Down the Shimanto & Shimonokae Rivers

 

23rd of December, 2011, and I begin day 22 of my walk around the famous Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage by crossing the Shimanto River on the Shimanto River Bridge that carries Route 56 acrossthe river.

There are numerous possible routes down to the next temple at Cape Ashizuri, and I chose this one, if I remember correctly, as it gave me more shrines to visit.

Vast fields of Susuki, Japanese pampas grass, line the banks in places...

I pass under the New Shimanto River Bridge which carries a new expressaway across the river. It is so new that the pilgrim guidebook doesnt even show it...

I suspect these ducks have come from the far north for the winter...

This is one of my favorite times of the year to go walking in Japan. The winter weathe has not yet arrived and the low sun makes for nice photography light.

The days are very short though. Winter Solstice was two days ago, so when sleeping out you spend a long time in the sleeping bag.

I've seen people repurpose plastic bottles to make these bird-scaring windmills, but never seen them painted so nicely.

A little before reaching the sea the route cuts inland over some hilly country towards the Shimonokae River...

Though still more than a week till New Year, there are still daidai citrus fruits on this altar

The Shimonokae is a much smaller river than the Shimanto and not at all well known

I follow it down to the coast and then head down the coast as the sun starts to get low.

I get as far as the tiny fishing harbour of Kohama before stopping on a grassy verge overlooking the sea.

The previous post was on the unusual architecture of the Ogata Library in Kuroshio.

If you would like to subscribe by email, just leave your email address in the comments below. It will not be published and made public. I post new content almost everyday, and send out an email about twice a month with short descriptions and links to the last ten posts.

Down the Ota River, Colonel Santa, & Kogoijima Island

 

After descending from Mitakidera I reached the Ota River, one of the main rivers passing through Hiroshima.

Not far from where it enters the sea is Miyajima, site of the next pilgrimage temple, so my route was easy,... along the embankment of the river....

First bridge was the one carrying the JR Kabe Line trains from downtown up to what is now  the northern suburbs.

The left-hand bridge is the Ryuo Bridge for pedestrians and cycles. The Shinryuo Bridge for moter traffic is next to it.

The older bridge on the left carries the JR Sanyo Line, while the newer one is for the shinkansen.

Japanese Pampas Grass, or susuki, is one of the major symbols of Autumn in Japan....

Old-style shopping streets all over Japan are increasingly shuttered as modern Japanese shopping habits change...

I was quite impressed with the architecture of the Hiroden Nishi Hiroshima streetcar station.

Built in 2001, trains from here go to Miyajima-guchi Station. Hiroshima has a very large and well-used tram network.

Though still only early November, Christmas advertising has been underway since Halloween.

Passing under the main expressway bridge...

Though now a little over a kilometer from the sea, this little island was originally just offshore.

Now called Kogoijima Island, the area between here and the current shoreline has been reclamied in the 20th century.

The water around the little island is still seawater though and sea fish can be seen in the pool.

Originally it was paired with a smaller outcropping on the shoreline and they were considered a pair of "married islands" The smaller one disappeared to make way for the main road.

This was originally called Okimi Myojin, hence the floating torii..... 

The previous post was on Mitakidera Temple further up the river in central Hiroshima.

Hunting the Fall Color 2016 Day 3

The third day was overcast and showery, but while taking shelter at the train station in Takahama in the late afternoon I was blessed with a full 180 degree rainbow that over time shrank as the rain passed.

At the start of the day I stopped in at Iwamuroinari Shrine and the splash of color against the colorful honden was nice.

At Matsunoodera, temple 29 of the Saigoku Pilgrimage there was some color, especially the gold of the Gingko tree.

In front of the temples treasure hall was a small garden with sacred rock.

At Nakayamadera temple, part of another Kannon Pilgrimage, but not part of the Saigoku, I had hoped to see inside at some of the special statuary they have, but unfortunately there was no-one about.

Another plant that very much signifies Autumn was susuki, commonly called Japanese Pampas Grass.

Susuki, Japanese Pampas Grass

If there is one plant that symbolizes Autumn in Japan it is Susuki. Miscanthus Sinensis Andress is called Chinese Silver Grass, or Eulalia in English, though it is more commonly known as Japanese Pampas Grass.

Growing to a height of 2 metres, it is a common sight this time of the year along riverbanks and roadsides.

The reeds were formerly used as thatch for roofing.

Susuki appears in many haiku as it is the plant that symbolizes Autumn.