Charming Waterfront Town Tomonoura is a quaint fishing village that is a little off the beaten path on the southern point of the Numakuma Peninsula in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture. It has been a prosperous port since ancient times. This was my second stop on my trip to Fukuyama after my visit to Abuto Kannon. This charming… Continue reading Tomonoura – Fishing Village
Abuto Kannon (Bandaiji Temple) This vermilion temple rising above the blue sea on a jagged cliff is the stuff that Japanese art is born of. Abuto Kannon (also known as Bandaiji Temple) is perched precipitously above the Seto Inland Sea. Ukiyo-e Art This temple was immortalized by ukiyo-e artist Hiroshige. Ukiyo-e art literally means “pictures… Continue reading Temple With a View
About thirty minutes outside of Hagi is a very unique temple where cat sculptures frolic or lie lazily in the sun. The official name for this temple is “Seigetsu-san Unrinji Temple”, but it is commonly known as the “Cat Temple”. There are more than 700 cat sculptures on the temple grounds. Many were carved by… Continue reading Unrinji (Cat Temple) in Hagi
A little over a week ago I took a day trip to Hagi to see the Kasayama Camellia Grove. I happened upon the Kawazu Sakura (early blooming cherry blossoms) as pleasant surprise resulting from a wrong turn! Gotta love those wrong turns… Mt. Kasayama Camellia Grove The Kasayama Camellia Grove is a grove of 25,000… Continue reading A Camellia Grove and Kawazu Sakura in Hagi
One of the first signs of spring in my area of Japan are the Kawazu Sakura, an early blooming variety of cherry blossoms. They bloom about the same time as the Ube (plum blossoms). There is only one place close by to see them – the beautiful Kaminoseki Historical Park. The park has walking paths… Continue reading Kaminoseki Historical Park – My Favorite Place to See Kawazu Sakura