Mizunokuni (outside)

This is one of my favorite museums in all of Japan. The setting, landscaping and water-scaping, architecture, artworks, and even the lunches in the cafe are all excellent, and yet the place is empty most days.

It's only a few kilometers from where I live, and I drove by it hundreds of times and never went in, presuming it to be overpriced and boring like so many provincial museums.

When I finally made it in I was gobsmacked and have been back many times since.

The museums proper name is Museum 104 (104 degrees being the angle between the 2 hydrogen atoms in a water molecule.... but you knew that already!)

 but it is known as Mizunokuni,.... Waterland...., and as might be guessed, it focuses on the art, and science, of water.

The museum was designed by Takano Hiroyuki, and opened in 1997.

The main building is meant to represent Noah's Ark resting on Mount Ararat, but to me it looks more like a bridge.

Unfortunately, the museum closed to the public a few years ago.

The buildings still stand so much of what is in these photos can still be seen....

Nakayama Terraced Rice Paddies Shodoshima

 

Deep in the interior of Shodoshima Island is an area of terraced rice paddies.

There are said to be about 800 terraces.

They were constructed by clearing the forest and using stone retaining walls.

It was done during the 14th century,

It is in the top 100 rice terraces in Japan.

The paddies are fed by spring water originating in the grounds of the next temple I will visit on the Shodoshima Pilgrimage, temple 44, Yufuneyama Renge Temple.

The spring is listed in the Top 100 waters of Japan,

The Japanese do seem to have a fascination with rice paddy terraces and do offer tours to them, but for the rest of us they can be seen while walking the pilgimage. If you visit in May and June when they are recently flooded and planted then they are a bit more impressive. I was here mid winter so not so attractive.

The previous post in this series was on the nearby temples 43 & 45.

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 It will not be published and made public.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.

The Sun Sets on the Yamaguchi Coastline

 

As day 20 draws to a close, I find myself back on the coast for the final leg, walking into Tokuyama.

Our feathered friends seem to have called it a day....

Now I am in the Shunan industrial zone and once again factories dominate the coastline...

Not sure what all these industrial facilities are producing, though I'm pretty sure some are refineries...

I've also read ammonia and synthetic rubber are also produced here..

There are some pretty tall chimneys around Tokuyama, maybe 200 mters tall, spewing who knows what into the atmosphere.

When I visited Tokuyama some years ago I was surprised to learn that there were boat tours to views the night-time views of the industrial area.

Called Kojo Yakei in Japanese, apparently, these tours are increasingly popular in many of the industrial areas especially around Tokyo.

I now read that here in the Shunan area of Yamaguchi there are also bus tours in the evening to various spots with views of the illuminated industrial superstructures.

One hotel has a few rooms with views of the factories and they are priced much higher than the room that do not.

When I finally got into Tokuyama and checked into my room I went down to the small park next to the ferry terminal for the ferry to Kunisaki in Oita, a ferry I have taken many times.

There were illuminations in the park, shown in the final three photos of this post.

The previous post was on the walk in the mountains before I reached the coast.

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.