Nachi Falls and Hydrangea

Another photo of Nachi waterfalls. And another photo of hydrangeas. It is Hydrangea season at the moment and their showy bright blooms were a constant in each village we passed through when walking on the Kumano and at Nachisan.

More hydrangeas

One more photo of hydrangeas, just to show the abundance of the bloom and the blueness of the colour - maybe its the volcanic soils of Japan that produce such vibrant blues??

Round Window

A "Play School" moment at this round window at Meigetsu shrine - the hydrangea temple in Kamakura.  Would love to walk through to the other side.

Sooo Blue

Today I (along with 100s of others) visited a shrine known for its hydrangeas in Kamakura.  Sooo many people, soo many hydrangea and soooo blue - almost living in a Paul Kelly song!

Nachi Falls

There is a shrine at the base of Nachi Falls, that were shown on Monday's blog.  Of course as it is a Shinto shrine there is a tori gate at the entrance and an altar for offerings.  You can also pay money to walk to up to a small platform to experience the peace of the waterfall.

Three Shrines on a Tuesday

Kumano Hayatama Taisha Shrine - Shingu

Kunano Hongu Taisha Shrine- Hongu

Kumano Naichi Taisa - Nachisan

The Kumano Kado is also known as the Kumano Sanzan - referencing the three grand shrines (san is three in Japanese) in the Kii Mountains.Originally, each of these three Grand Shrines had their own distinctive form of nature worship; later in the 10th century, they started to give worship to all of the three guardian deities at the same time under the influence of Buddhism. 

The Money Shot(s)

The Three Storied Pagoda with Nachi waterfall in the background is the famous or most common image used for promotion of the Kumano Kado as a walk.  It looked fantastic- vermillion and green make a great combination.

The pagoda is a 1971 reconstruction - built to commemorate 300 years since the original burnt down.  At 133m Nachi Waterfall is the highest in Japan.

Misty morning Rice

A misty morning in the mountains.  This was next to the small cottage we stayed in after our first day of walking. The cottage was lovely, with great views and nice spaces.

Rice Paddies on the Kumano

Rice planting season meant small reflective paddies of freshly planted rice along the trail as we walked out of the mountains into the valley floors on the Kumano Kado.

Walking through a Gate

This week I have walked through many Torii gates. At the entrance to Shinto shrines they are a separation between the secular and sacred realms.  This elderly gentleman was  walking under one of the Torii gates at the beautiful Ise Shrine.

Moss, Stone , Cedar

Over the past week I walked the Kumano Kado - a pilgrim trail - on the Kii Peninsula south of Tokyo.  It was a trail through forests with moss, giant trees and stone shrines and structures.

This is a tombstone - one of over 200,000 at Okunoin Temple at Koyasan. Koyasoan is the centre of Shingon Buddhism and was a gorgeous mountaintop town of temples and mist that I would love to explore further.

Tuesday Temple - Mary at a Shrine

Loving vermillion at this shrine in Shingu

Bike Parking Part 3

 Each bike park has a pay station. They take your money and talk to you - saying thank you when you make a payment.  One cool thing is you can pay with cash or  swipe your Pasmo card(public transport card).

The one on the right is at the Futakatamagawa mall and the one below is at the Yoga shopping centre.  It shows the back of the pay station with the brooms and and bins to keep the place tidy.  A series of older gentleman work there, sweeping, tidying, helping you find a park if its crowded and generally be kind and helpful.  Not sure if they are paid or if its just neighbourhood community work which many of retirees seem to do.

Bike Parking Part 2

The bike parks have special racks to park the bicycle.  The bike is clipped in and locked.

Bike Parking Part 1

At shopping centres there are large areas - usually not on ground level where you can park the bike.  They have a moving travelator for the bike and stairs and a ramp for the way down.

Tuesday Temple - Nikko

Nikko is an area with many shrines.  The important ones are linked to the Tokugawa family shogunate who ruled Edo (Tokyo) for over 250 years.  The shrines were huge and ornate and quite amazing.  The setting amongst towering cypresses was quite powerful.

Flyovers

Flyovers.  The traffic in Tokyo is constant and on many levels but seems to flow fairly well. Here you can see  four different flyovers as well as elevated  walkways with a main through road and bus stops at ground level and access to the  underground railway - complexities of transport in Tokyo.

Hydrangea and a Coffee Queue

Hydrangea are now blooming and along the streets including this one in Naka Megura. This lovely hydrangea is outside the Starbucks Roastery.  You can see the crowd inside and part of the queue outside.  The space is huge, yet you need to queue for a ticket to get in and the footpath is roped off with security guards with light sabres directing the foot traffic- all for a Starbucks coffee experience.

Weekend stroll

My weekend strolls lately have been along this neighbourhood garden path.  I think it is an old river/waterway that has been filled in as its called the Jakuzure River Greenway.  It is close to the main roads and lined with narrow but lovely gardens. I can walk along it for about 5 km through various areas.  

Sangenjaya

The Sangenjaya street is busy and hip. Its cut off to traffic and you can walk and cycle through easily.  

Baseball Player

Baseball is the national sport of Japan.  Weekends are busy for baseball players - young and old.  I spent time watching this young fielder on the baseball pitch on Sunday.

Tokyo Bike

This is my Tokyo Bike. Its yellow! It takes me coffee shops!.  Cafe Obscura is in the nearby suburb/area of Sangenjaya.

Tuesday Temple - Foxes

Foxes or kitsune are seen as messengers of the Shinto deity Inari.  There were many fox statues at Fushimi Inari temple in Kyoto.

Sunday in the Park

Tokyo is crowded and dense but there are also many parks - large and small. On the weekend they are a gathering place for families and playing place for children and pets.

Parking Vending Machines

As a follow up to the coffee can vending machine here is a vending machine for car parking.  In Tokyo car parks are few and far between and small. This is typical of the parking places in my neighbourhood.  After you park, the wheels are automatically clamped and you need to pay at the machine in order to leave.

Theme Day - Pink

Its the first of the month and Pink is theme for the City Daily Photo community this month.  An opportunity for photo of a pink peony at Jindai Botanical Gardens in Tokyo.