06/12/2018 / Last updated : 08/02/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Matsushima – Zuiganji　松島瑞巌寺

Day 56, November 2016, Jyobon no Sato Noisy morning, as michi no eki – Jyobon no sato – serves as a rendezvous for construction workers, trucks and machinery. The toilet is vast and, like the whole of the road station, uses a lot of timber in its design. Its walls, due to the lattice design of heavy timber, are a series of square recesses, some of these are decorated with vases of flowers and one has a rather nice sumi-e of Dharma. Time to head to Matsushima, as D. is determined to visit Zuiganji; a temple she visited on a solo trip as a high school girl and has never […]

05/12/2018 / Last updated : 08/02/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Chusonji Temple　中尊寺

Day 55, November 2016, Chusonji Temple There was rain in the night and the morning is damp and overcast. We set off for Chusonji, which is a heritage site. There are few people about as it is still quite early when we arrive. Rain is threatening, so we take umbrellas and start up the steep approach road to the temple. There are the usual large cedars on either side but the land drops away to the right, giving, as we ascend, an intermittent view of the farmland spread far below. The avenue is dotted on either side with small shrines and, on the way up, we decide to take a […]

05/12/2018 / Last updated : 08/02/2023 d.d Scenic Drive / Spots

Izunuma – Genbikei　伊豆沼、厳美渓

Day 54, October 2016, The morning breaks cold and overcast. The pale, weak sun not really trying to raise the temperature above the 3 degree mark. As we have a long drive ahead, we set off early, heading north to visit the temples and gorge that we missed by making for Mt. Iwaki. Izunuma Lunchtime finds us at Lake Izunuma and, after picking up a bento in a supermarket, we head for the lake which is a famous bird sanctuary. Here, the car park we find, has a view of the water only partly obscured by bushes and reeds. Sadly, the lake, from this point at least, is not very […]

02/12/2018 / Last updated : 08/02/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Jionji – 12 Heavenly Generals, Yamadera to Zao　慈恩寺から蔵王

Day 53, October 2016, It is a cold, cloudy, rainy morning with the sun trying to break through at times. Local people are delivering produce to the shops in michi no eki Nishikawa. There are also some chairs set out in the car park. As time passes, more and more people arrive, bringing chairs, to sit wrapped up in warm clothing. They are clearly saving places for some event though quite what is not obvious. We leave after breakfast but there is still no sign of whatever it is they are waiting for. Jionji Temple　　慈恩寺 We drive to Jionji temple in Sagae city. We saw photographs of the Buddhist Images […]

29/10/2018 / Last updated : 29/01/2023 d.d Scenic Drive / Spots

Sabo Culture park, Lake Tazawa　田沢湖サボーカルチャーパーク

Summer 2018, Another day of mice and men. We planned to climb Akita Komagatake, well the easy bits, as the weather forecast was good for the afternoon. The overnight rain, supposedly, clearing by lunchtime. To find some slightly cheaper fuel, we drove to the outskirts of Morioka to fill up the car and to buy food for the climb and dinner. Finally reaching ‘Alpa Komakusa‘ the foothills around lunchtime, it is still raining on and off and the TV screens, showing weather conditions on the mountain, are a grey blur. Having no rain gear we postpone our ascent to the morrow. Sabo Culture Park In the sunny spells, which are […]

26/10/2018 / Last updated : 29/01/2023 d.d Scenic Drive / Spots

Michi-no-eki Futatsui and Lake Tazawa　田沢湖

Summer 2018, Juniko lakes (twelve lakes) are our destination for the day but when we arrive we are not impressed. So underwhelmed, in fact, that we circle the car park and leave. Michi-no-eki Futatsui Lunchtime finds us at Futatsui on route 7. This is a re-new michi-no-eki, open only about three weeks at this point. It is a very large affair, masses of parking and a good deal of open space around. The building itself is rather grand with a high timber roof of intricate rafters. The restaurant serves the usual suspects but is reasonably priced. The Yoneshirogawa (Yoneshiro River) flows behind it and there is a flight of broad steps […]

25/10/2018 / Last updated : 16/02/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Mt. Haguro, Dewa Sanzan Jinjya, by way of the stairs　羽黒山

Day 52, October 2016, We spend a very wet night, with the car rocking in the wind, but the morning rain is intermittent. The toilet in this road station has a notice requesting visitors to keep the place clean and there is a picture of a cute, cartoon lady with a big, smile happily cleaning the bowl. In reality, the elderly lady cleaning the facility is a sour faced, harridan. She looks daggers at a youngish woman, from a large camper van, who comes out of the Ladies with a dog litter tray. This sort of thing is, understandably, frowned on by local road station personnel and should be avoided […]

20/10/2018 / Last updated : 29/01/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Shirakami Sanchi, World Heritage Site　白神山地

summer 2018, Michi-no-eki Tsuruta proves to be very hot in the early morning sunshine and not a scrap of parking in the shade. Our plan is to head for the Nihonkai (Japan Sea) via Shirakami Sanchi. The road we want to take, we discover, is 50km. of dirt track so we find an alternative. Aqua Green Village Anmon in Shirakami Sanchi First we skirt around Mt. Iwaki, sharp and clear against a cloudless, blue sky. Just one or two small clouds clinging to the middle reaches of the mountain. At Aqua Green Village Anmon we stop to take a walk in the Beech woods. This place, Anmon, is the starting […]