Fireworks!

Sunday, 7th September

Well it's not the fireworks spectacular that a multi-million dollar budget would afford but for two thousand yen ($22 Aussie dollars) you can get a fireworks kit and enjoy the excitement of lighting them up and watching them sparkle and explode right at home! Fireworks unlike Australia are not banned for public use here in Japan and over the summer you can buy all sorts of fireworks pretty much anywhere. We bought these at the local convenience shop and took them to the small bridge nearby the house that goes over the river.

One by one we lit and waiting to see what they would do! I managed to take some photos of the ones on the ground. There were a few that flew up a few metres up in the air and exploded which were awesome!

The ones above are pretty nifty, once lighted the tip burns and glows into a small sphere, soon after it burns and sparkles like in the picture.

Ultimate Seclusion - The Iya Valley - worth the 5 year wait

PART ONE OF TWO

Saturday, 19th July 2008

We had an early start to make the long drive to the secluded Iya Valley located in Tokushima Prefecture on the smallest of Japans four main islands – Shikoku. From Tojo we drove to Okayama via Nimi on the main roads where we refuelled before driving on the Seto Ohashi Bridge（瀬戸大橋）a suspension bridge which consists of 6 bridges and spans 9.4 kilometres over the Seto Inland Sea （瀬戸内海）to a town called Sakaide. The bridge has two main levels, the upper one for cars and the lower for the railway that connects Shikoku with Honshu. On the way over there are a couple of small islands that the bridge passes over where you can get off to have a walk, a drink or something to eat. We got off at Yoshima （与島） to marvel at the view of the bridge itself. We didn't spend too much time there as we still had a fair way to go.

The bridge took to Sakaide where we hopped on Route 438 followed by Route 32 taking us the rest of the way. Once we got into Tokushima Prefecture we passed through some beautiful scenery. We arrived a little behind schedule at Oboke-Koboke where we ended up having lunch at a place called the Woody restaurant. The sky was amazingly clear for Japan and the shape of the clouds were sharply defined. The suns rays were hot enough to penetrate your skin but the bright and dark greens, blues and whites that made up the scenery were fabulous.

Shortly after lunch we went for a walk along the Yoshino river （吉野川）and marvelled at the spectacular rock formations that have been shaped over the last 2 hundred million years. We also enjoyed a 30 minute cruise on the river. The cool layer of air above the water made the ride very pleasant.

We stepped into the local stone museum which has displays of all types of rocks found on the planet. I was especially impressed and surprised that they had samples from Australia! There was iron ore from the north and gold from Kalgoorlie and what took me by surprise the most was that they even had a gold coin made at the Perth mint. After a good look around we got back in the car and headed for the Iya Valley. We turned left onto the prefectural Route 45 and started climbing the mountain. The road was full of potholes, winding round and round, rising steeply offering absolutely breathtaking views of the valley down below. I would have to say that this has to be one of the most memorable driving experiences in Japan, truly unforgettable. We had to turn left onto the old Route 32, a road almost the width of the car at times. There was a steep rise to the right and a steep drop down if the car was to veer off to the left. The road has been upgraded in certain sections making it easier to pass oncoming traffic. We arrived at our hotel but beforehand we went to see the oddly placed 'piss boy' statue a few hundred metres away. I'll leave it at that!

We returned to the hotel and parked in our very own spot that they had saved for us since the place attracts people from all over to have a dip in the main hot spring which it is well known for. Our luggage was carried to our rooms and we had a private tour of the establishment before being escorted to our room where we were able to relax at last. All though it is true that you get what you pay for and yes this place is not cheap to stay at but I was blown away by the quality of service and the room itself. We had our own outside bath 'rotemburo' on the balcony perched up on the mountain side 413 metres above sea level. The base of the valley is at an altitude of around 243 metres just to give you some idea of how high up we were. You can see the hotel in the picture below.

Our dinner came on time and were treated to some beautiful food most of it made up of local products including fish from the river and vegetables from the mountains. From my experience these dinners can be over the top with you feeling bloated afterwards but this time round the amount although still a little too much, was more manageable and delicious.

It was another bright, sunny and humid summers morning but being up in the mountains meant it was a couple of degrees cooler than back at sea level. We went down to the main hot spring on the lift. The water is naturally warm from geothermal heat and is said to contain many natural minerals that relieve all sorts of pain. The water isn't too hot so you can stay in there as long as you like. A lot of tourists come during the day but I was the only one in there until a group of guys entered. Naomi also had the ladies bath all to herself for a short while!

After bathing, we went back up and enjoyed our breakfast enjoying the peaceful view of the Iya Valley. Shortly afterwards it was time to say good bye to this beautiful place and continue on our way to Mt. Tsurugi, a 40km or 2 hour drive eastwards, where we would spend our second night.

We left the onsen and headed to the famous Kazura Bridge which was packed full of tourists! This is one of two bridges made from vine however there were originally twelve.

This is the most popular of the two as it isn't so hard to get to. The bridge is rebuilt every three years using local expertise.

The bridge itself looks stable but the walk across can be a little bit tricky as it sways about and the steps are separated enough so you can see the flowing river down below.

We spent a little bit of time down below where you can walk between and over the rocks in the river. Biwa waterfall is a very short walk away.

To anyone that continually reads my entries, Just to let you know that I am still updating the site and will have a new post about Shikoku up over the next day or two.

Thanks

A beautiful sunset

7:30pm, Thursday, 17th July 2008

I was just doing the washing up about ten minutes ago and noticed that the air outside had a red tinge to it with is unusual. It only lasted a couple of minutes but I managed to take a photo of the sky up above as I am surrounded by mountains but it has a unique feel to it. Sunset was at 7:22pm this evening.

photo taken at 7:24pm

Yakiniku!

me taking care of the cooking

Sunday, 13th July 2008

Summer is almost in full swing and the days are in the low thirties and the humidity over 70% making the heat unbearable at times. The nights are also humid with the temperature above 25 degrees however thankfully up in the mountains the temperature drops to the low twenties making it somewhat cooler than in the cities. Summer is also a time just like back in Australia when many people have a barbie outside! This evening we decided to enjoy one Japanese style! There is no such thing as the webber over here but they do have a simple alternative that does the job just fine. First of all the Japanese call it Yakiniku which literally means barbecued meat. The big difference between an aussie babrie and a Japanese BBQ is the type of meat cooked. In Australia we mainly have sausages and big pieces of steak and onion. In Japan they have thinly cut slices of beef, chicken, pork, small frankfurter type sausages, prawns, onion, cabbage, pumpkin, shell fish, capsicum... you name it! Rice balls are always ready prepared to eat with a bit of seaweed wrapped around it. A few beers to wash it all down goes just nicely.

Naomi's mum and Naomi enjoying the meat I cooked!

me barbequeing some meat!

Naomi's fathers' grandmother and sister

on top of the world!

MT. DOGO

道後山

14th June 2008

Located in the very north eastern corner of Hiroshima Prefecture where a few steps north from the peak would place you in Tottori Prefecture, this is Mt. Dogo, one of the highest peaks in the prefecture rising up to 1268.8 metres above sea level (Mt. Osorokan is the highest - 1346m located in the Geihoku region in the west). On a clear day you can see the Japan Sea in the north and Tottori Prefectures Mt. Daisen - 1709m - the highest mountain in western Japan. Out to the west is Shobara, Miyoshi and beyond and to the south - Tojo. To the east is Yamaguchi Prefecture.

You can drive half way up the mountain which is a ski resort in winter and park the car. From there you can hike up the mountain along the well trodden track. There are two peaks to reach the first one Mt. Iwahi - 1271m (岩樋山), actually taller believe it or not than Mt. Dogo by a couple of metres! The climb is relatively easy although there are sections where your level of fitness and flexibility will be tested! The view from the top is breathtaking and I will say that again, absolutely breathtaking. The last time I came up this mountain I was still in my work clothes so I couldn't adventure off from the car park but I did take a couple of photos two of which are at the bottom of this entry. The visibility wasn't 100% but was good enough to sit on the peak and gaze at nothing but mountains, mountains and more mountains right as far as our eyes could see.

the last few hundred metres to the peak of Mt. Dogo!

the view in a south-west direction from the peak

Kai standing on a rock on Mt. Iwahi with Mt. Dogo still another 30 minutes walk away



the peak of Mt. Iwahi from the carpark - September 2007


the autumn sky - from the carpark on Mt. Iawahi - september 2007

serene beauty

TAISHAKU-KYO ・LAKE SHINRYU

帝釈峡・神龍湖

17th May 2008

The sky was blue with a few fluffy clouds passing by in the distance and the sun shining brightly. The new leaves showing off their magnificant greens and the dry breeze keeping us cool and making us work harder to avoid drifting off course. It was a perfect spring day for a row on the famous Lake Shinryu in the beautiful surroundings of Taishaku. We enjoyed a leisurely walk through the forest under the canopy of leaves and soaking in the sunshine passing in between.

lunch time under the hot sun!

Naomi rowing the boat on the lake




this is what Taishaku looks like in mid-winter just to give you an idea of how this amazing place literally transforms from complete dullness and bearness into a tranquil forest full of life