery

Stone bridge

Triangular Mound

Optical Glass Stage 

light magic

on top of the summer solstice alignment

Turtle !

inside winter solstice alignment tunnel

cultural asset from respective periods

morning light from sunrise will penetrate the stone gate

This art space recently opened to the public and requires reservation. Worth visiting. Two-hour stay is allowed, either in the morning or in the afternoon. The reception times are set. Free shuttle bus service twice a day between Nebukawa Station and the Observatory for the morning and afternoon visits, respectively. Still being developed. Another visit is already being anticipated.

Their official web site is as follows:

http://www.odawara-af.com/en/enoura/

Himeji Castle again blue sky

Imposing but graceful towers of Himeji Castle. The weather was perfect.

Miyajima when the tide is low

Interesting contrast of green algae and vermillion shrine buildings at Miyajima

sunset from chichu museum, naoshima

The iconic island is seen in a distance. Sunset seen from the rooftop garden of Benesse House or from outside the Chichu Cafe of Chichu Museum always makes you speechless.

Motomachi walking in port town HAKODATE

Hakodate surrounded by the sea on its three sides
seen from Hakodate-yama

Hakodate became an international port along with Shimoda after the friendship treaty was struck between the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan and the US in 1854. This ended a long-term self-imposed hibernation of this country when she enjoyed stability with limited access to things from abroad. 

Hakodate soon became one of the five treaty ports open to the five foreign countries. That was the way modern Hakodate developed.

The Motomachi district and the Bay Area are close to each other and can be enjoyed together. The whole district gives you a port city atmosphere. Japan's early modernization period when brick buildings and churches for foreign residents were built can be felt. The churches stand along with Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines.

In addition to that, Hakodate-yama hill - 334 meters high- in the same district offers a magnificent view of the city. Aerial cable service is available and it's only three minutes from the bottom to the observation building on the top.

Here are some pics from the places above.

Russian orthodox church in Motomachi

Catholic  church in Motomachi

a local hamburger shop with their chicken burger so tasty
and a convenience store famous for their lunch box with pork

MINAKATA Kumagusu lived in Tanabe

MINAKATA Kumagusu (1867-1941), known for his research in diversified fields including the study on Myxomycete lived in tanabe city, wakayama, for his last 25 years. His archives and the restored house where he lived while in tanabe is now open to the public. The cozy air conditioned Archives is free of charge with lots of interesting books and free use of PCs which are always connected to the internet. 

The house where he lived and pursued research is restored and accessible with a small fee. It's on the premises of the Archives. You will see a large backyard where trees grow, an ideal environment for his study. This is where he found a number of Myxomycete.It's interesting to see both his rooms and the trees he saw.

On the wall of a building in tanabe, the portrait of Kumagusu can be seen. It's originally a painting done by my grandfather who graduated from the most prestigious art school in Japan. It's in Ueno, Tokyo and still a very good school. 

The MINAKATA KUMAGUSU museum stands on the rocky hill in shirahama, located next to tanabe. This one was recently renovated and English captions on displayed panels are available and a good place to find out who he was.

Before anybody in Japan thought about ecology or when anybody else didn't even know the word, ecology, Kumagusu was already conscious of it. Thanks to him, many small shrines AND their forests survived. They were about to be destroyed due to a stupid national policy only focusing on short-sighted modernism and economy. The shrine premises showed exquisite ecological systems which Kumagusu knew had to be protected. Nobody else knew but him.

his portrait on a building wall

cozy archives, five minutes away on foot from my mom's home

the room where Kumagusu wrote articles

sendan or Japanese bead tree in the backyard

his storage

Kumagusu Museum on the cliff

the roof of the Kumagusu Museum 

directions to the three sacred shrines in Kumano
Kumagusu made a thorough research on Kumano 
from various aspects, from viewpoints of 
folklore, biology, natural history, and mythology

net-kin or myxomycete pic at a poster session
of an international conference on net-kin held in tanabe

poster session held in the lobby of the city library
oral sessions were on the second floor 
only for the members

DORO-KYO gorge is easy and fun

While on a boat, you are sometimes on the borders of three prefectures: Wakayama, Nara, and Mi-e.
Changing views are refreshing to your mind and eyes. It's a two-hour cruise trip worth trying. It costs about 3500 yen an adult (a bit cheaper with a discount coupon available on the net) but you won't regret paying that much.

Doro hotel cafe on the cliff; no longer a hotel  but a cafe

looking back

fishermen catching sweetfish

the roof opens later on the cruise