Yumeminato Tower

 

Japan has a lot of observation towers, a few, like in Tokyo, are not on the coast, but the vast majority are.

Yumeminato Tower is located in Sakaiminato, the port town in Tottori, now famous for Yokai.

At 43 meters in height, it is one of the smaller towers.

On clear days there are great views of Mount Daisen, the highest mountain in the Chugoku Region. Unfortunately, on the day I took these pics, it was cloudy, and Daisen could not be seen.

However, there was a good view down on Yumeminato Park.

The park, tower, and adjacent exhibition building were all built for the Japan Expo Tottori 97, which ran over the summer of 1997.

While not huge, I did enjoy the interior structure of the tower with its steel interior and wooden exterior.

It was designed by Hirofumi Sugimoto.

There is a cafe at the observation deck level. Entry is 300 yen for adults....

This is the first post in a small series on the delights of Sakaiminato. Earlier posts of mine cover the huge number of yokai statues along the Mizuki Shigeru Road. Yokai 1, Yokai 2, and Yokai 3.

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Across the Ou Plain

 

The first part of day 44 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was in Higashi Izumo, and I walked across the Ou Plain, once home to the provincial capital of Izumo.

My first stop was Kamosu Shrine with its National Treasure main hall. Just across the road from the entrance to the shrine was a rice paddy with black rice.

I don't remember ever coming across black rice before. Red rice I have seen growing and have eaten, but not black. I wonder if it is just a coincidence that it is grown next to the shrine, or if it is grown for a ritual. I have not seen mention of such a ritual in my readings on Kamosu Shrine...

Between Kamosu Shrine and Rokusho Shrine there was a roadside altar with this delightful, aged statue. I think it may be a Dainichi.

A line of giants march across the land from the nuclear power station NW of Matsue. I am reminded of Kurosawa, one of the great Japanese film directors, and a favorite of mine, who stopped making historical movies in Japan because there were so few places where power lines could not be found intruding into the view.

My route roughly followed the course of the Iu River, which empties into the Nakaumi Lagoon.

A small tunnel cuts through a hillside as I start to turn East and head over  some low hills.

It is early October, and some of the paddies have been harvested, some not yet. The paddies in this area, being a plain, are so much larger than in my area where the valleys are narrow.

As I gain a little elevation, I can see the Nakaumi Lagoon and the eastern end of the Shimane Peninsula beyond.

Not completely sure, but I believe this Praying Mantis, Kamakiri in Japanese, is nearing the end of its lifecycle....

Whereas this guy has a few more months before needing to hibernate for a while.

Across rural Japan are thousands and thousands of construction company yards filled with scaffolding and other equipment,.... many of these yards are abandoned....

The previous post in the series was on Rokusho Shrine....

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 last ten posts.