The 500 Rakan at Unpenji Temple

 

A combination of snow and the low, golden sunlight made these pics of Rakan a little special.

Unpenji Temple straddles the border of Tokushima and Kagawa Prefectures on Shikoku.

Sitting atop Mount Unpenji, it is temple 66 of the famous 88 temple pilgrimage of Shikoku.

At 900 meters altitude, it is the highest of all the 88 temples.

The rakan statues are life-size, and spread over quite a wide area. I do not know for sure if they have the full 500.

I wish I had spent more time exploring and photographing them, but I was bushed from the climb.

The previous temple on the pilgrimage was the 14th Bangai temple Tsubaki-do, down at the base of the mountain.

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Passing by Masuda

 

After exploring the abandoned Love Hotel, I carried on along the beach road towards Masuda.

I stopped in and had a coffee at a beach cafe. Last time I stopped here, it was a ramshackle place; now all modern and brand-spanking-new.

Looking up the coast towards where I will be tomorrow. The high point on the left is Mount Taima, somwhere I recently posted on. here a delightful garden,  and here, the shrine to hemp.

The sole wind generator has been there for ages, right at the mouth of the Takatsu River....

Not sure what this plant is called in Japanese.....but I know it as Ice Plant...

The long stretch of beach continues on towards Masuda,

Lots and lots of concrete used in various ways to "protect" the coast...

I became fascinated by the patterns made by the waves against such brutal geometry.

Once on the outskirts of Masuda I passed by two small Inari shrines.

They were both company shrines. Many businesses have their own private shrines for success in business, and Inari seems to be the kami of choice, at least here in Masuda.

Downtown Masuda comes into view. I carry straight on up the coast and do not head into the town.

First I cross the Takatsu River, and then the smaller Masuda River....

The previous post was on the abandoned Love Hotel.

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Tsuwano Catholic Church

 

I have photographed quite a few churches in Japan, simply because they are rare and therefore exotic.

Of course, none of the churches in Japan are very old as Christianity was outlawed until the late 19th century.

It is thought that in 1601 the daimyo of Tsuwano flirted with Christianity. Missionary records claim him as a convert, but he seemed to have renounced the religion soon after. There are said to be a couple of Christian gravestones at Yomeiji Temple.

In 1870, 153 "Hidden Christians" from Nagasaki were imprisoned in Tsuwano and tortured to recant their faith. 37 died. A lovely chapel has been built on the hillside above Tsuwano... see this post for details.

The Catholic church in Tsuwano  was built in 1934 by a German priest. Built of wood, the Japanese carpenters came from Nagasaki. In 1892 a mission was established in Tsuwano, and so the church dates its foundation to then.

In early November every year a procession goes from the church up to the chapel.

There are said to be about 70 parishioners at the church. There are several other churches now in the Tsuwano area, although official statistics say only 2 per cent of the popukation of Japan are Christian, however, there has been quite a lot of Christian Prime Ministers....

The church is usually open to visitors from 9 to 5, unless services are taking place.

The previous post in this series on Tsuwano was on the childhood homes of Nishi Amane and Mori Ogai.

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Abandoned Love Hotel

 

Right on the beach in front of Iwami Hagi Airport stands an abandoned hotel.

The main building is standard 5-storey structure and was a regular hotel. However, attached to it was also a Love Hotel, I suspect operated by the same company. I believe the Love Hotel stayed in business longer than the main hotel

I dont remember ever seeing it open, suggesting it has been closed for some years.

The 2nd and 3rd photos show inside what appears to be the Love Hotel's managers' living space.

The first of the rooms I explored just seemed like a fairly standar room.... nothing exotic...

The price list suggested there were several classes of room though...

Certainly the next one I explored was larger and with more facilities....

A karaoke machine and specialized furniture were available... Another abandoned Love Hotel I explored near Matsue, and then yet another near Yamaguchi.

The previous post was on the walk here along the Kohama Coast....

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