Solitary Japanese Bicycles 2

Some more portraits of solitary Japanese bicycles. This one was in Tsunozu, Gotsu, Shimane.

The Japanese word for bicycle is "jitensha", but this style, by far the most common in Japan, is known as "Mama Chari" from mama's Chariot. This one was at a shrine in Waki, Gotsu, Shimane

Though ostensibly designed for mothers to carry kids and shopping, the mamachari is used by all ages and genders. This one is on the shore at Tatimigaura, Shimoko, Shimane.

prices range from $100-$200, so they are considered disposable. Cheaper to dump and buy a new one than to maintain and repair. This one is in front of a sake brewery in Yunotsu, Shimane.

"Serious" cyclists por scorn on mama charis, but then anyone who wears spandex and those dorky helmets has no right to make fun of anything. This one is in Tomonoura, Hiroshima.

This final one obviously belongs to a kagura dancer or fan. I found it in Nagahama, Hamada, Shimane.

Solitary Japanese Bicycles 1 has some other pics.

Matsue National Government Building

Opened in 2004, this building houses a variety of National govedrnment offices that previously had been scattered across the town. The Immigration Office is here, so I and other foreigners who live in Shimane visit it often.

It was designed by Shin Takamatsu who also designed the Kunibiki Messe building across the road.

The south facing surface of the building has glass louvers to cut down on the airconditioning bills and the roof features a rainfall catchment system.

Other than that it is a fairly ordinary office block.

Teono Shrine

Teono Shrine is situated atop a small hill, Honozan, between Izumo taisha and Inasa Beach. The 2 kami enshrined here are Taokihooi, a god of measuring, and Hikosashiri, a god of carpentry. They are considered to be the ancestors of 2 branches of the Imbe Clan, and in the Kogoshui version of the Iwato myth the 2 were charged with the construction of a "great palace" outside of the cave that Amaterasu was hiding in. Some consider this to be the first kagura den. Most likely this was the shrine for the builders of Izumo Taisha.

Behind the shrine is a sacred tree home to Shirohebi Daijin, I suspect the site of a visit by a white snake, considered particularly portentious.

Next to the shrine is a small park with an observation tower offering views over the surrounding country. The long beach is Nagahama, and according to the Kunibiki myth it is a rope that tethers this peninsular to Mount Sanbe, just visible in the distance.

Much of the land down below would have been water 100 years ago. Lake Shinji has been reduced by over one third and land reclaimed earlier in the twentieth Century. The Hi River once emptied into the sea here but now empties into what is left of lake Shinj. 10,000 years ago this peninsular was an island separated from the mainland.

Downtown Izumo City in the distance. The plastic greenhouses in the forground are for grapes for the Shimane Winery.

Lotus Blossom Viewing

Just got back from a visit to the Korakuen, one of the three top gardens in Japan. Located below Okayama castle in Okayama City, the lotus blossoms were on display for the hordes of photographers.

The lotus blossom is one of the most recognised Buddhist symbols and can be found in much Buddhist art. The pink blossoms represent the historical Buddha.

Lotus root is edible and can be found in Japanese cooking. Known as Renkon, it is good in soup or as tempura.

There was a second pond with white blossoms. In Buddhist symbolism they represent purity.

I find the leaves at least as interesting as the flowers.

Hanging lunch out to dry

A common sight in fishing villages on the Iwami coast is squid hanging up to dry.

I believe Iwami exports a lot of squid to other parts of Japan.

Dried squid jerky is actually a tasty snack with beer. I often take along some when I am hiking.

The squid boats use very bright lights to fool the squid into thinking its a full moon when they rise to the surface to mate.

The lamps are so bright that they can be seen through cloud cover when flying over Shimane at night.

The strangest looking one I ever saw was on one of the Oki Islands. This one had been preserved and was hanging in front of a seafood restaurant.

Vacation 2010 Day 4: London

I spent the afternoon and evening in London before spending the night on the floor of Stansted Airport ready for a cheap flight to Stuttgart.

I grew up less than 100 miles from London, yet I have spent little time there. I don' t think I've even spent a night in London , just short visits, usually on the way to and from the airport. So I don't really know London outside of a few of the major tourist sites.

One surprise for me was Westminster Cathedral, Not to be confused with the famous Westminster Abbey. Its a very ornate Catholic Cathedral not far from Victoria Bus Station, and unlike its famous namesake, entrance is free. It was built in the first years of the 20th Century and has some interesting mosaics.

In my memory, London was always an expensive place to travel around, but nowadays there are plenty of ticket options that make it much more affordable. Of course The Tube goes pretty much everywhere.

A different perspective of the Millenium Bridge....

I usually try and visit the Tate Modern when I am in London. The biggest museum of modern art in the world, housed in a recycled power station, a world-class museum with free entrance. One can easily spend a week or more in London just visiting great museums that are all free.

I tried to go to the National Museum just on Trafalgar Square, but got there too late, so spent some time sitting among the fountains counting the number of different languages I could hear being spoken by the tourists passing by....

Flood update.

3pm and the river has come up over the bank and is inching its way towards my millet, chingensai, carrots, tomatoes, corn (what was looking to be my best ever harvest), butternut squash, sweet potatoes, black beans, taro, and peppers....

5pm and the river has claimed my garden.

7pm and I am now an aquaculturist as my garden is covered with a meter of water that is flowing faster and faster. Bits of garden sheds from gardens upriver speed by on their way to the sea.

The village paddies behind the levee are getting deeper and deeper, though I am assured that the rice will survive and be fine. It continues to rain a little, but the rain here is not the problem. Hiroshima is getting heavier rains and half the watershed of the river is in Hiroshima, so it depends on releases from the dam upstream whether the river rises anymore. Tomorrow I will find out what, if anything, in my river garden has survived. My village garden is above the flooding so really its only half my garden that has been damaged, and once the river recedes it will leave behind a layer of rich silt for next years planting :)

Flood!

Flood

It's been raining heavily for a couple of days, and yesterday I noticed the river was high, so last night as it continued to pour down all night I worried about my riverside garden flooding, like it did 4 years ago.

As soon as I got up I checked the small stream that runs through the hamlet. Normally this is virtually dry, but when it rains it runs quite heavily. This morning it didn't look bad. I've seen it a meter and a half deeper.

Down in the paddies, the lowest of them were flooded. Underneath the water is my neighbors rice.

Down at the riverside my garden is safe. The river was up to the edge of the bank, so my corn, millet, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and black beans were about a meter above the water.

100 meters downstream my neighbors were not so lucky... the gardens were under a meter of water. The community PA announces that the dam 30k upstream is going to release more water, followed by the siren. They expect the river to rise at least one more meter with the extra water. That should just about wash my garden away. The local rail line has closed due to a landslide upstream, and the police told me they are going to close Route 261 upstream aways .

The village is protected from the river flooding by the levee that route 261 travels over. To stop the river backing up through the stream, huge steel floodgates are closed. But, you may ask, what happens to the water coming down the mountains and through the village?

It backs up of course, which is why the paddies are starting to flood and people with low-lying gardens now have ponds.

Kurashiki Heron

Tenryo Maru

The Tenryo Maru is one of the many tour boats that ply the canals of the Bikan historic district of Kurashiki in Okayama Prefecture.

Kurashiki is a fairly typical industrial city on the south coast, but the Bikan district is a little oasis of traditional streets and buildings that is a very popular tourist destination due in large part to the famous Ohara Museum of Art.

As with most of the major tourist destination in Japan I suggest exploring it very early in the morning. Japan doesnt use Daylight Savings Time in the summer so the days begin ridiculously early, but the tour buses and the hordes they bring don't usually arrive until 9

I found Kurashiki a little bit too touristy, a little bit too theme parkish. Most of the buildings are no longer in use except as tourist sites. Nearby Takahashi and Tomonoura I found to be more authentic.

Anyway, the combination of early morning light and still water makes for easy photography....