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Sumadera Koyo

  • December 11, 2010 4:07 pm

Yet another autumn leaves (Koyo) blog entry. This time it is from Sumadera temple – a very nice (and not very well known) shrine complex near Suma beach Kobe.

The easiest way to reach it is Suma beach JR station – after that around 15 min. walk direction toward the mountain. The temple has both cherry and momiji (Japanese maple) trees so it is very nice to visit it both during the sakura and during the Koyo period.

The following photos are mainly from the Sumadera’s momiji (maple trees) but the complex of shrines is worth visiting at any time of the year. Actually this is one of the most beautiful temples you can find in and around Kobe.

First the read leaves momiji:

The yellow one:

And all the rest:

The next several photos are from around the red pagoda:

Not a momiji but still nice – you can see this type of grass in many of the shrines gardens:

Just a glimpse of some of the many shrines composing the complex:

The final set of photos. It was sunset and I was trying to catch the sunlight in the momiji leaves.

Enjoy:)

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Japan Nature Reclaimed

  • August 11, 2010 1:37 pm

This blog entry was created for August Japan Blogs Matsuri kindly hosted by Through Eyes From Afar blog. The main theme of the matsuri is “Japan and Nature” so I decided to show some pictures from the small Japanese islands we visited this summer. The photos were specially selected to represent how the Japanese nature reclaims its loss to human space.

All the shots are from the islands of Ogijima (男木島) and Megijima (女木島) – both around 40 and 20 minutes away with ferry from the port of Takamatsu (高松市) city (I will prepare separate blog entries for these two islands in the very near future). Both of  islands are quite small (especially Ogijima just a few hundred people inhabitants) and in both of them the advances of nature are quite well visible, despite the fact that they are so close to the relatively big city of Takamatsu.

First – the pictures from Ogijima – from the periphery of the village (we walked also deeper in the island where we saw some more traces of human dwellings but they were really just a traces submerged in vegetation).

I must mention though that on both islands you can see some efforts for renovation (especially on Megijima where there are several summer houses on the beach). Moreover, both of the islands are part of the Setouchi International Art Festival. One of the reasons for the creation of the festival was an attempt to re-vitalize the island communities. The question is how long this re-invigoration will last after the festival is over.

Here are the pictures from Megijima (actually there were many more abandoned houses but not all of them were submerged in vegetation yet):

I find it quite interesting that human communities which have survived for hundreds of years (if not thousands) are under threat of disappearing from the small Japanese islands in 21st century. Or maybe there will be a new wave of re-colonization one day :)

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Osaka Sakura 2010 – Sakuranomiya Park

  • March 29, 2010 5:56 am

Today we visited Sakuranomiya Park in Osaka. I do not know if this is the most beautiful place for sakura in Osaka but for sure it is one of the most popular. The name of the park (sakuranomiya) actually can be translated as – sakura temple.

The easiest way to reach it is by the loop line (it is only 3 stations away from Umeda – the main Osaka station). The name of the station is the same as the Park – Sakuranomiya staion. The park itself is situated alongside the Ōkawa river and it is claimed to have 4200 cherry trees!

It wasn’t full sakura yet but almost all the trees had at least some flowers on them and you could see here and there clusters of completely blossoming cherry trees.

This is the view from Genpachi Bridge（源八橋)  – immediately next to the GR station (BTW if you need an elevator you must take the Sakuranomiya station exit which is away from the river/bridge).

Here are the rest of the pictures (they were all taken from the site of the OPA Tower – a modern complex of several big towers resembling a little bit a smaller version of Roppongi hill in Tokyo (here is my Christmas visit there):

As you can see some of the trees were completely covered in the white petals. The river was also busy with entertainment ships. There were and a few hanami (“flower viewing”) already – people sitting or standing around big, blue mats and eating, drinking and chattering. But the allays overall looked like deserted in comparison with the real sakura time.

The next two photos are from the Sakuranomiya bridge (also known as “Ginbashi – “銀橋“) may be around half a kilometer (or slightly more) away from the GR station (direction Osaka castle):

On the second picture to the right you can see the OPA Towers.

It was getting late so the last of the pictures are on the sunset background:

Next weekend we are going again to Sakuranomiya Park. So expect many more photos from the center of Osaka sakura :)

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Sakura vs Koyo

  • March 26, 2010 2:07 pm

Without doubt Sakura (the cherry-blossom) is the most famous event in Japan but Koyo (the autumn leaves viewing) is not second to it in terms of beauty (at least according to my opinion). To help you make your mind (which one is ichiban – the best) I selected some of my best Koyo and Sakura images for this blog entry.

I will start with Sakura (after all the spring precedes autumn, isn’t it). All the images of Sakura are from Himeji castle (one of the best spots to watch cherry blossom):

Here are the Koyo pictures. They are all from – Suma Rikyu Park near Kobe. This Park is not very well known but it is one the best places for Koyo viewing I ever discovered in Japan:

Just in case you wonder – my favorite is Koyo. But I love Sakura also a lot and I promise that from tomorrow I am starting an official hunt with my camera for the best Sakura images in Kansai region!

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