06/08/2019 / Last updated : 01/02/2023 d.d Arts / Places of interest

Matsue castle, ‘plover castle’　松江城

October 2017, Matsue Castle We head for Matsue to visit the castle. The castle, or the remaining, very fine black tower, is original – built in 1611. This trip all seems to connect with Sekigahara as the previous one was all Meiji restoration. We wander the castle grounds but do not enter. We do go into the large, nearby Meiji era building that was built for a visit of the Meiji emperor that never occurred. The crown prince who later became the Taisho emperor, whom nobody wants to talk about very much, did show up. The building is empty of anything, including interest but it looks good from the outside. […]

03/08/2019 / Last updated : 01/02/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Daisen-ji temple　大山寺

October 2017, Daisen-ji Temple As we drove out of Shinwa no sato Shiro Usagi michi no eki this morning, I noted that the sea was on the other side of the road but it was not the most picturesque spot. The michi no eki was busy early, but quiet enough during the night. Daisen, or more specifically Daisen-ji Temple, is our first objective and we steadily drive towards and up the mountain. We are surprised, on arrival, that such a famous spot is so run down. The temple is rather sad and stands in not perfectly raked gravel but in what looks like the car park of a roadside ramen […]

03/08/2019 / Last updated : 07/09/2024 d.d Scenic Drive / Spots

Mikata-goko to Ine boat houses　三方五湖、伊根

October 2017, 2024 Mikata-goko Wet night and a wet morning. We leave michi-no-eki Nishiyama Koen, which is very new and clean and head for Tsuruga, Mikata-goko (five lakes) and three nuclear power stations. The Rainbow Skyline toll road did not provide a rainbow due no doubt to the total absence of sunshine. For some reason, the toll road is half price perhaps because of the typhoon, the effects which are everywhere evident. It is a pleasant drive with good views and we eat lunch looking out over the sea, high on a headland, in a deserted car park. At our next stop to admire the scenery, we spot a large […]

29/07/2019 / Last updated : 01/02/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Eiheiji Temple in Fukui 　永平寺

October 2017, Post typhoon, the morning is bright with watery sunshine and a lot of fast moving, ragged cloud. We set off for Eiheiji Temple arriving about 10.30. On the road there is a lot of debris from the Sugi and other trees. People are out clearing up everywhere. We note more serious typhoon damage here and there, mainly vinyl houses and advertising signs but, occasionally, bigger problems where roof tiles have been lost. Eiheiji Temple The temple is large, with numerous buildings connected by covered passages and stairs but, as it nestles in a narrow mountain valley, it is necessarily compact. There is a spacious, tatami floored hall with […]

25/07/2019 / Last updated : 01/02/2023 d.d Arts / Places of interest

Kanazawa Noh Museum and Museums in Fukui　金沢能楽美術館、福井市立美術館

October 2017, On a Saturday morning, Korogaki no Sato Shika is a very busy michi no eki. The car park is full and people were arriving by local bus to queue up for the vegetable shop that opened at nine. We did not try to shop as the store was very crowded and the queue for the checkout, dauntingly long. Kanazawa Noh Museum So, we set off for Kanazawa Noh Museum arriving a little before midday. The town is very busy and we crawl in traffic looking for the museum parking. This, of course, does not exist but there is a large, underground parking garage for a bigger museum(21st. Century […]

25/07/2019 / Last updated : 01/02/2023 d.d Arts / Places of interest

Noto Hanto Art and Tiny Rice Terraces　能登半島

October 2017, Well, what a wet night at Himi michi no eki and, sadly an equally wet morning. We are marooned in the car as the rain lashes around. About 10 am the rain begins to ease, and it is possible to venture outside in the, still, intermittent rain. And so begins our tour of Noto Hanto (peninsula). We drive, in a very leisurely fashion, as there is little else to do. Pulling into the michi-no-eki at Noto Shokusai Ichiba, we look at fish. We leave around lunchtime and head on up the peninsula. Mitsukejima　　見附島 At Mitsukejima or Gunkanjima (warship island) we make a stop, so called because the steep […]

21/07/2019 / Last updated : 31/01/2023 d.d Arts / Places of interest

Tateyama Caldera Sabo Museum and Shomyo Falls　立山称名滝

October 2017, Tateyama Caldera Museum We wake to bright sunshine around 7.30 after a quiet night at Tateyama station. To start the day, we visit the Tateyama Caldera Museum or exhibition centre. This does not open until 9.30 but a friendly gentleman allows us in, even though it is barely a quarter past. Once inside, he explains to us the geological features of the caldera and the reason the government, local or national, both perhaps, I am not sure, have been working for 100 years to minimize the devastation that will occur if another eruption and destructive lava flow happen. It is obvious, from the scale models, that such an […]

06/07/2019 / Last updated : 31/01/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Hiking on Mt. Tateyama　立山

October 2017, When we get up around am 6.45, after a very wet night, it is overcast but dry and much brighter over Mt. Tateyama. After our usual breakfast, we walk 5 minutes to Tateyama station and buy round trip cable car and bus tickets. We wait, only about 10 minutes, and board the cable car at 8. 30am. As some bus groups have already arrived, it is fairly busy. Hiking Tateyama The cable car ride takes only 7 minutes and, after another short wait, we are riding a bus to Murodo. By now, the sun has strengthened and the morning is clear and bright. Mt. Tateyama stands out, starkly, […]