Taisha Fishing Port

 

After passing by Inasa Beach and the Benten island/shrine, I come to the fishing port of Taisha Town.

I have passed by several small fishing hatbours, but this is the first port since leaving Tagi yesterday morning. The distinction, for me at least, between harbour and port is that a fishing port will have an ice machine and a Japan Fisheries office

Like most Japanese fishing harbours, this one is also constructed out of millions of tons of concrete, not just making piers, but breakwaters of tetrapods and massive offshore breakwaters "protecting" the harbour.

Over the years of traveling the coast of Shimane, I have only ever seen two boats that were not fishing boats, cargo boats, or Coast Guard boats.... my friend's yacht in Tagi, and a yacht here in Taisha.

The route along the coast now sweeps up towards the cape at Hinomisaki.

The previous post in this series on the 6th leg of my deep exploration of the Sea of Japan coastline was on Inasa Beach and the Izumo myths associated with it.

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A Walk Across Akiyoshidai at Sunrise

 

Day 28 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage began high on the Akiyoshidai Plateau, a karst, treeless landscape dotted with limestone pinnacles.

I needed to reach Hagi today, on the Sea of Japan coast, and being mid-winter the days were short so I headed off before sunrise.

The first part of the walk was across the plateau, mostly on some of the many footpaths that criss-cross the plateau.

It is great to have such a long stretch of walking off-road.

The different junctions on the paths are sometimes confusing and not well signed, but it is not so difficult to match the map to the surroundings....

I did not pass another walker in the several hours it took to reach the edge of the plateau and descend into the more normal landscape....

For more details about Akiyoshidai, please see the previous post...

The previous post was on my brief exploration of part of Akiyoshidai the evening before...

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Nakanokawachi Kokuzodo & Nakanokawachi Butsumokuji Temples 24 & 42 Sasaguri Pilgrimage

 

Day 2 of our walk along the Sasaguri Pilgrimage, and we are continuing up into the mountains on the south side of the river, main road, and railway line that bisects the area and the pilgrimage.

Number 24, Nakanokawachi Kokuzodo has a memorial stone to the birthplace of Fujii Tosuke, a man who was influential in finishing the construction of this 88 temple pilgrimage in the mid 19th century after the death of Jinnin, the nun were started the project

Many of these smaller "temples" still have the original stone statues that were the honzon. They are all quite small, simple reliefs, with donors' names inscribed on them. They have all been replaced with larger, more elaborate statues. Obviously the local people have been supporting this pilgrimage route since the beginnings.

Many of the other statues that have been added are quite simple and made fairly quickly, at the lower end of the proffesional scale, but this adds something, to my mind at least.

The numbering system is quite weird..... there is no chance to walk the route sequentially...

After 24, the next was number 42, Nakanokawachi Butsumokuji.

The honzon here is a Dainichi.

It has adopted attributes of the Dainichi at  Shikoku temple 42, Buttsumokuji, and is known for protecting livestock.

As with most of these 88 temples, numerous, diverse statues of Fudo Myoo abound...

The previous post in this series on day 2 of my walk along the Sasaguri Pilgrimage was on the nearby  Ninotaki Temple with its two waterfalls

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Akiyoshidai Plateau

 

After exiting Akiyoshi-do cavern via the elevator I made the short walk to the observation deck overlooking the plateau.

Akiyoshidai is a karst plateau covering about 130 sq kilometers, about a third of which is classified as a Quasi National Park.

The circular observation platform has great 360 degree views over much of it

It is a very unusual landscape for Japan, and that for me in some ways is reminiscent of the moors back in the UK or some of the grasslands in the west of the US.

It was once completely forested, like the rest of Japan, but the local people took to burning the land cover once a year to stop the trees from growing and to allow susuki to grow.

Susuki is commonly known as Japanese pampas Grass, and was grown as feed for animals and as thatching material for roofs.

This annual burning still takes place every February and is known as yamayaki.

The other notable feature of Akiyoshidai is the limestone pinnacles, some as high as two meters, that dot the landscape.

Dozens of footpaths criss-cross the plateau, and the next day I would be walking clear across it on my walk to Hagi, but this evening I chose a simple circuit that stayed close to the observation deck.

After my walk I walked a few hundred meters to my room for the night in the youth hostel.

Unfortunately, it no longer exists.

The previous post in this series on day 27 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on the Akiyoshido cave beneath the plateau

If you would like to subscribe by email just leave your email address in the comments below. It will not be published and made public. I post new content almost everyday, and send out an email about twice a month with short descriptions and links to the last ten posts