Visiting temples and shrines, mostly unusual and less visited.

Gifu Daibutsu
26/08/2024 / Last updated : 26/08/2024 d.d Temple / Shrine

Gifu Daibutsu to Gujo Hachiman　岐阜大仏

April 10th. 2024 Michi no eki Fujihashi is recommended for an overnight stay at least on a weekday at this time of year. Others have experienced Bosozoku groups making a lot of noise on summer weekends. It has ample parking, good to excellent toilets and an onsen. Today we make our way to Gifu city. We plan to see the Bamboo Buddha. Last time we passed this way we did not find it and this time it was almost as elusive. Gifu Daibutsu Our navi. Steers us through one-way systems and directs us down very narrow two-way streets that have no right to such distinction. Eventually, we see the temple […]
06/07/2023 / Last updated : 06/07/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Daizenji – Grape Temple and Shosen-kyo　大善寺、昇仙峡

April 14th. 2023 Michi no eki Otaki onsen We spent the night at michi no eki Otaki onsen. It was a Thursday night so the onsen was closed as was the restaurant. There is a F. Mart open until 10 pm but that is on another level up there with the road. The michi no eki car park etc. are below, deeper in the gorge. The first impression of the place is grim concrete, especially as a section of the parking is under the parking for the convenience store above. The michi no eki is connected to the F. Mart by a rusting spiral staircase. The facilities are also under […]
Kunozan Toshogu
30/05/2023 / Last updated : 18/06/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Nihondaira and Kunozan Toshogu　日本平、久能山

April 1st. 2023 Akabane Loko Park When we went to sleep at Akabane Loko Park we were far from the michi no eki, out along the sea front. We were also alone. In the morning there are 20 or 30 vehicles stretched out along the beach. These are surfers who have arrived during a Friday night. Before breakfast, we move to the michi no eki Akabane Loko Station itself for the facilities and availability of coffee. Our eventual departure sets us up for a day of driving as we head for Nihondaira.  First, along a lengthy stretch of Route 42 following the beach to Hamanako. This an inlet from the […]
Shakuson-ji
09/06/2022 / Last updated : 18/02/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Shakuson-ji Temple　釈尊寺

April 14th. 2022 This morning we are off to towards Komoro to visit Shakuson-ji, also known as Nunobiki Kannon. This proves to be a very good choice far outweighing our expectations. Shakuson-ji Unimpressive at first, the car park is an anonymous patch of gravel under some trees by the side of the road. There are steps leading upwards. Starting to ascend, We soon find ourselves in a narrow gorge with a small steam, moss covered boulders, tall trees and towering cliffs. As we follow the steps upwards, the gorge becomes ever more dramatic until we come to a small temple gate on our right and high above clinging to the […]
17/03/2019 / Last updated : 11/02/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Ise JIngu -Ise Grand Shrine　伊勢神宮

Day 75, November 2016, A very warm night, we had no need of sleeping bags or extra blankets. We arrive at Ise Jingu around 9:30 or 10. There is a free car park, with space available, though there are a lot of people around for a Monday morning. We realize later that our navi, as usual, has delivered us to the back gate. Ise Jingu Geku　伊勢神宮外宮 The shrine itself is so plain as to be an exercise in boredom. The style is simple. Some large trees, some very large trees, a lot of open space, plain, newish, wooden buildings with neat, newly thatched roofs and loads of gravel. At the […]
Kuonji temple
07/02/2019 / Last updated : 29/01/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Kuonji Temple　久遠寺

Summer 2018, Wake to an overcast, misty morning at Asagiri Kogen, Michi no eki. Immediately we move further away from the stench, emanating from the manholes, so we can attempt breakfast. Kuonji Temple Set off for Kuonji, as the day brightens into sunshine. Shy, Fujisan continues to drape its elegant form in cloud. By 9.30am it is 30 degrees C. The road to Kuonji passes Motosuko, Motosu Lake, and then climbs into the mountains before deciding to follow the wide but shallow Fujigawa. Fuji River. Kuonji is approached through a traditional temple gate and then, a narrow street, climbing past the usual shops and restaurants associated with major temples. The […]
Suwa Taisha
28/01/2019 / Last updated : 10/02/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Yatsugatake Highlands and Suwa Taisha　八ヶ岳、諏訪大社

Day 69, November 2016, Kiyosato Highland　　清里高原 A very wet night but, we woke to a warm morning of weak sunshine, golden hills and Onbashira paraphernalia. Onbashira is the crazy festival, held every 7 years, when the locals ride tree trunks down a very steep hillside, hoping not to get killed. We decide to visit Kiyosato Highland, a place D. used to visit as a child. As the road starts to climb, the clouds roll in and cover everything. This mist lends a truly mysterious air to the larch forests and we drive gently through mist wreathed trees. Sometimes, we stop at viewing spots or parking places. We can see nothing […]
gate of Zenkoji temple
30/12/2018 / Last updated : 16/03/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Togakushi to Zenkoji 　戸隠から善光寺

Day 62, November 2016 Numata River Terracing Yes, there is ice on the windscreen but the damp towels hanging on the wing mirrors are not frozen solid. The temperature did not drop that low. After breakfast, as this area is a famous example of river terracing, we walk across the carpark of michi-no-eki Shirasawa to an observation point. Unfortunately, as is the all too common with viewing points, the trees, planted as landscaping, have grown so as to completely obscure the view they were supposed to compliment. The viewing point is, as a result, pointless. As we drive out of Numata on R.120, however we get an idea of this […]