To the Lighthouse

Monday, April 22, 2024

If you only have one day in Japan, do not make it a Monday. 

In Japan (and many other places), 90% of the museums and at least 50% of the restaurants are closed on Mondays. Even parks and gardens can be closed. It is a day that requires some creative planning.

We decided we would take a taxi to our destination this morning, so we asked a young man behind the desk at our hotel to call us a taxi. This turned out to be big production. Ten minutes later, after FOUR different clerks had participated, and something had been looked up on a computer, and after several questions had been asked and answered, the taxi had finally been called. Great teamwork, kids, but you don’t need a task force for everything. Yes, this is how a lot of things work in Japan. Nothing is simple if it can be made more complicated. If a job can be done by one person, how much better it will be to have three or four people doing that job.

The taxi dropped us off at a very long pier leading to a lighthouse. Based on the number of steps it took to walk to the lighthouse, I estimate the pier to have been about one kilometer long.

A mysterious mist hung over the Seto Inland Sea. It made me think of the ethereal music of Enya. 

We walked out to the lighthouse and enjoyed the warm, humid sea air. We watched ferries come and go.

We saw the island of Megijima, where our old friend Momotaro went to fight the Ogre.

Megijima

By the time we reached the end of the pier we realized that the “lighthouse” was really a “light,” not a lighthouse. It was made of red glass blocks and apparently it looks very pretty at night when it is lit up.

From the pier we walked to the ruins of Takamatsu Castle, passing the ferry docks on the way. 

Why is it so much fun to watch vehicles disembark from a ferry?

What are these?

The Takamatsu Symbol Tower  offers shopping, dining, and an observatory on the 20th floor.

Takamatsu Castle is an Important Cultural Property. It was one of Japan’s three biggest water castles, or castles with sea access. Construction was begun in 1587. The castle grounds were originally about 10 times as large as they are now, but over the years the lands were appropriated for other uses. The main castle building (tower) was demolished in 1884 due to its deterioration. The inner fortified area remains along with the base of the tower.

Azaleas!

This is how thick the inner wall around the castle was. Some of the stones were huge. Somehow, they were pieced together to yield a snug fit and a very solid wall.

One of the castle turrets

This is how big one of the moats was.

A group of tourists being taken on a boat ride in the moat

The hats and jackets were part of the boat ride experience

While we are talking about the moat, here is a fun fact. Lord Matsudaira Yoritaka, 1810-1886, is famous for his practice of swimming as a martial art. He would swim in the moat using a swimming stroke named “the Lower-left Katanoshi Stroke of the Suinin-Ryu.” The stroke has been designated an Intangible Cultural Property.

One of the gates to the present-day castle grounds

The popular foods here seem to be fried chicken (Japanese-style), grilled beef, and a local style of udon. Seafood was rarely  evident.

A tiny food truck

And then there is Slowpoke. Slowpoke is a Pokémon character, known in Japan as Yadon. He is relaxing on top of a mailbox in front of a post office. I have seen three or four other characters atop mailboxes on this trip. Why shouldn’t mailboxes be fun?

Happy Earth Day! 

Happy Passover to those who celebrate!

Today’s fabric is from the By the Sea Collection at Fabric Design Treasures. 

Keep Calm and Go for a Stroll

Sunday, April 21, 2024

The Seto Inland Sea is a large, calm body of water lying between the main Japanese islands of Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. It boasts a Mediterranean climate and some 3,000 islands. We took a train from Okayama to Takamatsu, on Shikoku, in the morning. It only took an hour, but it was interesting crossing the Seto Inland Sea on the Great Seto Bridge, while riding on the top level of a double-decker railroad car. This will be our first visit to Shikoku.

Takamatsu is the capital of Kagawa Prefecture. Its population is about 420,000, making it the largest city on Shikoku. Government and transportation seem to be the main drivers of the economy here. Tourism is quite obviously not a major factor in the economy. We couldn’t fail to notice the absence of English signage, English menus in restaurants, and the low level of wayfinding aids such as maps and directional signs. I must give a tip of the hat to the Visitor Information center in the train station, however. The staff there were knowledgeable and helpful both times I sought information there.

There are a lot of covered shopping streets in Japan, which are called “arcades.” Takamatsu really has a lot of arcades. Perhaps that indicates that it rains a lot here. It was definitely drizzly today. Our hotel is connected to an arcade, so it is possible to go to a convenience store, a grocery store, several restaurants, and othe assorted places without going outside in the sense that you would not be under some sort of cover. The end of the arcades are open to the air, and they are open here and there on the sides, where streets cross through them. I wish we had managed to take some photos of one of the arcades.

Our hotel starts on the 8th floor of a building, and goes to the 12th. To get to our room you have to take an elevator from the ground to 8, enter the hotel lobby, and then take a different elevator up to our room on 11. It looks like there is a parking garage on 4 through 7. 

After arriving and leaving our luggage at the hotel we went to Ritsurin Garden. It has been designated a Special Place of Scenic Beauty. I agree. I think it was even more beautiful than the Koraku-en Garden in Okayama. It is worth a side trip to Takamatsu if you are in Okayama or anywhere on Shikoku.

Ritsurin is a “strolling-style” garden built by a daimyo (feudal lord) about 400 years ago. It became a public garden in 1875. Here’s a blurry map of the garden, showing two suggested walking routes. (I will try to find a better download when I get home.) We did the blue route and half of the red.

This is a large garden. It contains 1400 pine trees, as well as many chestnut trees. Ritsurin means “chestnut groves.” We missed the cherry blossoms here, but the azaleas were just getting started, and they were uplifting.

I can’t describe how enjoyable it was to wander through this garden. Every view was brilliantly planned and executed by true masters of landscape design.

I don’t know what this gorgeous shrub was.

A pair of stately chestnut trees

This is a man-made waterfall, created hundreds of years ago to impress one of the daimyos.

A teahouse

surprisingly tropical-looking trees

This pine tree is a type of tree with a complicated shape that is only found in Ritsurin.
It is called hako-matsu.

Around every curve in the path was another delightful surprise or something interesting, or something stunningly beautiful. It made me feel so much joy.

Today’s fabric is Chestnuts on Green, by elinnet for Spoonflower.

Momo Redux

Saturday, April 20, 2024

Kibitsu Jinja or Kibitsu Shrine (Bitchū) is a National Treasure. This Shinto shrine is located in the foothills of some mountains on the western side of Okayama. We took a local train to Kibitsu and arrived in about 30 minutes, and a 15- to 20-minute walk brought us to the shrine.

First, we climbed a lot of stairs.

At the top of the stairs we found ourselves in a courtyard, surrounded by several buildings. We were pretty far off the beaten tourist-track here, and there was not much in the way of English signage. We didn’t always understand what we saw. 

We observed a number of family groups with infants in the courtyard. They appeared to be involved in some sort of photo shoot to commemorate a special occasion. Perhaps it was a baby-naming or some kind of blessing for the baby.

The main sanctuary, on the left

Another view of the main hall

This beautiful building (below) was located across from the main sanctuary. There seemed to be more activity here. People came in and out, and occasionally a priest would go in. On the side of the building there was a soothing water feature. We sat nearby for a while, enjoying our surroundings and people-watching.

A trail behind the rocks and bushes led to a steep rough path up the mountainside.

An elegant cloister extended 400 meters from the sanctuary, passing alongside a garden and ending at another shrine (which we did not see) where a priest tells someone’s fortune based on the sound made by a large pot.

An ancient burial mound located on the shrine’s hilly property is believed to have been built in the latter half of the 6th century (CE, I assume). We did not know where it was, so we didn’t have a chance to see it. (No English signs, no maps for visitors.)

It is said that the Momotarō tale originated at Kibitsu Jinja. The legend may have been based on a local story about Kibitsuhiko-no-mikoto, a divine character who fought and defeated an ogre named Ura. We received a fun booklet about Kibitsuhiko and Ura at the Visitor’s Center in Okayama. The cover has masks that a child can cut out and wear, or turn into a postcard. The face of Kibitsuhiko/Momotarō looks more like Queen Esther to me, and Ura looks like a Viking.

As we walked back from the shrine to the Kibitsu station, we came across some interesting manhole covers.

Translation: Japanese heritage, Momotarō legend, Okayama City, Fire hydrant

Same translation as above. Note the peaches on Momotarō’s arrows.

At dinner time, the adventure continued. Ken ordered grilled beef. It arrived still sizzling on a metal plate on top of a box, with brown ppaper wrapped around it - and many side dishes.

I had Japanese-style fried chicken with many coondments and sides. It was fun t try all of those mysterious little dishes.

Today’s fabric is denim. A lot of denim is dyed, woven, and made into jeans, jackets, and other trendy items right here in the Okayama Prefecture. Momotaro Jeans are considered top quality and top of the line.