Exploring Tsuwano(5K)
April 1st, 2006
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see 80 high res photos of this walk, click here
| Finally made it down the coast
a few hours to the popular tourist town of Tsuwano. Nestled in the
mountains near the border with Yamaguchi Prefecture, in the shadow
of 900 metre Aomo Mountain, this castle town is often referred to
as "Little Kyoto", but other than an "Olde Worlde"
ambience, it really has nothing in common with Kyoto. |
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| Went first to Taikodani Inari
Shrine, modelled on the famous Fushimi Inari Shrine near Kyoto,
the hilltop shrine is approached through a stairway that passes
through more than 1100 vermillion torii. The shrine itself is all
vermillion and gold, in a style I call Pachinko Shinto, and there
were throngs of visitors enjoying the view over the town below. |
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| Back down in the old section
of town along the old storm drain we found the towns second tourist
attraction, huge monster carp. The river and drains were originally
stocked with the carp as a food supply in case of siege, but now
they just attract tourists.
Along the main street are numerous fine
examples of Edo period architecture, but I found the side streets
and back streets far more intriguing and atmospheric, possibly
because of the lack of tourists.
We visited the towns Hokusai Museum which
has a small but interesting collection of prints by the artist,
though as usual none of his Shunga (erotic prints) were on display.
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Just outside of town, and completely
devoid of visitors we found the most delightful Hachiman shrine
I have ever seen. It has a thatched roof over the Honden, and the
cherry trees were just begining to blossom. In front of the shrine
is the only remaining Yabusame (horseback archery) grounds in Japan.
With its natural weathered colors, and lacking in concrete and gravel,
the shrine was a welcome respite from the tour groups.
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