23/08/2024 / Last updated : 23/08/2024 d.d Temple / Shrine

Tsubosakadera, Great Buddha in cherry blosssoms　壺阪寺

April 8th. 2024 A quiet night, michi no eki Yoshinoji Kurotaki is a good place to stay. There is an adequate if strange onsen nearby and the facilities are splendid for such a small rural michi no eki. Though I don’t recall any fresh flowers. Tsubosakadera Our first stop of the day is Tsubozakadera. We had planned to visit this temple on the off chance this past weekend but the sight of the jammed traffic trying to enter the approach road gave us an instant change of heart. The following day traffic was also insane so we thought there must be something worth seeing. Today, Monday, access is easy thought […]

20/08/2024 / Last updated : 22/08/2024 d.d Hiking / Walking

Asukamura, Historical Area　明日香村

April 7th. 2024 Inabuchi Terraced Rice Fields　稲淵の棚田 The morning at michi no eki Yoshino-ji Kurotaki is busy early, not locals delivering produce but people taking pictures of Sakura (cherry blossoms) and waiting for the shop to open. We leave but find the roads around Yoshino and district already clogged with traffic, so we change direction and go to see the Inabuchi Rice Terrace at Asukamura. We assumed this would be something out of the ordinary but apart from a convenient lay-by and a fairly modern toilet it had nothing to distinguish it from other patches of landscape all over Japan. But the surroundings seem popular with cyclists. Undeterred, we next […]

14/08/2024 / Last updated : 14/08/2024 d.d Hiking / Walking

Akame 48 Waterfalls　赤目48滝

April 6th. 2024 Yoshinoyama mistake Michi no eki Kudoyama gave us an unexpectedly restful night being much less busy than anticipated. We rise earlier than usual and are soon on the way to Yoshinoyama to visit the temple and view its abundance of cherry blossom. We leave early as we expect it to be very busy, Sakura season, Saturday, and the last weekend of spring break. As we get closer still well before 9am. We hit significant traffic. This gets worse and worse, but we persevere as we were expecting the place to be busy. In the end, sitting in almost motionless traffic, on a steep incline watching the hoards […]

15/07/2023 / Last updated : 15/07/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Nara/ Kyoto border Kasagidera and Dragon Shrines　笠置寺、龍穴神社

April18th. 2023 Kasagidera Temple From the michi no eki Minami Yamashina we drive to Kasagidera. A large temple not on the usual tourist itinerary, outside autumn leaves season anyway. The access to Kasagidera is up a somewhat daunting lane that ends in a car park for perhaps 20 cars. No one is collecting parking fees earlyish on a Tuesday morning in Spring. From the car park, there is a walk of perhaps 200 metres, past an unlikely ryokan to the first temple building. Here a gentleman accepts 300-yen temple entrance fee and another 300 for D.’s Goshuin. We are then free to wander the mountaintop circuit (about 800m) of temple […]

22/05/2023 / Last updated : 18/06/2023 d.d Scenic Drive / Spots

Mitake no Sakura and Misugi no Mitsumata　三多気、美杉

March 30th. 2023 Gojo City, Shinmachi　五條市新町 A good night at Kudoyama, but as expected the facilities are inadequate for the morning rush. Last evening, it was the hang out for the local teens but in the early morning it is the turn of the old men. From the michi no eki, we set off to visit Gojo city. Here there is a street of Edo era buildings. Once a thriving merchant area on an important route but times have changed. It gave us a pleasant walk in the morning sunshine but there is little of real interest for the casual visitor. There are the remnants of an early Showa era […]

08/03/2023 / Last updated : 18/03/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Asuka, temples and Cosmos flowers　　飛鳥

Oct. 24th. 25th. 2022, Michi no eki Kudoyama is very good with easy access to Koya san. This, of course, means it will be very busy at weekends. From the michi no eki, we set off for Nara and, prosaically, a coin laundry. Okadera temple In the afternoon we visit Okadera, founded about 1300 years ago. More recently, an enterprising person has set up a car park on the approach to the temple. When we arrive, we assume this is the temple car park, usually free, and are surprised to be charged 500 yen. Walking up to the temple proper, we see a notice informing us that the car park […]

04/03/2023 / Last updated : 18/03/2023 d.d Hiking / Walking

Odaigahara, to the edge of the abyss.　　大台ヶ原

Oct. 23rd. 2022, Kiho-Umigami Koen michi no eki Kiho-Umigami Koen is in most ways a good place to stay. There is a covered walkway which would be great on a rainy night, and it is flat with reasonable facilities. It was a little noisy on a Saturday night. It was also very warm for late October, and we were troubled by mosquitoes. The beach here is famous as a spot for Sea Turtles to lay eggs, as the name suggests. Odaigahara We leave the coast and head into the mountains again. This time to Odaigahara on the Odaigahara driveway. As we climb, approaching our destination, the view of mountains is […]

04/03/2023 / Last updated : 18/03/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Dorogawa Onsen, and the wild road to the demon coast　　洞川温泉

Oct. 22nd. 2022, Good night at michi no eki Resti Karako-kagi on the outskirts of Nara. The number of overnight vehicles seems to have increased since our last visit. On leaving, the first thing we do is fill up with fuel. Nara is significantly cheaper than Nagoya. Why should that be? Dorogawa Onsen Full tank, we set off into the mountains to Dorogawa onsen at Tenkawa-mura. This village is the gateway to Ominesan Temple. Well, gateway for males, women are forbidden to approach too close. The onsen village is crowded into a narrow valley so charging for parking is a local industry. We park at Ryusenji Temple, and D. collects a […]