Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Mount Takatori

It is so nice to have so many outdoor activities that are easily accessible from Yokosuka - ski resorts within a couple of hours, several beaches that can be reached in 20 to 30 minutes and lots of parks and forested land to go exploring. We decided this weekend to hike the trail to Mount Takatori - right next to the Ikego Base and about 20 minutes from Yokosuka. Although we decided to drive there, we could have taken the train, then walked over the mountain and boarded a train on the other side to go back to Yokosuka (start at Jimmuji Station, head the opposite direction from Ikego, turn on the road before Zushi Junior High, the road turns into the trail, at the top of the mountain take the trail to the right (away from the temple), then you will exit the trail at Takatori Elementary school and walk about a mile to the Oppama Station).

It is always fascinating to see the Japanese touch - whether it is
 figures like those above or the signs below.


This rooster and several others were across the path from a medical center/nursing home.

Hard to tell from this photograph but the bush had very large blue flowers -
I found out that they are called Blue Hydrangea.



                             A lot of the trees had buttress roots - not sure what kind of tree it is.


                                    Macie and I were pretty peppy as we started up the hill.

                 By the time that we got to the top of the first part of the hill, we needed a break.

                             It was amazing to think how long that these steps have been used -
                             these trails have been used for hundreds of years to get to Kamakura.

     Once you reach the ridge, there is a temple on the left. As you go up the stairs, you pass through
     the area seen in the picture above. If you look closely, you can see a small box at the top of the
     steps. While we were waiting, a hiker walked up to the box, said a prayer and put a coin in the box.

     How did we know that this was temple and not a shrine? Several things - one, there was not a torii
     gate. Two, the name of the temple was Jinmu - ji (if the name ends in ji, it is probably a temple).
     Lastly, there was this:




                             



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6 comments:

  1. UnknownMay 31, 2016 at 8:56 AM

    Did you notice the broom in the rooster picture?

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    1. Gator5200May 31, 2016 at 2:23 PM

      Hey mom, I didn't notice it till I started looking at the pictures. But we did see 2 or 3 other ones while we were hiking. The brooms look like something from hundreds of years ago. But that seems to be a common thread here in Japan - a mix of the old and the modern that you see in their daily lives.

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  2. AnonymousMay 31, 2016 at 10:43 AM

    Hi Jones!! Looks like your having fun!
    Trisha and I miss you!! When you coming back?!?!

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    Replies
    1. Gator5200May 31, 2016 at 4:12 PM

      Hey Coach Schultz! It is nice to hear from you. I miss you, Trisha and Clark a lot. There is always something that reminds me of being back at Clark. I was watching a show about the solar system the other day and started thinking that this was the time of year that we would be going over the space unit. My favorite time of the year. Believe it or not, I even miss planning for the next school year. Ha. We are coming back for a month this summer to visit and then possibly moving back in two years. Japan is very cool - it is amazing how much there is to see in such a small area. Hope things are going well with your new business - I know it must be a busy and exciting time for you. Tell everyone I said hi!

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  3. UnknownJune 2, 2016 at 1:53 PM

    Mom here-have been reading about Japanese brooms, they are called Edo Brooms, an art form at its finest. Beautiful brooms for all uses they even have one to clean the corners of a rooms, special ones for the moss coverd ground especially in temples, lovely dust pans made of paper and folded and dyed brown. Hope we can find one to visit when I come!


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    Replies
    1. Gator5200June 3, 2016 at 1:10 AM

      That is interesting about the Edo brooms - how they have different types for different uses. It should be no problem for you seeing one when you come over - We have seen several since we first noticed the brooms and the brooms seem to be left out in the open near where they are to be used.

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