Modern Architecture of the Fukuoka Waterfront

 

On my second visit to the city of Fukuoka, many years ago,  I spent an afternoon photographing the architecture in the waterfront area stretching from Momochi to Hakata Port.

The Momochi district where I began is built on reclaimed land so everything is new.

Lots of apartments...

I previously posted  on the Fukuoka City Museum and the Fukuoka Tower in this area....

Mostly I have chosen photographs that are somewhat abstract and geometric, rather than showcasing the buildings as a whole.

This makes photos that resemble the kind of paintings I used to make 40 to 60 years ago...

The photo above is of the TNC Broadcasting Centre next to the Fukuoka Tower. The previous photo is of the Fukuoka City Library.

Below is one of the corner entrances of an otherwise non-descript office building, the NCB Seaside Building.

I think it may now have a different colour-scheme...

The photo above is not actually architecture, rather a view of a very large public sculpture. Not far away is the unusual Twins Momochi.

Across the river these two shots are of what was called the Yahoo Dome when I was there. Now it is called the Mizuho PayPay Dome.

Next door is the Seahawk Hotel which I covered in 2 posts, one on the main hotel, and the second on the impressive atrium.

Just inland from the dome is a huge shopping mall, itself an ugly concrete box, but the movie theatre had some nice decoration.

Next I headed up towards the port area of Hakata.

I posted earlier on the Hakata Port Tower.

A nice water reflection can make any architecture look interesting... below an unusual angle and crop of the Sun Palace Hotel...

And then a short walk upriver towards my hotel, and I couldn't refuse this shot that presented itself.

The previous post in the series was on Marine Messe Fukuoka.

If you would like to subscribe by email just leave your email 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 It will not be published and made public.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.

Iwakuni to Obatake a Pleasant Walk Along the Seashore

 

11th November, 2014. After a good sleep in a hotel I am up before the sun and on my way down the Yamaguchi coastline on day 18 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage. Winter days are so short that I need to use all the available light. I am past the industrial areas when the sun comes up.

Usually where a river enters the sea will be a settlement....

The main Sanyo Line railway hugs the coast....

Someone getting ready to look for breakfast.....

Much of the route the road separated steepish slopes from the water....

Nice to see some sea defenses made out of stone and not concrete....

Beach used for school gym or sports class....

Every settlement has a harbour,,, usually with plentiful concrete...

A constant stream of planes heading in to land at Iwakuni. Both an American Marine base and a Japanese SDF base. American fighter jets from Iwakuni regularly buzz our village..... way below the legal altitude, something they would not do in a more populated area, they shake my house.... I guess the pilots are imagining themselves as Tom Cruise...

The Local History & Folklore Museum in the town of Yuu was intriguing.....

It was not open the day I passed by, but I believe much of their content is sea and fishing based...

Roadside attractions in Japan often veer towards the surreal and bizarre... As I approached my first thought was that it would be a restaurant and gift shop...

Sea defenses..... In general, I find the predominant Japanese attitude towards the natural world to be that it is an enemy. Something to be tamed, and controlled... like in a Japanese garden....

Not sure what plant these red berries are of.... though I have one in front of my house....

The Inland Sea is dotted with dozens and dozens of islands, many too small to have inhabitants.... in the far distance is the coast of Shikoku....

The channel between the mainland and Suo Oshima Island narrows. Stretching halfway across to Shikoku, Suo-Oshima is one of the bigger islands in the Inland Sea...

The Oshima Bridge crosses to Suo Oshima Island, a distance of about 1 kilometer. Time to start looking for a place to set out my sleeping bag.

The previous post in this series was on the previous day's walk from Miyajima to Iwakuni.

Tamawakasu Shrine Dogo

 

Tamawakasu Shrine on Dogo Island was the primary shrine for all of the Oki Islands, which until the late 19th century constituted a separate province of Japan.

Little is known about he main kami, Tamawakasu, although he is believed to be the founder and pioneer of the Oki Islands, said to be a descendant of Okuninushi.

Other kami enshrined here are Okuninushi, Susanoo, Inadahime, and Kotoshironushi.

Pretty much the main pantheon of Izumo.

Whoever the chieftan of the islands was, in the late 7th century when the Yamato government attempted to unify Japan, the chieftain was installed  as the governor of the province. Behind the shrine is a group of keyhole tombs, said to be the graves of the rulers of the area.

The family of priests who have controlled the shrine since then, the Oki Family, are descendants of the governor.

Their house is next door and I will cover that in the next post in the series.

The house, the honden of the shrine, and the Zuijinmon gate are all Important Cultural Properties, and are all thatched. The architectural style of the buildings is unique to the Oki Islands.

The honden dates to 1793, the house to 1801, and the zuijinmon to 1852

There is a huge, ancient Sugi tree estimated to be at least a thousand years old. Another fell down fairly recently.

It is called Yao Sugi, because the nun who planted it vowed to return in 800 years.

June 5th is the annual festival and it features horses. 8 horses bring the local kami from 8 different districts and numerous ceremonies are performed including galloping horses and yabusame, horseback archery. In former times horses from 48 districts would arrive.

The previous post in this series was on a scenic boat ride exploring the coast, river and main port of Dogo.