From Susa Bay to Esaki Bay

 

Susa Bay and Esaki Bay are two inlets either side of Mount Takayama that protrudes out into the Japan Sea. There are no roads or trails that go around the coast so my route cuts across.

The cherry blossoms are in full bloom as I meander around the convoluted inlets of Susa Bay.

There is actually not a lot to report..... mountain road was almost completely trafficless and, other than one small roadside shrine, with not much to see...

I can't resist a "Geometric Abstract".....

I have walked thouands of kilometers along roads like this..... no traffic, almost no buildings..... but lots of up then down.... the mountain roads of Japan, now bypassed by new main roads with tunnels...

Esaki Bay, like Susa Bay, is a delight....

In fact, when the sea is calm and the sun is out, the Japan Sea coast of Yamaguchi and Shimane can't be beat, but because there are no shinkansen lines, it remains one of the "hidden" delights of Japan.

Esaki Bay is long and narrow, and at the end where the biggest fishing village is there is a new concrete bridge connecting the two sides of the village.

The previous post in this series on day 32 was on the walk from Utago to Susa.

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 It will not be published and made public.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.

OCAT Osaka City Air Terminal

 

Osaka City Air Terminal does have buses that run to both Kansai Airport and Itami Airport, but in reality it is a multi-use business and commercial complex in Namba.

As well as the bus terminal, which was the biggest in all of west Japan at one point, the complex hosts government offices, commercial offices, and a variety of retail establishments.

I rarely visit cities, so for me they are somewhat similar to safari parks... the chance to see exotic, possibly dangerous, creatures in their natural habitat.

As many of you know, I am also a sucker for modern architecture, and that is usually where my gaze falls....

Two floors of OCAT are below ground, and one of the underground passageways was the subject of the previous post.

I have been unable to find out who created the large metal sculpture in the underground entrance...

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 It will not be published or made public.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

Over the Mountains to Susa

 

After leaving Utago I pass by the relatively famous Sogogawa Bridge.

Built in 1932 it is 189 meters long with a slight curve, and carries the Sanin  Rail Line across the mouth of the Sogo River. Each time I have passed by, there has been a few train enthusiasts who travel from all over the country to snap shots of trains passing over the bridge with the sea as a background.

It's quite a buzz to travel over it by train too....

Now the narrow road heads over the high country before dropping down into Susa Bay.

There were many examples of the concrete grids that replace mountain slopes that have slipped. many were quite new indicating there were some storms recently.

Right at the high point before the road starts to wind down to Susa, was a single farm. No other people lived along the road.

Susa Bay is delightful. On the west side of Mount Takayama, the bay is formed of numerous inlets.

Mount Takayama is the highest mountain in some ways up or down the coast, and according to the curator at the local history museum, it was the landmark used by Susanoo as he sailed up the coast to Izumo on his trips to and from Korea. This is the origin of the town's name.

Across the bay in the mouth of a small inlet is an island with a substantial shrine on it. The island's name is Nakashima, and a gentleman walking his dog told me Benten is enshrined there.

The main harbour and port of Susa comes into view.

In the town, I stop in at a Miho Shrine. Enshrining Kotoshironushi from Mihonoseki, a secondary shrine has Susano as the kami. In the early 20th century with the "shrine consolidation" program, Sugawara Michizane, Konpira, and Ryugujin shrines were added.

The shrine building dates to 1984 following a major storm that destroyed it in 83.

The previous post in this series on day 31 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage was on the shrine in Utago, the last settlement before the walk over the mountains.

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.

From Taisha to Hinomisaki

 

The day after the Summer Solstice, and my route now hugs the convoluted coastline up to Hinomisaki.

Hinomisaki is the western cape of the Shimane Peninsula, with Mihonoseki being the eastern cape.

!0,000 years ago the Shimane Peninsula was an island. In Izumo mythology it was formed from the land of three distant countries that were pulled here and attached to Izumo by two giant ropes. Hinomisaki is held to the mainland by the "rope" of the beach that runs from Izumo Taisha to Tagi.

A lot of water still lies between the mainland of Izumo and the Shimane Peninsula, including Lake Shinji and  the Nakaumi lagoon. In  historical times the land between Izumo and Taisha was marshland that has since been reclaimed.

There are no settlements and only a few, scattered habitations along the road from Taisha up to the cape.

The final photo in the post shows an abandoned hotel up near the cape. Probably built in the tourism boom of the 1960's. I have yet to explore it.

The two previous photos to that final one  show a small inlet with a traditional Japanese ryokan.

Very popular with fishermen.....

The previous post in this series on my walk along the Japan Sea Coast was on Taisha Fishing Port.

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