Koizu Coast Washboard Rocks

 

After leaving Mitsu Shrine, the road carries on down the narrow valley into the fishing village of Mitsu itself.

As with all small fishing harbours, huge concrete seawalls and breakwaters create a safe harbour for a handful of small inshore boats...

The peninsula is part of a large Japanese Geopark and so there are plenty of signs about the geology of the area.

Not much of a geologist myself, though I do prefer land that is bare of vegetation and do enjoy geologic "features" even if I don't fully understand them....

I do know that 10,000 years ago this peninsula was an island off the coast of what is now Izumo.

The road now hugs the sea until the first named feature called Ichinose.... what we would describe as washboard rocks....

Around the headland and we arrive at the main feature of this part of the coast, Koizu Coast Clothes Washing Rocks, more washboard formations....

I do know that the alternating stripes of rock are sandstone and mudstone, with the mudstone the hollow and the sandstone the raised....

In the winter the rocks are off limits because of the seaweed that grows here and is harvested later by the locals....

From the official website.... "This alternating layer of sandstone and mudstone is part of the Ushikiri Formation from the Miocene epoch of the Neogene period. Most of the sandstone in this layer is turbidite. However, the absence of complete boomer sequences suggests that the turbidite was deposited closer to its source. Groove marks on the lower surface of the sandstone layers indicate a southwest-northeast flow, and these, along with changes in lithology, suggest that sediments in this area may have been transported eastward."

It may be uncool or even un-eco, but concrete does have an aesthetic at times....

The previous post in this series on day 42 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on a couple of shrines just along the coast....

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Tosa Shimizu Sunrise

 

Christmas Eve, 2011, and just after 7am the sun announces its impending arrival.

It's the 23rd day of my walk along the Shikoku Pilgrimage, and with winter solstice just a few days past, the days are so short I need to be off before light.....

Of course, the reward of getting up before the sun is to be out and about at a magical time...

I was walking down the Tosa Shimizu coast towards the cape and the next pilgrimage temple

The previous post in this series was on the previous days walk down the Shimanto and Shimonokae Rivers

This final photo is of Oki Beach...

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Takao Gongen to Mitsu Shrine

 

From the fishing village of Shiotsu, the road rises steeply and then heads inland a little.

I stop in at a small wayside shrine called Takao Gongen. It has a torii and gohei in front of the statues, both "shinto" symbols, but the statues are Buddhist. A nice reminder of tradition.

On the very first walk along this coast that I did more than 20 years ago, this was where I spent the night, so I have fond memories of the place.

Down below a tiny fishing village clinging to the steep hillside. I did not venture down the loop road as it looked quite steep.... that would be for a later trip....

A small tunnel cuts through to make a pass to the next valley which runs down to the larger fishing village of Mitsuura.

At the edge of the village I stop in at  Mitsu Shrine,  but during the Edo Period it was called Rokusho Daimyojin.

It used to be located much closer to the sea and has been moved several times, most recently in the early 20th century.

It is listed both in the Izumo Fudoki and the Engi Shiki, so was of some importance in ancient times.

For a while, it was known as Mitsu Kumano Shrine, suggesting that it originally enshrined only Izanagi and Izanami.

The name Rokusho Shrine would be referring to the six kami now enshrined here, with Amaterasu, Ninigi, Susanoo, and Koyane, along with Izanami and Izanagi.

I especially enjoyed the masks here, especially the old, wooden demon mask.

There are quite a few secondary shrines within the grounds, including a Toshitoku Shrine which may enshrine Otoshi, a Wakamiya Shrine enshrining Okuninushi, and a shrine enshrining "5 great kami".

There is also an Inari Shrine, a Ryujin Shrine, and a Gubin Shrine enshrining Tengu no kami?

There is a sumo ring with a roof...

The previous post was on 2 shrines in Shiotsu, the previous fishing village..

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Scenes From Rural Oita

 

Oita is a large prefecture in northern Kyushu with quite a varied set of landscapes, these scenes are from my walk on the 6th day of my walk along the Kyushu Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage.

My route was roughly southeast from Nakatsu to Ajimu. I have no idea what the Easter Island heads are about.....

Compared to much of Japan, it was fairly wide open with a lot of agriculture... I do realize lots of Japan has coastal plains, especially around the cities, but not where I live.... my area is all narrow valleys..

I've lost count of the number of Statues of Liberty I have come across in Japan..... I believe this one was at a car dealership....

This is a recently built branch temple of Nenpo Shinkyo, a Buddhist sect started in the 1920's....

Not sure if it os classed as a "New New Religion", a "New Religion", or simply a Buddhist sect.

Love hotels are often located in between towns..... Sky Dix is now a chain of at least 5 love hotels, so I am guessing this is the original....

Pretty sure this metal sign is of an ear of wheat...... seems that this is a wheat-growing area....

The previous post was on some of the shrines I stopped in at on this morning walk...

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