Showing posts with label landscape. Show all posts
Showing posts with label landscape. Show all posts

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Akiyoshidai: the biggest karst in Japan


hagi3672

Compared to some countries Japan does not have a great diversity of landscapes. The first place  I visited in Japan that struck me as unusual for Japan was Akiyoshidai in central Yamaguchi.

hagi3673

It is a karst, a limestone plateau, and is in fact the largest karst in Japan with an area of about 130 square kilometers.

hagi3675

Some 300 million years ago it was a large coral reef which rose above the sea and became limestone. Being soluble the limestone is easily eroded by water and has created the unusual  landscape of rolling hills with sinkholes and unusual protruding rocks. It also is home to hundreds of caves, including Akiyoshido, the largest in Japan.

hagi3678

Off in the distance the more usual Japanese landscape can be glimpsed.

hagi3684

The early Japanese eventually cut down the forest that stood over the plateau and replaced it with Susuki, Japanese Pampas Grass, which they used as fodder and thatch. To stop the forest from regrowing the plateau is burned every February.

hagi3688

There are numerous trails all over the plateau and it offers an unusual landscape in any season of the year.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Sunset over the Yoshino River Valley


h247

The first 10 temples of the Shikoku Pilgrimage are along the north side of the Yoshino River. Number 11, Fujiidera is at the base of the mountains to the south of the river. On the trail up the mountains to temple number 12 is the Hashiyama Rest Hut, a concrete roof over a concrete picnic table. Here i made camp for the night and settled in to enjoy the views. Down below is part of Kamojima.

h248

Looking upstream to the West.

h249

Far to the East, where the river reached the sea with Awaji Island in the distance.

h250

Down below and a little east, Ishii Town,

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Typical Japanese Landscape 27

tp35

At this time of the year, and others too, there is not a lot of color.

tp25

Grey greens, grey browns, grey blues, etc

tp1

One could think that one was in a 3D ink wash painting.....

z18

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Typical Japanese Landscape 26

osaka4575

Foothills of Katsuragi Mountain (Nara) at sunset.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Typical Japanese Landscape 24

sh379

With a total length of 29,761 Kms, the coastline of Japan is where a large proportion of the population lived historically. The idea, underpinning much Nihonjinron, that the Japanese were primarily rice-growers is, I think, an exaggeration and a fairly modern invention.

This small port is in Asahi Town, in the SW corner of Kochi Prefecture on Shikoku.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Typical Japanese Landscape 23

31march6662

This is a view looking up the valley of Ato Town in northern Yamaguchi, not far from Tsuwano.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Typical Japanese Landscape 22

fuk938

Most major Japanese cities, like many major cities around the world, are located on the estuaries where large rivers reach the coast. This is the Naka River runing through Fukuoka.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Typical Japanese Landscape 21

fuk949

This is in Tenjin, Fukuoka, but it could be any Japanese city.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Typical Japanese Landscape 20



The last 2 weeks has seen a flurry of activity in the countryside as rice paddies are prepared and flooded and the rice plants transplanted. At night the chorus of thousands of frogs echoes up the valley.

ichi5430

These photos were taken in my village.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Typical Japanese Landscape 18

dt5748

Though you will often see images of the Shinkansen hurtling past Mount Fuji, the Shinkansen mostly runs through the heavily populated corridor along the Pacific Coast between Tokyo and Fukuoka.

This was shot in downtown Hiroshima.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Typical Japanese Landscape 16

fuk502

A view over the rooftops in Hakata, Fukuoka; though it could be any Japanese city.

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Japan Photo Contest

m1314

This is the view up the valley from Tanijyugo. I live on the other side of the mountain on the left.

Which has nothing to do with this post except that it is a photo of Japan, and the good folks over at JapanVisitor are having a Japan Photo contest.

It's open to amateurs, free to enter, and cool prizes. Full details here

http://www.japanvisitor.com/index.php?cID=358&pID=1912

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Sunset over Takashima

pasar1

Living as I do in a narrow, steep valley, I rarely get to see the sunrise or sunset, so it was particularly exciting yesterday evening to watch the spectacular sunset over Takashima.

We were in Miho Misumi, about half-way between Hamada and Masuda. Takashima lies a couple of kilometres offshore. It is now uninhabited, but was inhabited until fairly recently.

pasar2

Takashima should not be confused with Takeshima! Takeshima is the Japanese name for a group of rocks that lie much closer to Korea than Japan, and are controlled by Korea who call them Dokdo. Currently there is a diplomatic spat between the 2 countries as the Japanese Education Ministry has decided to teach Japanese children that Dokdo belongs to Japan. Japan claimed ownership in 1905 a short while before they annexed Korea and while the Korean Foreign Ministry was already controlled by Japan and therefore in no position to argue. Historically the Korean claim to the rocks is much stronger. Japan has territorial disputes with Korea, China, Taiwan, and Russia..... all of its neighbors!

Friday, June 13, 2008

Gotsu Sunset

Gotsu sunset

The skyline of Gotsu is dominated by the smokestacks and industrial structures of the cellulose factory. Snapped this a few hours ago from the car as we crossed the bridge on the way home.