Scenic Ferry Ride from Tsuneishi to Onomichi

 

After leaving Abuto Kannon, I walked up the west coast of the peninsula until as far as Tsuneishi from where I hopped on a small car ferry heading to Onomichi.

Japan is an archipelago of thousands of islands, and one of the areas of Japan where this is most obvious is the Inland Sea between Honshu and Shikoku.

A good chunk of the shipbuilding industry is centred here as the waters are relatively calm.

This curious piece of architecture is called Ribbon Hall and seems to be used primarily as a wedding chapel at a resort.

Nowadays many of the islands are connected by bridges to each other or two the main islands of Hinshu, Shikoku, or Kyushu,  but small ferries are still needed for the numerous unconnected islands.

Looking back, I had earlier walked past the Utsumi Bridge which connects the Numakuma Peninsula to Tajima Island.

First stop of the ferry was Momojima Island.

The "floating torii" of Itsukushima Shrine in Urasaki was built in 1977 emulating its head shrine on Miyajima.

A small car ferry links Tozaki on the peninsula with Uta on Mukaishima Island.

The Inland Sea, Setnaikai in Japanese, was the main transportation route in historical Japan, a country with many mountains, few wheeled vehicles, and few roads.

Getting closer to Onomichi, the big shipbuilding area lies to the east of the town.

The channel between Onomichi  and Mukaijima is as narrow as a river, but some serious, ocean-going vessels are built and repaired here.

While so much of Japan has been "renovated" there are still remnant of a funkier type of architecture, as below....

The Shimanami Kaido, an expressway that links Honshu to Shikoku via 6 islands, crosses the narrow strait. The small bridge carries non-expressway traffic.

Striking because of its rarity, a domestic house with stylish, modern architecture, rather than the cooki-cutter houses of most of Japan...

Just a few minutes away from the destination....

The final two photos are of the two pilgrimage temples, Jodo-ji, and Senko-ji, that I will visit once the ferry docks.

The previous post in this series was on Abuto Kannon, the striking vermillion temple overlooking the sea.

Koryuji Bangai Temple 10 Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage

 

Nishiyama Koryuji Temple, number 10 of the "extra" temples known as Bangai or Bekkaku, is located a short detour from the main pilgrimage route between temple 59, Kokubunji, and temple 60, Yokomineji.

After climbing a gentle slope there are great views looking down and over Saijo City.

The road then enters the forest and starts to climb more steeply and you then cross the Miyuryu Bridge.

Arriving at the Niomon gate with its fine pair of guardians.

Whereas many temples claim Kobo Daishi as their founder, many more claim to have been founded by Gyoki, around a century before Kobo Daishi's time.

Koryuji claims to predate Gyoki, which I'm sure makes it one of the oldest temples on the pilgrimage.

It is said to have been founded in 642 and was later visited by both Gyoki and Kobo Daishi.

The honzon is a Thousand-Armed Kannon

The Daishi-do is a much more modern, concrete structure.

The current main hall was built at the end of the 14th century. It is an Important Cultural Property.

Jibo Kannon-do

A trail leads up to a small shrine enshrining Ishizuchi Gongen, Ishizuchi being the highest mountain on Shikoku and home to a large and important Shugendo centre.

I visited late in winter, but the temple is famous as an Autumn Viewing spot as it has 300 maple trees in the grounds.

The three-storey Pagoda dates to 1836.

The previous temple was number 59, the Iyo Kokubunji Temple.

Akashi Kaikyo Suspension Bridge

 

When it was completed in 1998, the Akashi Kaikyo Suspension Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world, a title it held until 2022 when a bridge in Turkey, the Canakkale Bridge took the title.

Though only the second longest suspension bridge in the world, it is nonetheless an impressive sight.

It crosses from Akashi, near Kobe on the main island of Honshu, over to Awaji Island, from where another bridge crosses over to Shikoku. The bridge is clearly seen from the train line connecting Kobe with Okayama, as well as obviously the expressway that it carries across the channel.

Underneath the bridge on the Kobe side is a museum about the bridge and its construction, and is well worth a visit.

The bridge is 3.9 kilometers in total length, and with a central span of 1,991 meters, the dimension usually used in measuring longest bridges.

The two towers supporting the bridges are 282 meters high. It is possible to book a tour that takes you up to the very top of one of these towers, an experience I heartily recommend and which I posted on earlier.

The bridge is more than 65 meters above the water at its central point.

The museum has great exhibits showing how the bridge was built, methods used, and how it is maintained.

Member of a tour to climb one of the tours get a guided tour of the museum as well.

A cross section of one of the enormous cables that carry the bridge.

There is an observation deck below the bridge that is accessed vis a walkway under the bridge that has sections of glass floor.

There is a cafe and shop with great views up and down the coast.

Called the Maiko Marine Promenade, it is accessed via elevators next to the museum building and costs just 300 yen and involves a 300 meter walk. At the point of the observation deck you are 47 meters above the water.

Around the base of the bridge on the Kobe side is Maiko Park with a couple of historic buildings including the Sun Yat Sen memorial Hall, a 1915 building showing materials about the Chinese revolutionary.

Dream Lens is a circular stone sculpture that is a very popular spot for taking photos of the bridge. Top photo.

The previous post in this series was on the nearby Akashi Castle. In case you missed it I highly recommend the post on the view from the top of the bridge.