Kappa Sightseeing Boat Oki Islands

 

The Kappa Sightseeing Boat operates three times a day for a one-hour-long scenic tour around the historic port area of Saigo on Dogo Island , Okinoshima, in the Sea of Japan off the north coast of mainland Shimane.

Tour participants meet at the Tourist Information Office near the ferry terminal, and a 5-minute walk through the back streets takes you to the jetty where you board the covered boats.

The boat first heads out to the narrow mouth of the sheltered inlet, where you can look back at the port and the high country in the middle of the island behind.

Some of the geologic features of the coast are pointed out by the guide, though the commentary is only in Japanese. 

The Oki Islands are a UNESCO Global Geopark, so geology is a well-covered topic throughout the islands with plenty of printed material and signs in English on it.

You may also catch sight of one of the huge car ferries or the high-speed passenger ferry coming or going.

 Before heading upriver, the boat makes a detour under the 260-meter-long Saigo Bridge, which carries traffic over to the island's only airport and to Shirataki Point, a favorite spot for sunset viewing.

After a few bends the river soon leaves the town behind and the banks are lined with reeds or trees. Here the guide points out a couple of the haunts of the Kappa, the mythological creature that is probably the best known yokai character in Japan and after whom the boat trip is named.

 Often translated into English as “water imp”, this green, scaly creature with a beak and turtle-like shell is known throughout Japan and is known for drowning horses and children. It really likes cucumber, so kappazushi, a kind of sushi made with cucumbers, is often left as offerings to appease it. At this point the guide sings a local folk song.

  After turning around the boat heads back and then takes the narrow channel that cuts through the middle of the old town. In some ways this is the most interesting part as the side by side houses literally come right down to the waters edge, with the older houses still with small jetties or steps down to the water. As you get closer to the port itself the sides of the river begin to fill with fishing boats.

  

Being an island, fishing has always been a major preoccupation with the inhabitants, but in earlier times the whole channel would have been a hive of activity because Saigo was a major trading port.

 Though much is made of the great roads built in the Edo period like the Tokaido or the Nakasendo, along which travelled the great entourages of daimyos travelling to Edo or the millions of pilgrims heading to Ise, it is worth remembering that Japan was basically a maritime nation, and the coasts and waterways carried much of the trade and communication.

  

Saigo Port was a stopping point on the Kitamaebune, a major trade route that ran from Hokkaido and the far north down the Japan Sea coast and then round into the Inland Sea to reach Osaka, the trading capital of the country. This was a safer and easier route than the shorter Pacific coast route, so this channel would have been filled with boats tying up, cargoes being tran-shipped, and supplies being taken onboard, and though not often mentioned, like ports everywhere in the world , there would have been brisk business for “female companionship”.

 To my mind this was the prettiest sightseeing boat ride in an urban setting. In recent years Ine in Kyoto has been heavily pushed as a tourist spot, but in my humble opinion, the area around Saijo is almost as good and not at all touristy.

The previous post in this series exploring the Oki Islands was on the Suijin Shrine right next to where the Kappa Boat is boarded.

Suijin Shrine Saigo

 

This Suijin Shrine, is located on the waters edge in Saigo, the main port of Dogo, the largest of the Oki Islands in the Sea of Japan off of Shimane.

Most locals refer to it as Tenjinsan, as since at least the 16th century Sugawara Michizane has been enshrined here.

However, towards the end of the Edo period it was decided that this was a Suijin Shrine that had been recorded in the tenth century, and Tenjin had been added later.

I recently covered a similar situation where the Suwa Shrine in Kobe had become overpowered by the Inari that had been enshrined later.

The main kami is now listed as Mizuhanome, though it is unclear if that was a renaming from the Meiji riod when many kami were renamed to fit with the "national" histories of the Kojiki and Nihonshoki.

The previous ost in this series on the Oki Islands was on Takuhi Shrine, one of the most important shrines in the Oki Islands.

Dangyo Shrine & Waterfalls

Deep in the forested mountains of the interior of Dogo, the largest of the Oki Islands, are Dangyo Shrine and its pair of waterfalls. Just outside the torii are a pair of huge, ancient trees. The story is that when Izumo Taisha was being rebuilt the shrine was ordered to supply any such trees for timbers for the construction. The local people moved the torii forward some meters so that the trees then fell outside the shrine grounds and so were spared the felling.

There are two waterfalls here. The smaller is considered female and the larger male. With Japan's obsession with ranking, the waters here are ranked one of the 100 Best Waters of Japan. The water from the female waterfall is considered "winners" water, and is drunk by competitors in human nad bull sumo tournaments.

a couple of small shrines are inside the overhang over which the male waterfall cascades. The male kami here is Oyamakui, an Izumo kami who is famously enshrined at Hie Taisha below Enryakuji. The female kami is Seoritsuhime, not a well known kami but said to be the kami of waterfalls, rapids etc.

Bronze mirrors and other artifacts have been excavated here suggesting that this has been a sacred site since prehistory. Well worth the effort needed to visit, as are all the Oki Islands.

Kabura-Sugi The Turnip Tree of Dogo

This unusual tree is called Kabura Sugi and it can be found on Dogo, the largest of the Oki Islands in the Japan Sea off the coast of Shimane. Kabura is a kind of Japanese turnip-like vegetable with a round body with numerous stems rising vertically.

This particular tree has 6 trunks and rises to about 42 meters. It is estimated to be about 600 years old.

I believe it a species of cypress called Urasugi that is found on the slopes of the mountains on the island. It's more famous cousin found nearby is the Boob Cedar.

When a Tree is a Shrine. Oyama Shrine on Dogo

That a natural phenomenon or an object like a mountain, a rock, a spring, or waterfall could be sacred  or home to something sacred is not at all uniquely Japanese, but a fairly universal occurance. However such things are commonly found throughout Japan. This is Oyama Shrine in the mountains of Dogo, the largest of the Oki Islands that are part of Shimane.

There is a torii and a couple of lanterns, but no buildings. The shrine is a giant tree. It is a sugi, commonly called Japanese Cedar but it is not actually a cedar. It is estimated to be over 800 years old.

In April villagers from Fuso, a fishing village on the coast at the base of the mountains, come here with a long vine and wrap it around the base of the tree seven and a half times. I am unsure if there is a significance to that number. Ritual objects that carry prayers and requests are then inserted into the wrapped vine.

There are quite a few sacred trees on Dogo, a nearby one being the Chichi Sugi. Being remote and isolated the Oki Islands have kept a lot of traditions.

To get a sense of the size of the tree you could see the cover photo on my facebook page

Chichi Sugi... the Boob Cedar

Chichi Sugi, which translates as Boob Cedar is an 800 year old tree on the slopes of Mount Daimanji on Dogo, the biggest of the Oki Islands.

It is an Urasugi, a species that grows on the Japan Sea coast where heavy snowfall causes the trees to produce stronger lateral branches. The rounded protuberances growing down from the branches... which is the origin of its nickname "boob", are believed to help absorb moisture from the air.

Cold air rising from the gaps between the big rocks that form the slope meet warm air from the sea and mean that the area is often misty.

It is one of several sacred trees on the island that are well worth seeking out.

Traditional Boathouses at Tsuma

Funa-Goya are traditional boathouses found all over the Oki Islands, but at Tsuma on the SW coast of Dogo is a collection that are most famous and a sightseeing spot.

Several dozen connected boathouses curve around the waterfront and are quite picturesque.

They are still in use today.

Candle Rock Sunset

While the coastline on the evening cruise was impressive, the trip was times to coincide with sunset at Candle Rock.

Rising about 20 meters high up out of the sea, the rock is so named because when the setting sun sits on top of the rock it looks like a candle.

It was a cloudy evening so I did not hold out much hope of getting a spectacular view, but as the sun got closer to the horizon there were some breaks in the clouds and lo and behold.....

There were several boats out for the show, and the captains are expert at positioning their boats to achieve the perfect shot........ doing it for the passengers on each side of the boat and also backing off and letting the other boats in......

Goods From Japan