Okuizumo Vineyard

Other than Omiki in matsuri season I rarely drink any alcohol, maybe 6 bottles of beer a year, but when offered samples to taste at Okuizumo winery I couldn't refuse.

The winery moved to its current location in the hills above the Hi River near Kisuki about 8 years ago. Wine has been drunk in Japan since the first christian missionaries brought it, but the first attempt to produce it domestically was not until the Meiji era, however, a boom began post WWII, and now there are many vineyards all over Japan.

Okuizumo Vineyard has won prizes for some of their wines, but I wouldn't put too much stock in Japanese prizes......

For some reason they also had a small collection of donkeys.

and a nice flower garden leading to the shop and restaurant

Mojiko Retro Tower

The Mojiko Retro Tower is a 127 meter high-rise apartment building next to the harbor in Mojiko.

On the 31st floor there is an observation deck with great views across the straits to Shimonoseki.

It was built in 1999 and was designed by famed architect Kisho Kurokawa.

The observation deck is open from 10am till 10pm and entrance is 300 yen.

Reiko -Ji

Reiko-Ji is the only remaining temple building in Tachikue Gorge. When the area was a stronghold of Shugendo there were many more.

The large Owaraji (straw sandals) are a common offering at temples and shrines, but as far as I can remember this is the only shimenawa I've seen adorning a temple building. I've been unable to find out why.

In 852 a monk discovered a statue of Yakushi Nyorai, the healing buddha, on the back of a giant blue turtle. He removed the statue and placed it in a nearby cave. The Emperor, on hearing the story, founded the temple, so it was probably a Shingon temple originally.

Now it belongs to the Soto Zen sect. Home to more than 1,500 statues, Tachikue Gorge is located 8k south of Izumo City on the Kando River

Sai Shrine

The full name of Sai shrine is Sainiimasuomiwaaramitama Shrine. It enshrines Omiwa Aramitama, the spirit of the sacred mountain Mount Miwa. It is an affiliate shrine of the great Omiwa Shrine, and is located right next door, close to the southern end of the Yamanobenomichi in Nara Prefecture.

Mount Miwa has been sacred since ancient times, and is an example of a "kannabi", a mountain where the kami resides IN the mountain, rather than descending onto the mountain. After ceding "Japan" to the Yamato, Okuninushi settled in Mount Miwa, and 5 of his relatives from Izumo inhabited other mountains surrounding the Yamato Basin, and it seems most likely that the concept of kannabi is from Izumo

It is possible to go up on the mountain, though there are many restrictions. There are about 6 periods during the year when it is forbidden, but the rest of the time you pay a fee of 300 yen, put on a white sash and begin the climb here. No photography or eating is allowed, and you can only spend 3 hours.

The spring at the shrine is renowned for its healing qualities.

Kotoshironushi, Okuninushi's son, is also enshrined here.

A visit from our mountain neighbors

All afternoon yesterday the forest behind my house was alive with the calls of our troop of monkeys. My human neighbor was away, so there had been no firecrackers set off to drive the monkeys away.

This troop, with about thirty members, are very shy and skittish which makes it hard to get good photos of them. 100 meters away on the opposite hillside is another troop of mo nkeys that are far more aggressive.

I've been very fortunate in my life to have lived many years surrounded by and among wild critters. It helps me, I think, to maintain a certain perspective on my place in the scheme of things.

The monkeys, wild boars, foxes, badgers, etc etc can at times cause problems, but they are more than offset by what they give, to me at least.

Thanks to my wife

This is my beautiful wife Yoko.

While there are countless reasons for me to thank her, in this instance I'd like to thank her for all the help she patiently gives me with this blog.

I'm sure it is no fun researching obscure points in topics she has absolutely no interest in.

The Kaikyo Dramaship

The Kaikyo Dramaship (kaikyo means straits) is located in Mojiko on the Kyushu side of the narrow Kammon Straits that seperate Kyushu from Honshu.

It houses various displays concerning the history, culture, and nature of the straits.

It was opened in 2003 and the Environmental Design Institute and the Morikawa Design Corporation were among its group of designers.

It's right on the waterfront with excellent views across to Shimonoseki. Entrance is 500yen for adults and it's open from 9 to 5 daily.

Moored just in front was this strange looking tour boat named the Voyager.

It was built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in 1993 and supposedly the design was inspired by Saturn. Unfortunately it was taken out of service last year as it was no longer financially viable.

Suisei-en

Suise -en is built on a strip of land dividing two ancient ponds at the base of Mount Miwa in Nara. It is on the yamanobenomichi. I can find almost no information about the place.

Is it a shrine? or is it a temple?.... it has the trappings of both, which is how most religious sites were until the Meiji government "separated" Shinto and Buddhism. Here is an Inari shrine. (or is it Dakiniten, the buddhist manifestation of Inari?

In my original notes I have the names Benzaiten and Hachidai Ryu. hachidai Ryu is the Eight Dragon Kings, and is also sometimes equated with Benzaiten. Both have a strong association with water, so that makes sense.

There are also lots of buddhist statues. It was here that I found this tableau of lucky gods.

Red Hats & Bibs: Individual style

Conforming to the group, and not standing out from the crowd, are attributes much cherished in Japan. And so it is also for the statues. There is a standard cap and bib that most statues wear.

Among the 1,500 statues in Tachikue Gorge, however, there were some statues wearing unique and individual outfits. This guy could not be cosier.

For some the Russian peasant woman look is the way to go.

Kawaii (cute) is always an option in Japan.

But for some, "au naturelle"

How Japanese tunnels are built

Our new tunnel will shorten our drive down the river to Gotsu by a little more than 200 meters. Being straight the tunnel will also be more fuel efficient to drive. A rough calculation says that with present traffic density the fuel savings will have paid for the tunnel in only a few million years. Incidentally, that is my village to the left of the tunnel.

This is the machine that actually drills its way through the mountain. I was expecting to see a huge machine almost as big as the tunnel.... watched too many movies I guess! These smaller drill splay out at any angle.

The next stage is to put up steel arches and then a series of steel beams are driven into the mountain radiating out from the tunnel. Then the tunnel is coated in a thin layer of concrete.

The purpose of the steel beams is to stop the tunnel collapsing under the weight of the mountain, represented here in this demonstration by steel nuts.

Next a thick, waterproof, plastic membrane covers the inside of the tunnel followed by a frame of reinforcing rebar,

The final stage involves this huge machine on rails which is a movable form. Its used to pour the final inner walls of the tunnel.