Matsue
Matsue looked a pleasing little place and we started at the excellent castle (still the original building, i.e. not a reproduction after being burned down lots of times) where a ninja stood on his head on a stool for most of the time we were there. Don’t know why - perhaps just because he could. And we were impressed. The castle also had a very fine interior, showing the massive wooden construction.
our overnight stop
what makes you think that cats are the object of worship here?
We strolled around the castle complex, taking in another fine shrine with a cat fetish, a moat with lots of turtles (which gathered in the clear expectation of being fed, and were thus disappointed by us) .
Lovely manhole covers in Japan, these are from Matsue.
It was rather cold during the night but very warm during the day so we cooled down with a one-hour boat rip round the castle moat system, where Yogashi (driver) provided a running commentary (with occasional recorded bits in English for us) plus a song to accompany an echoey section under an exceptionally low bridge which required the roof to be lowered and the passengers to lie down.
The Samurai house
We visited a Samurai house and the house of Lafcadio Hearn, an Irish/Greek teacher of English at a local college during the 1890s. The Samurai house was interesting for its internal plain-ness: apart from the kitchen the rest of the rooms were almost interchangeable, and could be made smaller or larger by the use of sliding wood/paper panels.
Mount Daisen
On leaving Matsue we decided to visit Mount Daisen, a 5,763ft volcanic dome covered in beech forest. As we arrived at base camp we were followed by the usual school-party - this time four coach-loads of them. We walked up the steep hill to to temple (Sheila thinks she has established that shrines are Shinto and temples are Buddhist ) and then back down via a stream bed which has seen some violence and a path through the woods. Some glimpses of the upper slopes of Mt Daisen but lots of cloud which occasionally broke to provide a view.
We then visited a local onsen and had to learn the rules. First pay ¥600 each and get a small modesty towel which you use to cover yourself while walking around (you go naked into the water), then shoes off and into a locker, then up stairs and into our respective sections (red for women, blue for men - there are no pictograms or English words to guide you here) then strip off and clothes into another locker, then into the shower section (main purpose of visit because we haven’t showered since Kyoto) where there was plenty of liquid soap/shampoo and powerful showers. And after all that it was into the indoor bath where I sat up to my neck in hot water for ten minutes, then into the outdoor bath (roof but two open sides) which was very hot for another ten minutes, then into the adjoining cool bath for ten minutes, then back into the hot bath, then back into the cold bath for a final cool-down. There were about half-a-dozen other men in there, ranging from youths to oldies, and one old feller engaged me in conversation - they probably don’t get too many gaijin up there. As we left I felt nicely clean, and lightly boiled.
San-Ankaigan National Park.
Our Japanese map had indicated that the coast here was particularly attractive so we left Daisen and headed north.
The coast was lovely but so was the drive itself as we came across a variety of interesting things en route.
Our Japanese map had indicated that the coast here was particularly attractive so we left Daisen and headed north.
The coast was lovely but so was the drive itself as we came across a variety of interesting things en route.
We noticed that there were lots of small cemeteries close to the sea (is it a preferred location?) and then came across the daddy of them all: the Hanamigata cemetery which was huge and had been used as a shootout site in the Korean action movie “Athena”.
We also found some rice drying on racks and an aged farmer who was about to use a dinky machine to thresh it. We saw lots of paddy fields, all very modest and often very close or even in town. The average age of the Japanese farmer is 70 and so its no surprise that they have all the mechanical assistance that they need.
We also came across a Manga factory where there was a young Sherlock Holmes-type character called Conan and was the hero of many comic books. The character Conan is a grown detective but gangsters have cast a spell and he is in a boy's body. There was lots of manga comics and related merchandise, Conan has obviously got a following and we subsequently noted on the internet that he features in cartoons too but I don't think that they have hit UK.
Conan
We enjoyed some spectacular scenery in the San-Ankaigan National Park. There are lots of small offshore islands and the jointed granite allows sea-caves and arches to form. The road was mostly OK except through the villages where it was one-car wide and you had to keep an eye on the carefully-sited mirrors to see if there was anything coming the other way.
In Aoji village we found more fabulous views, and at the harbour racks of small squid drying in the sun. There was an old lady who appeared to be using the heel of her foot to stretch the skin of the squid so that they ended up almost paper thin.
Along this road we also came an area full of orchards of asian pears (each pear wrapped separately on the tree) and roadside shops to sell them. We have seen them elsewhere in Japan but this clearly the mothership so we stopped and got us four pears for ¥1,000 (£6). They look like giant russet apples but the taste is a cross between a pear and a melon. Very juicy so lots of slurping, but this is a country where slurping is de rigeur.
Amanohashidate
We headed from our overnight stop at Amarube towards Amanohashidate because Lonely Planet recommended the view of a spit across the bay. Not sure we shared their enthusiasm, despite taking the chairlift up the mountain: it improved the view (despite the haze) but the chairlift gave me the willies - there wasn’t even a seatbelt between me and certain death. And when we got down to the bottom there was a parking lady who appeared to be insisting that we cough up ¥500 despite the fact that we paid when we parked. However, it emerged that she was pointing to our purchases - some cards and sweat wipes - and wanted to give us back the ¥500. Presumably the deal was that if you bought anything then you got your parking fee back. If only it were like that in Britain...
Okunchi Matsuri festival
While en route to the spit we found our way blocked in a small town by a Shinto festival. Rather than find a way round, we parked and watched for an hour as a group of white-kimono clad men carried, shook and threw into the air (and caught again) a Kami (model temple) on a sledge. After them there was drumming, sword dancing by young men, flute playing, a service involving priests shouting and chanting and three exotically-dressed kids in front of the tiny shrine, some dragon-dancing and finally a formal procession of all involved into what we assumed is the main shrine. The whole town seemed to be there - all the young kids were in uniform and sitting on the ground watching. It was great to catch something so special and local and though the spit itself was a disappointment we wouldn't have caught this festival if we had not gone there.
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Japan Introduction
Our vehicle
Overnight stops
Food
Tokyo
Izu Peninsula
Central Honshū
Kyoto
Shrines & temples
Japan Introduction
Our vehicle
Overnight stops
Food
Tokyo
Izu Peninsula
Central Honshū
Kyoto
Shrines & temples
