19/05/2019 / Last updated : 12/02/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Izumo-taisha, stone rabbits　出雲大社

Day 93, December 2016, A night marked by heavy rain and thunder but the morning brings pale sunshine, even if the thunder is still rumbling around and the western sky fantastically dark. I make a trip to the toilet, thinking I have time before any serious rain arrives. As I emerge, the hail is sheeting down. This doesn’t last long and, after a short chat to the lady cleaner, I make it back to the car. We drive across the road to a Lawson car park for breakfast as, uniquely, this michi no eki has no vending machine for coffee. Izumo-taisha　　出雲大社 Our next stop is Izumo-taisha. Its big hall, immediately, […]

18/05/2019 / Last updated : 12/02/2023 d.d Arts / Places of interest

Adachi museum and Shinjiko　足立美術館、宍道湖

Day 92, December 2016, Adachi Museum　　足立美術館 After the thunderstorms of the night, the morning breaks raw and dripping. A short drive, mostly along a river bank, brings us to the Adachi Museum of Art. This museum is famed, and rightly so, for its gardens. It has a plaque to state that it has been the winner of the award for the number one Japanese garden for thirteen consecutive years. The gardens are perfect and that is, perhaps, the only problem with them. The Gardens For the most part, you cannot enter the exquisite gardens but only view them through the plate glass. At certain places it is permitted to step […]

13/05/2019 / Last updated : 12/02/2023 d.d Scenic Drive / Spots

Sakaiminato – Kitaro town　境港

Day 91, December 2016, Michi no eki Kaze no Ie It is a cold, foggy morning with ice not just on the windscreen but the whole vehicle is encased in a thin layer. The wooden decking, attractively fronting the toilet area, is treacherous. Kaze no Ie michi no eki is noted for its large vegetable market. A few people are arriving to shop, but it is closed. It shut for the winter on the 1st of December. We drive to Sakaiminato and the temperature rises by 10 degrees as we descend to sea level. The area around Mt. Daisen is very pleasant. There are steep valleys, wide river beds and […]

12/05/2019 / Last updated : 11/02/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Kurashiki and Hiruzen Highlands　倉敷、蒜山高原

Day 90, December 2016, A blustery morning with leaves flying everywhere, the michi no eki Ipponmatsu Tenboen is busy with trucks coming and going but not much other activity until a JA market opens selling vegetables, mikan and kaki (persimmon). Behind the michi no eki building there is a view down over a wide, flat valley and beyond to a wider flatter sea. The shining fields stretching to the far hills appear to be salt beds and there are clearly canals running from the sea. Some fields are flooded but others appear black. I thought, at first, they were solar panels but there are no connecting power lines so they […]

08/05/2019 / Last updated : 11/02/2023 d.d Arts / Places of interest

Himeji, The White Heron Castle 姫路城

Days 87, 88 and 89, December 2016, After 3 days in Kyoto visiting old friends and some of our favourite places – Kiyomizudera, Maruyama Park, Tetsugaku no michi and Manshuin to name a few – we headed out of Kyoto and followed R. 9 as the weather deteriorated. Finally we stopped at Yoka Tajima no kura michi no eki for a hot bath and to sleep for the night. We wake to weak sunshine, mist in the hollows and steam rising everywhere as we set off for Himeji. The views are wonderful with the mist rising and the sun trying to assert its supremacy; sumie scenes all around. Takeda Castle […]

05/05/2019 / Last updated : 11/02/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Kyoto Miyama-Hanase-Kurama　美山、花背、鞍馬

Day 85, December 2016, We leave michi-no-eki Galleria Kameoka and follow Route 9, heading away from Kyoto. There is a solid line of traffic in both directions. Kameoka, seen from this perspective, consists of a line of Pachinko parlours, used car lots, fast food joints and petrol stations. This is lucky, as we fill up with relatively cheap fuel and head off towards Obama and Miyama. Miyama This area of Kyoto prefecture is unfamiliar to me with its pretty streams, in the wide valley bottoms, and the picturesque villages, hugging the hills that rise out of them. We discover our intended onsen of the night before – a very long […]

27/04/2019 / Last updated : 11/02/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Criss-crossing Lake Biwa to Hieizan Enryakuji　琵琶湖、比叡山延暦寺

Day 84, November 2016, Lake Biwa Ohashi Yet another chill morning, the sun is up but not very effective, as we set off for Hieizan. The countryside is flat and the roads straight, as we approach Lake Biwa. The landscape is mainly agricultural with large factories dotted about. Closer to the lake, we can see the mountain peaks rising above the clouds on the other side. After crossing the toll bridge, to the Kyoto side, we stop at the michi no eki ‘Lake Biwa Ohashi kome Plaza‘ to take a look at the lake. Sadly, the lake cannot really be seen. After taking the wrong exit out of the car […]

25/04/2019 / Last updated : 11/02/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Muroji and Hasedera Temples plus Sekijuku　室生寺、長谷寺、関宿

Day 83, November 2016, Muroji Temple　　室生寺 We wake to a chilly morning after a quiet night but, thankfully, the weather is brighter. I discover the michi no eki Udaji Muro has a river behind it, the Uragawa, and I watch the egrets and a cormorant. After breakfast, we move out towards Muroji, a temple that used to be exclusively for women as Koyasan was forbidden to females. After parking the car near Muroji, we wander through the village a little, then over a red arched bridge and, turning right, enter the temple. Passing through the gate, we note that the guardians, Niosama, are nothing extraordinary. A steep flight of steps leads you […]