24/07/2023 / Last updated : 24/07/2023 d.d Arts / Places of interest

Sugaya Tatara Sannai, Princess Mononoke’s world 　菅谷たたら山内

April 21st. 2023 Michi no eki Sakagura Okuizumo and Orochi no sato Michi no eki Sakagura Okuizumo Koryukan is a dead place. It is flat and has good toilets so for an overnight stay it is fine. Except that the signs tell you not to do that. As a michi no eki it has nothing except the sake products that it wishes to sell as it is basically a sake brewery. There is not even a drink vending machine, so we set off before breakfast in search of coffee. This we find at michi no eki Onochi no sato about 14 kilometres away. This is a much more pleasant place […]

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

Fukiya, Red Iron Oxide Village 　　吹屋

April 20th. 2023 Michi no eki Kayou Waking in a still misty michi no eki Kayou we slowly discover it’s secrets. The facilities are reasonable as the place has few overnighters but it does become a little overrun in the morning rush. We are surprised to discover a hidden Lawsons, open from 9am to 6pm. There is a shop selling Bonsai and other plants. The bonsai are elementary but are selling for less than the usual price of the ceramic pot containing them. It also boasts a non-functioning water wheel and a picnic area on a grassy knoll that was closed off. I had the impression the place had seen […]

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

Iwami Ginzan, an old silver mining village 　石見銀山

October 2017, Relentless rain all night and no let up this morning. We are planning a trip to Iwami Ginzan, a pre-Edo era silver mine that was still operating in the early Showa period. We know this involves a 45-minute walk, so are reluctant to go there until the weather improves; as the forecast promises. Finally, we set off in the opposite direction and drive along the coast towards Izumo Taisha though we have no intent to visit that place again. We just want to view the coastline. Reaching the Taisha, we turn around and head back the same way we have come. The sky, out over the sea, is […]

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 […]

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 […]

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