Skip to main content

Once Again to Shosha-zan!

On Saturday (9/9) I decided to make the trek to Mt. Shosha since I had the spare time! I was joined with some of my new colleagues. We left early in the morning, catching a #8 bus to the rope-way station; we cut through a small suburb in order to reach the beginning of the hiking trail. It was a hot, muggy day despite our early start and before long we were all melting along the trail. Occasionally a cool breeze would reach our skin through the dense foliage, and the brief relief was welcome. Eventually, after frequent breaks, we did reach the top (of the rope-way). Alas, it was a hazy day, and the photos of the view over Himeji did not come out particularly well. 

I still think my favorite part of Mt. Shosha is the statue-lined path leading up to the first gate. During this part of our journey we were joined by a nice gentleman from New York who was visiting Himeji for the day. We all had a blast photographing the statues on our way up! The lighting was tricky, or maybe I'm just out of photography practice, so very few of the photos came out.  

Every time I visit, the statues are always a little different. This time around, many of the Buddhas were sporting handmade prayer bracelets. 


This is still my favorite of the lot! He's just... so sassy! 


I always enjoy admiring the architecture on Mt. Shosha. The roof tiles are just so ornate and lovely, and the wooden paneling underneath is just as intricate. I'm still learning how to photograph these details properly, but hopefully these photos serve to showcase the beauty of these temple roofs!


Being summer, the season of giant bugs in Japan, the spiders were out in full force throughout the mountain. Some of the webs we passed were works of art, albeit uncomfortably large ones. 

Some of the roof tiles even feature the angry faces of oni! 



When I wasn't looking up and admiring the roofs, I occasionally did pause to take notice of the smaller beauties along the trails. I particularly enjoyed photographing the little army of mini-Buddhas and their red-bibs. The lighting was most definitely not in my favor (though it never seems to be in this particular spot) but I did manage to get a couple cute photos! 



The dragon fountain outside Maniden is always quite impressive! The cool water felt soothing after the heat of the day. 

Maniden, the large tiered temple at the center of Mt. Shosha, was as lovely as ever! We had lunch in the little restaurant at the base of the temple. I enjoyed some chilled somen noodles with mushrooms. Afterwards, before we headed back down (to take the rope-way, out of pity for our poor feet), some of my colleagues paused to feed some ducks in a koi pond outside the restaurant. The duck crackers were just 30 yen, and the koi enjoyed eating them as much as the ducks did. The photo opportunity was too good to pass up! I'm particularly proud of how this one turned out, though I got quite a few cute duck photos overall. 


I'll definitely be visiting Mt. Shosha again in the future when I have a free morning. I might wait a bit until it cools off a bit more, though. I'm looking forward to the autumn colors! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shinzaike Honcho Festival, Friendship Festival, and the Countryside!

Lots of photos and a few videos incoming! The Shinzaike Honcho Festival was the local neighborhood festival. The shrine was just down the street from Shirasagi, and all of us ALT's walked to it. It was a lot of fun! Three other neighborhoods were also having their festivals at the same time, which meant that we ran into their portable shrines along the way now and then. Everything culminated at the park on top of the hill next to Shirasagi, with performances by the kids and some portable shrine "dancing." The portable shrine was alternately carried and pushed/pulled along the route we took, which circled through most of the area around the Shinzaike Honcho main street. We marched in lines behind the portable shrine, chanting "Yo Ya Sa" along the way (the equivalent of "heave ho!").  The entrance to the shrine.  (^ Some detailed photos of the portable shrine. ^) (A lion dance performance at the start of the festival.) ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Scarecrows and Swordsmen Make for an Exciting Weekend!

This weekend I had two consecutive day trips! On Saturday, November 9th, I went to Aioi to watch a swordsmith make a katana and viewed the Scarecrow Festival; I also went on a bit of a hike, and visited an art museum! Aioi was about an hour away from Shirasagi by car. It was at a higher altitude, so it was a bit chilly in the morning. Once the sun came out, though, it got much more comfortable! The autumn leaves were absolutely stunning; there's nothing quite like seeing mountainsides dotted with colorful trees! The entrance to a main area of Aioi.  The view from the window of the smithy.  The swordsmith at work! He was a junior apprentice, which meant he had to do all the work himself, using this machine to pound the steel. Apparently the grand masters are allowed to have apprentices pound the steel manually for them.  A pond outside the smithy! A watermill fed into it.  An ivy-covered house!  Starting a hike to view a shrine in ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Autumn 2014: Kyoto

I spent all day on the 22nd in Kyoto. I went to so many places that I cannot honestly remember the names of them all. I will try my best to be accurate, but it was pretty overwhelming. I also was able to en joy a performance by a Maiko , or apprentice Geisha.  She was very beautiful! The weather was great, in fact is got pretty toasty in the afternoon. The crowds, though, were a bit obnoxious. I've come to expect big crowds in Kyoto, but it still comes as an unpleasant surprise every time I visit. Be warned, I took a lot of photographs! Fushimi Inari Shrine Our first stop was the Fushimi Inari Shrine . This was actually many shrines, all along a gorgeous mountain trail that I did not have the time to enjoy fully (perhaps again, during a non-peak tourist season). Inari is the Shinto god of rice, and the messenger for this spirit is the fox. Thus, there were foxes everywhere, as well as the red coloring that goes with this god. You will see many Inari shrines throughout Japa...
Post a Comment
Read more