From Beppu, I took the ferry across to Yawatahama on the island of Shikoku. I then headed north to the historic town of Uchiko. Uchiko is famous for its vegetable wax candles and Uchiko-za a Kabuki and Bunraku theater. It was an interesting place to walk around for a few hours. Kosyo-ji Temple at the top of the hill had an impressive giant reclining buddha statue that I hadn’t expected. And finally, I almost asked this guy for directions, but he wasn’t very talkative.
I’m pretty sure that saying Korakuen Garden is a tautology as -en means garden. But, for the sake of clarity, I’ve titled this post Korakuen Garden, Okayama. Here’s a bit of info from The Best of Okayama. Okayama’s mild climate and fertile soils mean that the prefecture is known for its quality rice, grapes and peaches. One of Japan’s most popular children’s stories is about Momotaro, the boy who was born from a peach, and a statue of Momotaro greets visitors at the city’s main train station. The area’s fertile soil also contributed to Okayama’s Koraku-en becoming one of the country’s top three gardens. Constructed between1687 and 1700, Koraku-en was designed with an expansive lawn for leisurely walks, a tea plantation, paddy field, and the Yatsu-hashi zig-zag bridge. Another classic feature of the garden is its use of borrowed landscape. Okayama Castle, although outside the boundary of the garden, is “borrowed” so that its presence on the skyline makes it appear as an integral part of the scenic landscape. Before this trip, I didn’t have …
I visited Okayama Castle several years ago when writing The Best of Okayama. It was good to drop by again on my latest trip, especially as the sky was postcard blue. (These shots are good examples of images where I have left room for text. Doing this hopefully makes things easier for the photo editor and the graphic designer laying out the page.) Here’s the description of the castle from The Best of Okayama. Modern Japan may be dominated by giant corporations, but for centuries it was feudal lords or shoguns who ruled the land. A lord’s castle served as both a military stronghold and as a sign of his power and status. Nearly all Japanese castles were painted white, the most famous example of which is Himeji-jo. With its elegant towers and iridescent walls, Himeji-jo is thought to be Japan’s most beautiful castle, and became known as The White Egret Castle. Eastern philosophy says that everything has its opposite: Yin and Yang, good and evil, life and death. The White Egret Castle in Himeji has …
Wind Rider Kiteboarding instructor Mike Davison can usually be found speeding across the ocean surface, using the waves to launch himself into the air. Mike grew up in Chicago, but moved to Okinawa in 1990. In 2001, a friend introduced him to kiteboarding, and he was immediately hooked. He bought his own kite and board, and then quickly realized he wanted to share his new found passion for the sport with others. He earned his first instructor’s certification 18 months later and began teaching his friends how to ride the waves. In 2003, he set up his own shop Patriot Kites, and today he continues to share his love for the sport with more and more people. What is kiteboarding? “Kiteboarding is a new sport that came into the limelight about 15 years ago. Kiteboarding uses the power of the wind to pull you along. It can be done on the sand, snow, lakes or the sea – anywhere the wind blows.” How does a kiteboarding kite differ from a regular toy kite? “The kites …
Kim Clay is a professional make-up artist living on Okinawa. Normally she isn’t the one in front of the camera, but a couple of months ago Eboh and I took a few photographs of her testing out a retro glamour look. Here’s a shot inspired by the poster above.
Tokyo Megacity, written by Donald Richie with photography by my friend Ben Simmons, is now available from Amazon Japan. Just ordered my copy, hopefully Ben will sign it next time we meet. 🙂
Teppan and Popo are two freestyle dancers who are bringing American funk and hip-hop to Okinawa’s streets. “Teppan” (Tetsuya Yamauchi), “Popo” (Masato Ishikawa) and “Taiga” (Taiga Ishioka) have been friends since elementary school. They grew up in the small, laid-back seaside city Ishikawa, and while most of their classmates were more interested in baseball or basketball their passion was street dance. They formed their own dance team “Sound Terror” and their slick moves have taken them to competitions and events across Japan, and recently to the United States and the United Kingdom. In 2005, they set up their own SKF Dance Studio in Ishikawa, teaching freestyle dance classes to a new generation of kids with big dreams. Teppan and Popo talk about their inspiration, their dreams and their love of dance. Where did you learn to dance? “We went to various classes while we were at high school. Teppan studied hip-hop, Popo was into locking, and Taiga did breaking. After six months, we quit the school classes and started dancing together as a team. Our …
One of the most famous tourist attractions in Beppu is to tour the 8 different “hells” or jigoku. You could easily argue that they are commercialized tourist traps with enormous souvenir halls and roped off walkways corralling you around the pools. However it’s also worth remembering that a large proportion of Japanese domestic tourists are elderly so the smooth wheelchair friendly layouts provide an accessible taste of volcanic activity. The decision to add some forlorn looking zoo animals was misguided, and may frustrate / irritate some visitors. So here are the 8 hells:
Quick announcement to say that fellow Brit Richard Shaw has created www.Ishigaki-Japan.com a great new website about Ishigaki and the surrounding islands. Ishigaki is one Okinawa prefectures southern islands. I spent three weeks there a few years ago, and it remains one of my favorite places in Japan. If you haven’t seen them already please check out “ Southern Comfort – Life on Ishigaki Island” and the “A tale of two islands -Taketomi & Iriomote” over at http://www.TRAVEL67.com
There are many aquariums in Japan. They vary in size, quality and role (education / research / entertainment). The Umitamago (Sea Egg) Aquarium in Oita seems to be aimed at entertaining and educating children about the ocean. It is far more hands-on than other aquariums, you can play basketball with the dolphins, feel the leathery skin of dogfish and rays, and even touch “Ponta”, “Mee” and “Bubu” the three resident Walruses. The role of zoos and aquariums in modern society is a complicated issue. Are they little more than animal exploitation with profit the ultimate goal, or do they have a role in educating and inspiring visitors to cherish the oceans and marine creatures from zooplankton to whales?
