Gardens at Jodo-ji Temple Onomichi

 

Jodo-ji is an ancient temple said to have been founded by Prince Shotoku Taishi in the early 7th century.

Many of the current buildings date to the early 14th century and two are Nationl Treasures.

Surprisingly Jodo-ji is located nowhere near Kyoto or Nara, but in the old port town of Onomichi in Hiroshima.

On this visit I was walking the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage and Jodo-ji is temple number 9.

Next post I will cover the temple, but for now I focus on the garden.

The garden only dates back to the Edo Period.

Dated to 1806, the designer was Hasegawa Senryu, claimed to be a 13th generation descendant of Sesshu the famed artist and garden designer.

Curious as there were no records of Sesshu having any children.

Generally it is considered a karesansui garden, although a narrow waterway, barely visibly, runs between the area of raked gravel and the artificial hill.

Overlooking the garden is the teahouse Rotekian.

This was originally located inside Momoyama Castle by Hideyoshi.

It was moved here in 1814.

Unfortunately, the garden around the teahouse is rarely open to the public.

There is also a smaller South Garden, photos below....

The previous post in this series was on the ferry ride getting to Onomichi

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.

Mukaijima

After spending the morning exploring Onomichi's temple walk it was time to head off on my walk from Honshu to Shikokju along the Shimanami Kaido.

The easiest and most convenient way is to take one of the small ferries that cross the narrow channel seperating Onomichi from Mukaijima. There is a bridge but it is out of the downtown area and is very busy with traffic so cyclists on the Shimanami kaido are recommended to take the ferry.

There is not a lot to see along the way for the first few kilometers until you reach the west side of the island where the town ends and the nice coastline and views begin. Muakaijima is connected to the small island of Iwashijima by bridge.

From then on the views are great as you walk down the west coast of the island to the first big bridge to crossm the Innoshima Suspension Bridge.

Onomichi City Museum of Art

The Museum of Art in Onomichi, Hiroshima, is located on top of the mountain overlooking the town and the nearby islands.

It was designed by world-famous Japanese architect Tadao Ando, and while the combination of modern glass and steel with the traditional curved roof is interesting, it is in my opinion not one of his better designs.

The museum hosts various changing exhibitions and has a cafe with great views.

It is possible to drive up, but the easiest way is to take the Senkoji Ropeway. The museum is a few minbutes walk from the mountaintop station.

It's open from 9 to 5 and is closed on Mondays.