Magical Giant Bamboo Forests of Sasaguri

 

One of the great bonuses found on the Sasaguri Pilgrimage is that numerous times the walking trail passes through pristine forests of Giant Bamboo.

With only the merest whisper of a breeze, the bamboos clack against each other like wind chimes....

I know that the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest is one of the most popular tourist sites in all of Japan, but who prefers shuffling shoulder to shoulder through a manicured park with literally thousands of people, when you could be alone deep inside a magical space...?

That was a rhetorical question. The value of Arashiyama is you can take the same photos as millions and millions of other people and then post them on the same social media sites....

But, for the rest of us, I highly recommend the Sasaguri Pilgrimage.... very close to Hakata and you don't have to do the whole 4 days.....

These pics were taken after leaving a couple of temples in the Nakanokawachi area....

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Modern Architecture of the Fukuoka Waterfront

 

On my second visit to the city of Fukuoka, many years ago,  I spent an afternoon photographing the architecture in the waterfront area stretching from Momochi to Hakata Port.

The Momochi district where I began is built on reclaimed land so everything is new.

Lots of apartments...

I previously posted  on the Fukuoka City Museum and the Fukuoka Tower in this area....

Mostly I have chosen photographs that are somewhat abstract and geometric, rather than showcasing the buildings as a whole.

This makes photos that resemble the kind of paintings I used to make 40 to 60 years ago...

The photo above is of the TNC Broadcasting Centre next to the Fukuoka Tower. The previous photo is of the Fukuoka City Library.

Below is one of the corner entrances of an otherwise non-descript office building, the NCB Seaside Building.

I think it may now have a different colour-scheme...

The photo above is not actually architecture, rather a view of a very large public sculpture. Not far away is the unusual Twins Momochi.

Across the river these two shots are of what was called the Yahoo Dome when I was there. Now it is called the Mizuho PayPay Dome.

Next door is the Seahawk Hotel which I covered in 2 posts, one on the main hotel, and the second on the impressive atrium.

Just inland from the dome is a huge shopping mall, itself an ugly concrete box, but the movie theatre had some nice decoration.

Next I headed up towards the port area of Hakata.

I posted earlier on the Hakata Port Tower.

A nice water reflection can make any architecture look interesting... below an unusual angle and crop of the Sun Palace Hotel...

And then a short walk upriver towards my hotel, and I couldn't refuse this shot that presented itself.

The previous post in the series was on Marine Messe Fukuoka.

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Marine Messe Fukuoka

The Marine Messe is located on the waterfront in Hakata, close to the Hakata Port Tower.

It is an exhibition space, conference center, and a sports arena.

It was opened in 1995 and was designed by Nihon Sekkei.

It is the largest indoor multi-purpose facility in the prefecture.

For concerts it can accommodate audiences up to 15,000

The previous post in this series on the modern architecture of Fukuoka was on the nearby Hakata Port Tower 

Hakata Port Tower

This was originally known as the Fukuoka Tower, but was renamed Hakata Port Tower when the new Fukuoka Tower was built.

It was built in 1964 and is 103 meters tall with an observation deck at 73 meters.

It was designed by Tachu Naito who designed many TV towers in Japan including Tokyo Tower.

He also designed the current Tsutenkaku Tower in Osaka.

It's open every day of the year, and entrance to the observation deck with a decent 360 degree view is free.

There are several ferry terminals around the tower for local and long distance ferries as well as cruise ships, so various buses can be used to visit the tower.

Around the tower is Bayside Place with numerous shops and eateries and a free two-storey aquarium tank as well as a popular onsen nearby.

The previous post in this series on modern architecture of Fukuoka was on the atrium at the Seahawk Hotel.