Akiyoshidai: the biggest karst in Japan

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

Sunset over the Yoshino River Valley

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.

Looking upstream to the West.

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

Down below and a little east, Ishii Town,

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

Grey greens, grey browns, grey blues, etc

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

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Foothills of Katsuragi Mountain (Nara) at sunset.

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The display of Fall colors begins. Today in my village.

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The view from the top of Sangaisan (378m) looking SW towards Taimasan.

Looking SE, inland towards Kanagi.

NE along the coast towards Gotsu.

Looking down over the university and port at Hamada.

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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.

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

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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.

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

More typical Japanese landscapes....

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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.

These photos were taken in my village.

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Most Japanese have lived along the coasts or on the plains, but there have always been some who lived deep in the mountains. The above shot is near Yasaka in Iwami. Iwami has no plains, so more people have traditionally lived in the mountains, but the number is decreasing.

This shot is from central Shikoku.

The people I have met while walking in the mountains have always been a little friendlier than most Japanese. Maybe I'm projecting, but they also seem to be a little more independant.

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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.

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Driving around the past couple of days, this has been a typical view. Fields of rape.

It used to be far more typical.

If you want to know about rapeseed in Japan, this article is excellent.

In fact at a cursory glance the website seems to have some excellent articles on the state of Japanese agriculture as well as information on traditional foods and methods.

Down in northern Hiroshima in Oasa Town they have planted all the unused land in rape. It is then sold at a competitive price to local households. The used oil is then collected and used to power the towns buses and taxis.

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

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With 10% of all the active volcanoes on the planet located in Japan, a volcano must be a typical Japanese landscape. This one is Mount Sanbe here in Iwami, and at 1126 metres is the highest point in Iwami, but a dwarf compared to Japans most famous volcano, Mt. Fuji.

The last eruption was about 1,400 years ago, but 3,500 years ago there was a major eruption that buried the forest under hundreds of feet of ash.

Actually Sanbe has 7 peaks, with a caldera about 1k across between them.

In the foreground is the Gonokawa River.

Japan Photo Contest

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

Sunset over Takashima

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.

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!

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.