Chusonji
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 […]
Zao Okama
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 […]
Osorezan
09/10/2018 / Last updated : 29/01/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Shimokita Peninsula, Shiriyazaki and Osorezan　下北半島

summer 2018, Departing michi-no-eki Lake Ogawara, we travel up the Shimokita Peninsula to Shiriyazaki to visit the horses. Shimokita Peninsula is very sparsely populated and the long, straight roads past the atomic waste dump encourage the few cars on the road to travel very fast. The road is mostly boarded by forest with an occasional glimpse of the sea. Just before you arrive at Shiriyazaki there is a massive Mitsubishi cement works with its own port. Shiriyazaki　尻屋崎 Shiriyazaki itself is a grassy headland with outcrops of rock and a small lighthouse. The grass is cropped short by the horses. There is free parking but an entrance fee for the lighthouse. […]
Akebi
04/10/2018 / Last updated : 07/02/2023 d.d Arts / Places of interest

Tono Furusato village, Legends of Tono 遠野

Day 48, October 2016, The serious wind of the night has dropped and the morning is bright and clear but rather cold. Hot coffee for breakfast with Akita apples. D. looks around the Tono Windy Hill produce shop where some strange tree fruit that I have never seen before is on display. The Akebi, apparently, is about 8 to 10 cm. long and 4 or 5 in diameter. I am not tempted to taste it. Tono Furusato Village The interest of the shop exhausted, we move on to visit Tono Furusatomura, a village of old, traditional houses. This is another collection of buildings collected from various locations and put together […]
Osorezan
26/07/2018 / Last updated : 06/02/2023 d.d Temple / Shrine

Osorezan, communing with the dead　恐山

Day 39, October 2016, Yagen Valley　薬研渓谷 We wake to a fine day and breakfast in the early morning sunshine. Before visiting Osorezan, our plan is to walk along a small, nearby river, so we drive a little further up the valley. The footpath, we discover, is in the pine trees and very gloomy. It runs along an old, narrow gauge railway line, now barely visible and the river can hardly be glimpsed at all through the undergrowth, so the prospect for the walk is not encouraging. In the end, we walk back along the road – there are almost no cars – and take lots of useless pictures of the […]