2024-05-05 02:09
Arita in what is now Saga Prefecture is and was a major ceramics town, specifically Japanese porcelain, which is said to have originated here.The main part of the old town with a stree… Read More
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More Glimpses Of Unfamiliar Japan Blog
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Off the beaten track in Japan:- Nature, Culture, History, Spirit, Art....
2024-05-03 06:31
From the harbour at Nima, it is not far to Takuno port, with just the Nima beach, a small headland, and a small cove in-between.There are a couple of small islands just offshore and th… Read More
2024-05-02 06:56
Hokao Shrine is a small, local shrine on top of a rise next to the river at the southern end of the old town of Arita in Saga.It is built in concrete, and something about it struck me… Read More
2024-05-01 02:09
Sasaguri is a small town in a narrow valley in the mountains NE of the major urban area of Hakata/Fukuoka City in northern Kyushu.It is home to a delightful miniature version of the Sh… Read More
2024-04-30 02:42
Arita Porcelain Park is a small theme park in the hills outside the small town of Arita in Saga with a theme of porcelain and Germany. This connection came about because Arita twi… Read More
2024-04-28 10:02
Nishinomiya Ebisu Shrine is certainly the most popular and well-known shrine in the city of Nishinomiya in Hyogo.Nishinomiya means "West Shrine" and the shrine the city is named after… Read More
2024-04-24 11:04
To come across a full-size replica of a Rococo German palace in the countryside of Saga in northern Kyushu might surprise some people, but such things no longer surprise me.This replic… Read More
2024-04-23 04:57
Shioya Town, now art of Gobo City, lies on the southside of the Hidaka River on the West coast of the Kii Peninsula in Wakayama.The shrine is said to have been founded in 805 by a man… Read More
2024-04-21 02:31
A statue of Kobo Daishi, the focus of the Kyushu 108 sacred sites pilgrimage, stands outside temple 70, Hoko-in near Arita in Saga.I reached it on day 70 of my walk along the pilgrimag… Read More
2024-04-19 02:19
After a couple of small, hermitage-type "temples", number 30, Shoboji, in the small coastal settlement of Yoshino on the Mito peninsula, was quite substantial though there was no… Read More
2024-04-16 02:08
Friday March 21st, 2014. A walk from Hiradoguchi Station to Imari StationToday’s lengthy leg of my walk will
include just one temple and other than that I have no idea of w… Read More
2024-04-14 03:30
Sakura Shrine lies along the old Iumo Kaido to the west of what is now Tsuyama City. As I entered I got the feeling that this would turn out to be a "political" shrine from the early d… Read More
2024-04-12 12:48
Zenukuji Temple is located in Imafuku, now part of Matsuubara City. It is the only Shingon temple in Imafuku and the only temple I visited on day 69 of my walk around Kyushu.The temple… Read More
2024-04-09 09:46
Early May, 2013, and I start day 6 of my walk along the Kannon pilgrimage in the former province of Iwami, the Iwami Mandala Kannon. The last temple I visited was Senganji upriver in K… Read More
2024-04-07 08:12
Japan is home to many monumental Buddhist statues, perhaps the most well-known being the one at Todaiji in Nara, though another in Kamakura is also very famous. The ones in Kamakura an… Read More
2024-04-06 07:35
Hirado is an island just off the coast of what is now Nagasaki prefecture, that though not so well known or visited was in historical times a major point of contact between Japan and t… Read More
2024-04-04 06:07
Ryoma Sakamoto is one of the most popular figures in the creation of modern Japan in the so-called Meiji Restoration that ended the rule of the Shogun and restored Imperial rule in 186… Read More
2024-04-03 04:18
Overlooking the main harbour on Hirado Island, the castle was controlled by the local Matsuura Clan for its whole history.A small castle was originally built here in 1599, but it was b… Read More
2024-04-02 02:22
Reisenji Temle was one of the 12 main temples located in the heart of the Kunisaki peninsula in Oita that made up the unique Rokugo Manzan cult and pilgrimage, a form of Shugendo… Read More
2024-03-31 07:25
Located on a hillside overlooking the small harbour in the main town of Hirado Island in Nagasaki.The church was built in 1913 and reconstructed on its current site in 1931.Originally… Read More
2024-03-30 04:47
The garden at the Sakurai samurai mansion in Okuizumo, Shimane, has one of the biggest waterfalls of any Edo Period garden in Japan.Located high up in the remote Chugoku Mountains, the… Read More
2024-03-29 02:45
Though listed as temple 78 on the Kyushu pilgrimage, Kaigenji is not really a temple at all. It consists of a monument and a roofed area for conducting ceremonies.It is located next to… Read More
2024-03-27 05:31
Enmyoji, temple 53, is just a couple of kilometers from temple 52, Taisanji, and is located in the northern outskirts of Matsuyama City.It is much smaller than Taisanji but has an unus… Read More
2024-03-24 08:30
Saikyoji Temple is located on a hillside overlooking the harbour of the main settlement on Hirado Island.It is built on the site of where Kobo Daishi performed his first Goma ceremony… Read More
2024-03-23 06:24
Nishinoshima is one of the three inhabited islands that make up Dozen, part of the Oki islands that lie in the Sea of Japan about 50 kilometers off the coast of Shimane in Western Japa… Read More
2024-03-21 09:10
When it was constructed, in 1989, the 3-storey pagoda at Saikyoji Temle on Hirado was probably the biggest 3-storey pagoda in Jaan, although larger ones have been built since then.It i… Read More
2024-03-20 06:23
Yosuien is a large stroll-type garden in the Wakanoura area in the south of Wakayama City.It is considered one of only two major gardens known as "shioiri", that is to say, the large p… Read More
2024-03-18 10:54
Tabira Catholic Church is located on the mainland close to the bridge across to Hirado Island.It is a Romanesque brick structure with a wooden roof and was built in 1918.Under the guid… Read More
2024-03-17 03:17
After leaving the riverside fields of Tazu, the road heads about half a kilometer sandwiched between the forest and the river until the land opens up again in Kawagoe.This was the next… Read More
2024-03-15 10:36
If you follow the path up behind Ohashi Kannonji Temple you arrive at the Ohashi itself.Formed when the roof of a cave collapsed, the natural bridge is about 30 meters long and ab… Read More
2024-03-14 10:54
In the grounds of Matsue Castle stands quite an elegant Western-style building called Kounkaku.It was built in 1902-3 as a lodging for the Meiji Emperor. The emperor made half a dozen grand… Read More
2024-03-12 04:45
The main building of Ohashi Kannonji is a modern, concrete affair, but because of its proportions it is quite elegant.The main statue is a Kannon, but to the left is a lovely Fudo, and… Read More
2024-03-10 07:09
A wayside Fudo Myo statue is a timely reminder that I am walking the Shikoku Fudo Myo pilgrimage as I leave the Teramachi district of Mima in Tokushima and continue west along the Yosh… Read More
2024-03-09 04:24
The Kumano Shrine in Yoshii, Nagasaki, is a fairly typical small, rural shrine. Set on a small, flat area within a forest clearing, it is reached by several long flights of stairs.Arch… Read More
2024-03-07 08:02
Gokurakuji Temple is hidden away in a corner of Kinosaki Onsen and is barely visited by the majority of visitors to the resort town, who will miss a quite remarkable garden.Called Seik… Read More
2024-03-06 06:15
For many pilgrims, I believe the main priority is to get from temple to temple. The temples are the focus. For me, however, the temples were just reference points on an exploratory wal… Read More
2024-03-05 05:21
Nima, a small town on the coast of Shimane is probably most famous nowadays for its unusual Sand Museum dedicated to the singing sands of nearby Kotogahama Beach.The most sheltered par… Read More
2024-03-03 10:34
When I saw the shimenawa on the torii to Yodohime Shrine I knew it was unusual, but only when I did the research for this post did I realize its significance. The very small, local shr… Read More
2024-03-01 08:05
Temple 70 on the Sasaguri pilgrimage is located in the valley above Narafuchi Dam.Just above the temple is Goto Falls which was not particularly impressive, at least when I visited.How… Read More
2024-02-29 06:16
Saifukuji Temple, number 74 on the Kyushu Pilgrimage, is located on a mountainside overlooking the Sasa River north of Sasebo, Nagasaki.The road up to the temple was a long g… Read More
2024-02-27 04:46
The Kifune Shrine in Amagasaki is sandwiched between the Hanshin Railway Line and the Hanshin Expressway in the Nishihinmachi district. A branch of the famous Kibune Shrine north of Ky… Read More
2024-02-25 05:46
In the high country north of Sasebo, near the border with the Arita district is the small local history museum dedicated to the former coal industry in the area of Sechibaru. Bui… Read More
2024-02-24 04:17
On day 6 of my walk along the Saigoku pilgrimage, I started at Kirime Station in Ninami Town, and headed north. For the first week or so of the walk, I was following the Kumano Ko… Read More
2024-02-20 04:24
This Oyamazumi Shrine is located in Seechibaru Town in the high country north of Sasebo, and is one of several Oyamazumi shrines in the region.Oyamatsumi was an older brother to Amater… Read More
2024-02-19 05:39
Yakushi-do, temple 28 on the Shodoshima Pilgrimage is located on the east coast and about halfway down the Mito peninsula that has the southernmost point of Shodoshima at its tip… Read More
2024-02-17 03:39
Totakesan Saiko Temple, number 73 on the Shingon Kyushu Pilgrimage, is located in the high country north of Sasebo, Nagasaki, not far from the border with Arita in Saga.The long, strai… Read More
2024-02-15 06:35
Takano Shrine is located on the Izumo Kaido to the west of Tsuyama City on the banks of the Yoshii River.It is the Ninomiya, the second-highest ranked shrine, of the former province of… Read More
2024-02-14 03:51
This Daifudoson statue is located at Totakesan Saiko-ji Temple in the high country north of Sasebo, Nagasaki.It is actually located in its own car parking area across the road fro… Read More
2024-02-12 09:28
After visiting Futagoji Temple and having climbed Mount Futago, I head off along the narrow mountain road that skirts around the central peaks of the Kunisaki peninsula and that will t… Read More
2024-02-11 01:41
Norito Shrine was established about 1,000 years ago when the area it is in was "developed", that is to say turned from semi-wilderness into settled agricultural land.It is located in t… Read More
2024-02-09 05:59
Senganji Temple, number 9 on the Iwami Kannon pilgrimage, sits on a steep hillside overlooking the small town of Kawamoto on the Gonokawa River.It is a Soto Zen temple with a Jizo for… Read More
2024-02-07 05:05
Kawamoto is the next town up the Gonokawa River from my village.Halfway up the steep hillside across the river from downtown Kawamoto is a small temple, Senganji.The temple becomes rea… Read More
2024-02-06 05:57
Tozenji Temple, number 74 on the Shingon Kyushu pilgrimage, is in Nakazatacho, a rural community north of Sasebo in Nagasaki.On the previous day's walk I visited temple 66, also called… Read More
2024-02-05 08:04
Kochi Daijingu is located just outside the main gate of Kochi Castle, and within the grounds is Yosakoi Inari Shrine.Kochi Daijingu, with its unique golden torii, is a branch of Ise Sh… Read More
2024-02-04 03:04
Korin-in is, like the previous pilgrimage temple I visited the evening before, Daiichi-in, an urban temple mostly built in concrete.It is also a relatively new temple, being founded in… Read More
2024-02-02 10:38
Kakaji is a town on the north side of the Kunisaki peninsula, and the Hachiman Shrine is te main shrine of the town.The approach to the shrine crosses a stone-arched bridge across the… Read More
2024-02-01 04:19
A Walk Around Kyushu Day 6 Haiki to Sasebo Saturday March 8th 2014For the last week or so of my
pilgrimage there have actually been very few pilgrimage temples to
visit. There ha… Read More
2024-01-30 09:42
The Sakurai were a samurai family who controlled iron production in an area of Okuizumo in the Chugoku Mountains of Shimane.Originally from what is now Hiroshima, the family moved here… Read More
2024-01-29 10:01
While walking around the countryside near Sasebo in Nagasaki on the 66th day of my walk along the Kyushu pilgrimage I stopped in at any shrines that I passed. At the start of the day I… Read More
2024-01-27 06:51
Like most of the temples on major pilgrimages, Taisanji, temple 52 on the Shikoku pilgrimage has plenty of art adorning the buildings and grounds.The Nio Gate is about 600 meters from… Read More
2024-01-26 04:21
The main hall of Taisan-ji Temple, built in 1305, in the mountains to the northwest of Matsuyama City is a National Treasure and is truly one of the most elegant of the buildings on th… Read More
2024-01-25 04:04
Yonkacho is a shopping street in Sasebo, Nagasaki. It is now covered and pedestrianized so counts as an arcade.Its name means "four towns", with the word "cho" being translated as "tow… Read More
2024-01-23 06:13
Rising 257 meters out of the Sea of Japan, Matengai Cliff is one of the highest sea cliffs in all of Japan, and are part of a UNESCO Global Geopark.Located on Nishinoshima in the Oki I… Read More
2024-01-22 03:51
Daiichi-in, the 104th temple of the Shingon Kyushu pilgrimage is located on the hillside overlooking downtown Sasebo in Nagasaki.It was founded in 806 on Mount Kurokami near Takeo in w… Read More
2024-01-20 05:29
The Minato Goten Palace was built to the southwest of Wakayama Castle on the bank of the Tsukiji River.It was originally built in 1698 by Tokugawa Mitsusada ( 1627-1705) and from… Read More
2024-01-19 07:15
Fukuishi Kannon is the popular name for Seiganji Temple in Sasebo, Nagasaki.It's origin lies with a visit by Gyoki to the area in 710. While here he carved 3 statues from a sacred tree… Read More
2024-01-18 11:19
Tazu is a small farming community on the Gonokawa River. It is the next settlement upstream from Kawado.It has no shop, nor post office, or school, but it does have a bridge and it did… Read More
2024-01-17 05:51
Jozenji is a small temple in the hills to the east of Sasebo and is the 71st temple on the Shungon Kyushu pilgrimage, said to be the longest of all circuit pilgrimages in Japan.Like th… Read More
2024-01-16 07:07
Matsue Castle is considered to be one of the 12 original castles remaining in Japan.There are many more castles throughout Japan, but what distinguishes the 12 is that their central to… Read More
2024-01-15 02:27
I suspect that we all have specific images or scenes that encapsulate our experience of Japan. While an icon is usually a visual image that has a very broad or near-univers… Read More
2024-01-13 05:18
Ganshoji is one of seven large Buddhist temples located in a teramachi in rural Tokushima. Most teramachi, literally "temple town" were created in the Edo period as part of the castle… Read More
2024-01-12 06:17
When I visited Tozenji, back in 2014, it had no main hall, it having been demolished to make way for a new one."Business" was being conducted out of what I believe was the reception ar… Read More
2024-01-10 12:00
Onsenji Temple in Kinosaki Onsen, Hyogo, is the guardian temple of the town and was founded in the eighth century by the priest said to have discovered the hot spring.The main building… Read More
2024-01-09 10:10
Hasami Shrine is located in its namesake, Hasami, so is probably considered the ujigami of the area.It is located adjacent to Tozenji Temple where I was heading to, which suggests that… Read More
2024-01-07 05:54
From Maji, the village that has Kotogahama Beach, to Nima, the next settlement up the coast, there is no coastal road and so the road rises to cross over the headland.Looking back down… Read More
2024-01-06 04:11
This Sumiyoshi Shrine is close to the edge of the water in Haiki near Sasebo, Nagasaki.About 2 kilometers away, a bit inland, is another Sumiyoshi Shrine that is said to be the origin… Read More
2024-01-05 06:57
Regular readers will easily recognize this as a statue of Fudo Myo, far and away the most numerous deity statue featured in my blog.All these shots come from the Jimyoin Betsuin Temple… Read More
2024-01-04 09:21
This may look like a wide river, but in fact, it is a strait, a narrow sea channel that connects Omura Bay with Sasebo Bay and the open ocean. There are two straits, and yesterday I cr… Read More
2024-01-03 03:00
As day 2 of my walk along the Kinki Fudo Myo pilgrimage winds down it was time to head west after visiting the cluster of temples in central Osaka.I crossed the Yodo River on the bridg… Read More
2024-01-02 03:00
Friday March 7th 2014It's set to become yet another great day as I wake before the sun and go out and sit on the sea wall to watch the sunrise.Once the show is past its peak I head off… Read More
2024-01-01 01:45
With many pics of dragons to choose from to wish you all a great new year, I chose this one, the ceiling painting at Kenninji Temple in Kyoto Read More
2023-12-29 10:24
I came into Minabe at the end of a rainy fifth day of my walk. I was on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, claimed to be the oldest of the major pilgrimage circuits of Japan. For this firs… Read More
2023-12-28 08:12
Sasebo Port is mostly a new redevelopment that seamlessly integrates the port facilities with the number one Japanese pastime of shopping.Several ferry terminals primarily service the… Read More
2023-12-27 05:03
Soja shrines were often established close to government headquarters in ancient Japan as one of the governor's duties was to offer prayers at all the shrines in his district.For conven… Read More
2023-12-26 03:21
The Kujiraze Ferry Terminal is one of several new terminals at Sasebo Port in Nagasaki.The main building is a two-storey brick-faced building, but attached to the end is this gleaming… Read More
2023-12-24 09:28
The Mito Peninsula extends out to the south of Shodoshima Island towards Shikoku.In fact, the southern tip of the peninsula is, I believe, the closest point to Shikoku.On Boxing Day (D… Read More
2023-12-23 09:49
Miura Catholic Church is located on a hillside overlooking the port and train station of Sasebo in Nagasaki.The parish was established in 1897 and the church was built in 1931. It is s… Read More
2023-12-22 04:59
As of this posting, we are "enjoying" an unusually early cold and snowy spell, so these images are for the rest of you in the northern hemisphere right now.Iriomote is a fairly large i… Read More
2023-12-21 03:20
Arcus Sasebo is a large, new cultural and exhibition centre with several stages and a large auditorium.It is located close to the station and the port in the renovated downtown area of… Read More
2023-12-20 08:23
Futagoji Temple is a large Tendai temple on the Kunisaki Peninsula in Oita, Kyushu. Pictured above are the steps leading up to the Okunoin.Situated in the centre of the peninsula and o… Read More
2023-12-19 05:09
The Saikai Bridge crosses the narrow Hario Strait which connects Omura Bay with the ocean. When built in 1955 it was the largest arch bridge in East Asia, and the 3rd largest in the wo… Read More
2023-12-14 07:00
Ido Shrine in Omori, part of the Iwami Ginzan World Heritage Site, was established in 1888 and worships the deified spirit of Ido Heizaimon, a former magistrate of the district who is… Read More
2023-12-13 04:25
Nagasaki Holland Village, built in 1983, was the predecessor to Huis Ten Bosch, the massive theme park at the northern end of Omura Bay in Nagasaki.Nagasaki Holland Village, billed as… Read More
2023-12-12 07:41
Kochi Castle is not one of the biggest Japanese castles, but is known as being the best preserved.Whereas only 12 Japanese castles still have their original tenshu, central tower or ke… Read More
2023-12-11 10:11
Walking up Route 206, the main road up the western side of Omura Bay in Nagasaki, in the town of Seihi there is a giant vermillion torii straddling a side road.The road leads to … Read More
2023-12-09 06:58
Mount Shiritsuki, 587 meters, is clearly visible as I leave Oreki Temple and carry on up the road.For a couple of hours, the road is forest and mountain with no habitations of any kind… Read More
2023-12-08 06:54
Friday, March 7th, 2014, day 65 of my walk around Kyushu and a wonderful sunrise.I spent the night at a minshuku right on the water's edge in Nagaura on an inlet of Omura Bay.I once li… Read More
2023-12-07 03:16
Tameshigiri is the art of testing a new sword. In the good old days this would often be done using the body of an executed criminal, but sometimes on a live criminal.When this no longe… Read More
2023-12-06 02:45
Early March, 2014, and on day 64 of my walk around Kyushu I walked from Nagasaki, up the coast of Omura Bay, to Nagaura, stopping in, as usual, to as many shrines as I passed.In Togits… Read More
2023-12-02 12:11
This is the last of four posts on the colorful and chaotic Ishiteji Temple in Matsuyama, Ehime.The first post looked at the entrance and main part of the temple. The second looked at t… Read More
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