Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Yakushima - A Place of Natural Beauty

Shinto Shrine to Nature Gods


A World Natural Heritage Site for All Generations

Local Souvenir Shop - Samurai Spider Man

Refreshing Spring Mountain Water

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Kagoshima to Yakushima

Sea Route

Getting boarding passes

Waiting for hydroplane boat

Boarding time


Leaving port

No moving around inside a hydroplane boat - like being inside a plane

Sakurajima island

Yakushima!


Hydroplane submerged




Friday, October 11, 2013

Okoba Ramen - Kagoshima


Small seating area


Tastes great

Fresh ramen with pork

Takana (mustard greens) over rice

View outside on the street

















Okoba Ramen Shop - Kagoshima

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

REMM Hotel - Kagoshima

REMM is a clean place
Check in early don't be late
Night comes in stealth mode
Elevator on ground floor takes you to lobby on 2nd floor















Street view from outside REMM

Lobby

Room is comfortable

Nice sized bath - Glass wall does have a curtain for privacy

Have no idea what this is for other than decoration


REMM Hotel - Kagoshima





Thursday, October 3, 2013

Eikokuji Temple – Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto, Kyushu Island

This temple is known as “Horai-san Eikokuji.” It is a temple of the Soto sect of Zen Buddhism and is a direct branch of the Daihonzan Sojiji temple in the Tsurumi Ward of Yokohama City. Eikokuji is the principle temple of the 16 temples of the Soto sect in the Kuma Hitoyoshi area. The temple was established in the 15th year of the Oei Period (1408). It was built by the 9th Daimyo of the Sagara clan, Daimyo Sakitsugu, and headed by the monk Jittei Choshin Osho. The current head priest is now the 40th generation head priest at the temple.

The principle Buddhist images enshrined at the temple are the Shakyamuni Buddha, the Monju Bosatsu and the Fugen Bosatsu. It is estimated that they were created between the end of the Kamakura and the beginning of the Muromachi period, and it is recorded inside the images that maintenance was done by Hokyo Koyu, Buddhist artist in Kyoto from the first year of the Enpo period (1673) until the third year of that period. Later, in 1976 maintenances was done for the first time after a roughly 300 year period when the current head priest came to the temple. The Chinjuinari Tomikatsu Daimyojin is also enshrined on the peak of Mt. Hitoyoshi. On the other left side of the main temple building the Akiba Daigongen is enshrined. Akiba Sanjakuho is the avatar of Chinbo Kashoku fire prevention.
























The Ghost Scroll

It is said that the scroll was written by Jittei Chosin Osho, the founder of the temple. At the time the temple was built there was a well known samurai in nearby Kinoe. The samurai kept a mistress who was distraught over the jealousy of his wife. She threw herself into the Kumagawa River and died an unnatural death. Her resentment lived on in the form of a ghost and caused his wife much misery. The samurai’s wife chose to appeal to the priestly powers of Jittei Osho and fled to the temple. Osho spoke to the ghost that appeared before him about the path of karma and the ghost was shocked at the hideousness of the form she had taken. The ghost asked that Osho perform the prayer for her and then became a Buddha through Jittei Osho’s prayer, never to appear again.

The pond behind the main temple building where it is said that the ghost appeared is a spring water pond and it offers such delights as azalea and aronia in the spring and lotuses blooming in the summer, making it possible to enjoy the changes in the pond that occur with the four seasons.

The temple is sometimes called Yureidera (the Ghost Temple) in connection with the story.
The Ghost Scroll






















Saigo Takamori and Eikokuji

In the 10th year of the Meiji Period (1877), while playing a part in the Satsuma Rebellion, Saigo Takamori (also known as the “Last Samurai”) was defeated at Tabaruzaka and moved his headquarters to this temple for a period of 33 days. In response to the advance of the imperial army, however, Saigo Takamori retreated over the Kakuto Pass while the rifle corps under general Nagaike Kamishiro guarded his rear on May 29th. In the street fighting in the town of Hitoyoshi that followed on June 1st the temple was destroyed by fire and the current main temple building was rebuilt in 1891.
The "Last Samurai"


Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Japanese Soft Drinks

How to describe Japanese soft drinks? They are different. The taste is subtler and not quite flavorful but more like flavored. Some of it at first seems refreshing but after drinking more of it, not so much so. Japanese Coke and Pepsi taste similar to their American counterparts but the taste is smoother and the carbonation less intense (not quite the same fizz). The flavors are more eclectic such as cucumber, salty watermelon, pink strawberry and milk and so on.  Mt. Fuji soda looked an electric blue color and I can say that it was not that flavorful to my American palette. Japanese orange juice is also thicker and sweeter than what you'd normally expect although there are some really enjoyable lighter tasting juices that are unique to Japan. Either way Japanese soft drinks are a fun thing to try even if they don't suite your palette, they are a fun experience.