More glimpses of unfamiliar Japan

  Located on a hilltop just north of the main train station in Hitoyoshi, Kanrenji is temple 53 on the Kyushu Pilgrimage that I visited towa...

  As the suffix "in" shows, this was not originally a full temple, rather a hermitage. The main building seems to be primarily the...

  The Kuma River, or as it is commonly referred to in English, the Kumagawa River, that runs through  Hitoyoshi is classed as one of the thr...

  Shimekazari are traditional New Year decorations usually found attached to the front door of homes and businesses. At the heart of a shime...

  The Sagara Graveyard I visited in Hityoshi was located behind a small temple, Gangoji, and there was a little bit of autumn color around ...

  My first stop on the 41st day of my walk around Kyushu was at the Sagara Family Cemetery behind Gangoji Temple. 37 generations of the Saga...

Right next to the ruins of Hitoyoshi Castle, in the grounds of what is now the Sagara Gokoku Shrine, are the remnants of a traditional Japan...

  Hitoyoshi Castle, like most castles in Japan, is pretty much a ruin having been dismantled in the early meiji Period. However the remainin...

Eikoku-ji temple in Hitoyoshi is located on the opposite bank of the Kuma River to the Aoi Aso Shrine, near the castle. It is also known as ...

 Koya-ji, or as it is locally known "Oshi-san", or "Koya-san" is a small, fairly modern temple located right across from...