大照院萩

The Mori Clan, who built the castle town of Hagi and ruled the domain from there during the Edo period, had, rather unusually, two family temples for the burial of their dead. Local people say this was a ruse by the clan to downplay their power in the eyes of the ruling shogunate.



The first family temple was Daishoin, a Rinzai sect temple rebuilt by the Mori in the late 17th century. Here the first, second, fourth, sixth, eighth, tenth, and twelfth lords and their wives were buried, while the third, fifth, seventh, ninth, and eleventh were buried at Tokoji Temple on the other side of Hagi.



Both graveyards have hundreds of stone lanterns donated by faithful retainers, though Daishoin has 600, about 100 more than Tokoji.



Because of its location, a little away from major tourist attractions in Hagi, Daishoin gets far fewer visitors than Tokoji. The temple is less well maintained and a little run down, but this only adds to its charm and atmosphere, coupled with the fact that it is often empty of visitors.



Daishoin is a short walk from Hagi JR station.

Open from 8:30am to 5:00pm daily. Entrance 200 yen



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Japanese temples Hagi Yamaguchi

萩

The castle town of Hagi, Yamaguchi Prefecture, was constructed on the "island" delta between the 2 forks of the Abu River.



When the railway reached Hagi it went around the town and not straight through it and therefore the town was spared the redevelopment that occurred around railway lines and stations elsewhere in Japan.



Consequently sections of the old town are still pretty much as they were centuries ago, and it is said that Edo-period maps can still be followed.



In the old samurai district near the castle many of the former samurai dwellings still stand, and the roads are lined with impressive traditional earthen walls.



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Japan's Open Future: An Agenda for Global Citizenship

by John Haffner, Tomas Casas i Klett, Jean-Pierre Lehmann

Published by Anthem Press

ISBN: 1-8433-1311-1320 pp

The authors, a Canadian, a Spaniard, and a Frenchman, have written a book that falls squarely into the genre of books that explain "what is wrong with Japan and how it can be fixed," and is one of the better books of the genre.
Maybe because of their combined years of experience in Japan the book has a bit more depth than many of its type. The essence of the authors' argument is that while Japan made a remarkable and swift transition from a Pre-Modern to a Modern society, it has failed to make the jump to a Post Modern society, and still clings to the mercantilism that enabled its economy to grow and prosper, but which is no longer suitable for the modern world of globalism.



The introduction is excellent and gives a brief history of Japan without resorting to any of the myths that color much of other writings on Japan. The brief section on Japan's imperialist expansion and World War II manages to cover all the details that continue to haunt Japan and influence its relations with other countries.
The chapter on global communication covers Japan's poor performance with foreign languages, particularly English, but also has some interesting insights on communication issues within Japan. Many of the examples given come from the world of business, and this emphasis on business and economics continues throughout the book, with the next two chapters focusing on the Japanese economy.
Written in a way that makes the subjects understandable to a layman, one still needs an interest in the topics to stop the chapters from becoming hard going. The chapters on Japan's civil society and Japan's global roles cover most of the issues where Japan clings to exceptionalism. Throughout the book the authors point out that were Japan to open itself more (globalism in not so many words) the people of Japan would benefit greatly, however they barely touch upon any negative results of globalization.
In the conclusion they make an interesting suggestion that China's growing economic penetration of Japan may lead to the forced opening of Japan on a par with Perry’s black ships.

Book Review by Jake Davies

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神戸ポートピアホテル

At 112 metres in height, the Portopia Hotel dominates the skyline of Port Island, a man-made island in Kobe Bay.



Built in 1981 and designed by Nikken Sekkei, the rooms in the 30-storey Portopia Hotel either have expansive views over Osaka Bay, or over Kobe city with Rokko Mountain behind.



Among Portopia's facilities are indoor and outdoor swimming pools, gym, tennis courts, and 13 restaurants. The hotel has extensive conference facilities and hosts many International conferences, including recently some meetings of the G8 Summit held in 2008 in Japan.

Convenient for Kansai International Airport as the high-speed ferry connecting Port Island with KIX is nearby.

The Portopia Hotel employs a full-time English teacher for staff training.

The Portopia Hotel is situated next to Shimin Hiroba Station of the Portliner. The hotel has free shuttles from Shin Kobe Station, Sannomiya Station, and other points in Kobe.

Portopia Hotel
10-1,6 Chome, Minatojima Nakamachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0046
Tel: 078 302 1111

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妖怪 (ようかい)

All these are statues of Yokai found along the Mizuki Shigeru Road in Sakaiminato.



The first is the most famous of all the manga characters created by Shigeru, GeGeGe no Kitaro, star of many manga, animes and movies. Born in a graveyard from a father who is an eyeball, Kitaro is 300 years old. He is missing one eye and so his hair usually covers half his face.



The second are Kappa, known as water-sprites in English. There are stories of kappa from all over Japan. They live in irrigation ditches, wells, ponds, and rivers. Known to drown children, kappa can be appeased by writing the name of your child on a piece of kappazushi, a type of sushi made using cucumbers, and throwing it into the river and the kappa won't take your child.



The third is a Gangikozo, a fish-eating water monster possibly related to the kappa.

The fourth is a Sazaeoni, literally Turban Snail Ogre. Sazaeoni are created when a turban snail reaches the age of 30. Sazaeoni, like kappa and kitsune among others, are of a class of creatures known as obake, and have the ability to transform into the appearance of humans.



An old story tells of pirates who rescued a beautiful young woman from the sea. After having sex with her, the woman (an oni) cut off the pirates' testicles and when they threw her back into the sea, she transformed again into her true form.



The last is another invention of Shigeru, Nezumi Otoko, half human, half yokai, known as Ratman. He assists Kitaro in many of his adventures and has not taken a bath in 300 years, so is known for his smell.

More than 100 Yokai statues can be found along the Mizuki Shigeru Road in Sakaiminato.

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武家屋敷, 松江, 島根県

The Buke Yashiki in Matsue is located on the Shiomi Nawate, the street bordering Matsue Castle moat to the north of the castle that also contains the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum and Lafcadio Hearn's Old Residence.



A buke yashiki is a residence of a samurai, and this area was where the samurai serving the Lord of Matsue, Daimyo Matsudaira, lived.



The residence was home to a samurai named Shiomi and his family and servants. The house remains exactly as it was when built in 1730. Shiomi was a middle-ranking samurai with an income of 1,000 koku, considerably less than a similarly ranked samurai from a richer region, so his property was somewhat more austere.



Visitors can not actually enter the house, but because of the nature of traditional Japanese homes with their multitude of siding screen doors, one can peer into most parts of the dwelling and view the objects of daily use and also weapons.

Matsue Buke Yashiki
Tel: 0852 22 2243
Open every day
Apr-Sept 8:30am - 6:30pm
Oct-Mar 8:30am - 5:00pm
Entrance: 300 yen (50% discount for foreigners)



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Matsue Castle Matsue Shimane samurai

立久恵峡

Tachikue Gorge is located on the Kando River about 8km south of Izumo City in Shimane Prefecture. It is a National Scenic Spot because of the dramatic cliffs and rock formations sculpted by erosion. There are two pedestrian suspension bridges across the river and several kilometers of footpath.



Before the Meiji Era (1868-1912), the gorge was a retreat for Yamabushi, the "mountain-warriors" of Shugendo, but all that remains now is Reiko-Ji temple with its pair of huge straw sandals (waraji).



The highlight of the gorge are the 1,500 Buddhist statues, many with vermillion caps and bibs, that can be found clustered around the bases of huge cedars, along the foot of the cliff, in small caves in the cliff wall, and in almost every nook and cranny.



There is a recreation area with barbecues, a campsite, and cabins for rent.

There is a Youth Hostel in the gorge, but since storm damage in 2006 it is currently closed. (Tel: 0853-45-0102).



There is a hot spring with rotenburo (outdoor bath) that is open daily from 07:00 to 22:00. The onsen also has accommodation.

Tachikue Gorge is 30 minutes by bus from JR Izumo Station.



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Tachikue Gorge Shimane Shimane Buddhism

城山稲荷神社, 松江, 島根県

If you are visiting Matsue in Shimane Prefecture, almost certainly a visit to Matsue Castle will be first on the list of sights to see.

Probably after that you will head for the Shiomi-Nawate, the street along the castle moat with a cluster of other tourist sites such as the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum and Lafcadio Hearn's Old Residence.



The best way is to walk 10 mins through the Jozan Park. At any time of the year it's a pleasant walk, but in April when the cherry blossoms are blooming it's astounding as there are several hundred cherry trees in the park.



After leaving the castle keep and descending the hill on the north side, the path joins a small road. Passing the large torii (gate) on your left that leads up to the Gokoku Shrine, you soon see a group of vermillion torii on your right.



Pass through the torii and you see the steps leading up to Jozan Inari Shrine. Don't be put off by the long flight of stairs, as the climb will reward you with a gallery of hundreds of fox statues.

Sometimes erroneously called the "fox god", foxes are in fact the messengers of Inari. There are hundreds of the tiny white ceramic foxes, and dozens of larger stone statues, green with age, camouflaged by the greenery.

This was Lafcadio Hearn's favorite shrine, and Hearn's house is just a stone's throw away across the moat.



One your way out you may want to stop off at the priest's house and buy an ofuda. Ofudas for most shrines are simple, narrow strips of paper with writing on, but the ofuda here is large and illustrated with a unique design. An unusual souvenir or gift.

Jozan Inari is the home of the Shikinnenn Shinkousai Festival, one of three greatest boat festivals in Japan, involving more than 100 decorated boats. The festival only occurs every 12 years and the next one is from 16th May to 24th May this year (2009).

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Matsue Castle Matsue Shimane Jozan Inari

松江郷土館（興雲閣),島根県

The Matsue Kyodokan (local history museum) is located in the grounds of Matsue Castle.



The museum features displays of local history including old black & white photos of Matsue, local crafts and documents etc. The collection is hardly earth-shattering, but worth the entance price (which was free when I last visited).



The building itself is far more interesting, and is a wonderful example of Meiji Period architecture that incorporated Japanese design elements combined with western architecture.



It was built in 1903 for the princely sum of 13,489 yen by architect Risaburo Izumi, who also designed a bathouse in Yunotsu that now houses the Shinyu Gallery.



Local people referred to it as the "Russian Palace".



It was built for Emperor Meiji, who in the early years of his reign conducted six grand tours of Japan. Many towns built places for him to stay on the off-chance that he would visit. He never did come to Matsue.

Matsue Local History Museum
1-59 Tono-machi
Matsue-shi
Shimane
Open daily 08:30 to 17:00
Tel: 0852 22 3958

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Matsue Castle Matsue Shimane Kyodokan

松江島根県



Situated on the shore of Lake Shinji, Japan's 8th largest lake, and with the large Matsue Castle moat (horikawa) connecting to the Ohashi, Kensaki, Kyohashi, Yonago, and Kitada Rivers, Matsue, the Prefectural capital of Shimane, is known as the "City of Water."



While comparisons to Venice are a little far-fetched, the waterways of the city are very pleasant and contribute to the ambiance of the city.



One of the best ways to view Matsue is by boat, and there are 3 points around the town where one can board the Horikawa Boat Tour; in front of the main entrance to Matsue Castle, at Ohashi Bridge south-east of the castle, and Horikawa Fureai Square, north-west of the castle. The round trip takes 40 minutes, though one can get off at any point and reboard later.



The trip circles the castle and passes other tourist sites such as the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum, Matsue Buke Yashiki and Lafcadio Hearn's Old Residence. The long, narrow boats are covered against inclement weather, and in the cold months there are kotatsu to keep you warm.

The boats pass under 16 bridges, though be warned some of them are very low and so the roof of the boat is lowered, forcing the passengers to lie down!



The boats depart every 15 minutes, though in the off-season you may get a boat all to yourself.

The cost is 1,200 yen for adults, 600 yen for kids, though as with most tourist sites in Matsue there is a 50% discount for foreign visitors.

January – June, 9-5
July – August, 9-6
September – October, 9-5
November – February, 9-4.
Tel: (0852) 27 0417

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Horikawa Matsue Shimane Boat

Image of the week - 四万十川

Early morning on the Shimanto River, Kochi Prefecture, Shikoku. The bridge is a Chinkabashi (lit. sinking bridge) as it disappears under the water during floods.



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関門橋と関門トンネル(歩道)

Walking from Kyushu to Honshu.

At the closest point, the islands of Kyushu and Honshu are a mere 700 meters apart. The narrow channel called Kanmon Straits is a very busy waterway with about 600 ships a day passing through it.



In 1973 the two islands became connected by the Kanmonkyo Bridge which carries traffic across its central span of 712 meters, and not far away is the Kanmon Railway Tunnel, the first undersea tunnel in Japan, but underneath the Kanmonkyo Bridge is the Kanmon Pedestrian Tunnel.



Connecting Mojiko on the Kyushu side with Shimonoseki on the Honshu side, the tunnel is a little over 700 meters long, and can be walked in 10-15 minutes.



It's a very popular walk, with many people simply walking from one side and back again, collecting the stamp at either end, but many people make a round trip by connecting with the ferry that runs from Shimonoseki to Mojiko.

The tunnel entrance in Mojiko is about a 15 minute walk from the main tourist attractions in the centre of Mojiko, which is where the ferry runs from. Next to the entrance is Mekari Shrine, the northernmost shrine in Kyushu.



On the Shimonoseki side a ropeway up Hinoyama offers stunning vistas over the straits. The ferry and main tourist attractions of Shimonoseki are a 20 minute walk or bus or taxi ride.

Entrance to the tunnel is free for pedestrians, but there is a 20 yen charge for people who want to push their bicycle or moped through.

Open daily, 06:00 to 22:00.

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Kanmon Shimonoseki Mojiko Kyushu

メリークリスマス

Season's greetings to all our visitors and friends from JapanVisitor.com

Thank you for all your comments, support and suggestions throughout the year.




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Photograph of the Gonokawa River, Shimane Prefecture with snow © Jake Davies & JapanVisitor.com



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