Namba Parks

 

Shopping malls are true cathedrals of consumption, especially in a country wherein many people claim shopping as a hobby.

Most are featureless boxes, but a few have had some serious money spent on their architecture.

Namba parks is one such location, and from one angle one might understand the name "parks" as having some rekevance.

However, most visitors will see a dark canyon with beckoning lights enticing people into magical lands where things you don't need call out to be bought...

The canyon metaphor is also literal.

The architect, American Jon Jerde, modelled the architecture on the sandstone canyons of the Colorado Plateau in the American Southwest.

As a photographer, I like it.

Jerde has also designed another couple of shopping malls in Japan that I like: Riverwalk in Kokura, and Canal City in Fukuoka.

I notice common elements to all three...

Namba Parks is my least favourite, though that may be simply because I have visited it less than the other two.

I was about to write that after multiple visits to these malls I had never actually bought anything, but then I remembered that Canal City used to have a Wendys that I visited once, and Riverwalk has a Freshness Burger and a map museum that I had visited...

As well as the shopping mall, Namba Parks consists of a cinema, and an office building and a residential building. The rooftop gardens don't seem to get much use...

I currently only have one post on Riverwalk, here, and one on Canal City, here.

The previous post in this series exploring Namba, Osaka, was on sights seen between Namba Hips and Namba Parks.

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 It will not be published and made public.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.

Shotokuji Temple 22 Iwami Kannon Pilgrimage

 

Shotokuji Temple in Sufu, lies at the foot of a hill that was covered by a largish castle and was the family temple of the lords of the castle and area, the Suo Clan The castle is ometimes called Sufu Castle, and sometimes Tobisu Castle

Some sources claim the temple was founded by Shotoku Taishi himself, or that the temple has a statue carved by him. More likely is that it was established around the same time as the castle in 1228.

The castle was one of 18 castles in Iwami to protect against Mongol invasion.  For 300 years the Suo clan ruled the area. When first built, the sea was much closer to the temple and castle, but over time the land was reclaimed and a small castle town existed. The sea is now 1km away.

In the late 16th century the castle fell to the Mori and the Suo became vassals of the Mori. After Sekigahara the Suo followed the Mori to Nagato and the castle was destroyed.

In 1866 the temple was used as a headquarters by a force of  Kishu Domain samurai and was attacked by Choshu forces in the Second Choshu Expedition. The temples pillars still have bullet holes from that engagement.

It is a Soto Zen temple with a Shaka Nyorai, the historical Buddha, as honzon.

The bell tower gate is quite impressive as are the pair of Nio guardians...

I visited at the start of day 35 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage, which coincided with day 16 of my walk along the Iwami Kannon Pilgrimage. Will explain in the next post.

The previous post was on the afternoon walk on the day before...

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.

Hinomisaki Western Cape of Shimane Peninsula

 

10,000 years ago, the Shimane Peninsula was a long narrow island running parallel to the coast of Izumo.

Looking at a map, it is not hard to imagine as the two large bodies of water, Lake Shinji, the 8th biggest lake in Japan, and Nakaumi, a large lagoon, take up much of the space where the sea used to be.

Even 1500 years ago, at the time of the first Izumo myths, much of what is now land was still estuary and marsh. The peninsula is the land at the heart of the Kunibiki Myth, wherein a kami pulls land from three other places to make the peninsula.

In pre-modern Japan, coastal shrines and temples used their lanterns as navigation guides for  ships at sea.

In the Meiji Period, with the opening up of more and more ports to foreign shipping, Japan began building western-style lighthouses.

In 1899, Hamada and Sakaiminato ports were opened to foreign trade, and in response, Hinomisaki Lighthouse was built.

It opened in 1903, and I believe it was the tallest lighthouse in East Asia at that time.

It remains the tallest lighthouse in Japan and was made an Important Cultural Property a few years ago. It is also included in the top 100 lighthouses of the world.

It is 43 metres high and built out of a cut-stone exterior and brick interior.

The light, which has the biggest lense in Japan , is 63 meters above sea level and can be seen from 40 kilometers away.

For a small fee visitors can climb to the top and enjoy the fantastic views.

There is a really nice walk around the cape....

With a major shrine nearby, the two small fishing villages have a collection of ryokan and minshuku and a modern, luxury Onsen

This visit was on mid-summers day, 2020, and I was on day 7 of my walk exploring the details of the Sea of Japan coastline....

The previous post was on the walk up the coast from Taisha Port...

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.