Tsunoshima to Nagato (by van): in part because of the rain and in part because of the roads, we started out the day with a ride out of town, to a reasonable place to get on bikes.
Insomnia Collection: bridge to Tsunoshima Island in the early morning |
it's a cloudy morning and a messy shot, but look how clear the water is |
the van is ready to go with our bikes |
getting in the van to ride a bit east for our start |
low clearance? no problem |
hitting the road |
public roadside art by the water |
trees, rock wall, road |
buildings by the water |
Nagato to Hagi (by bike, 42km): all of us except Catherine biked along the coastline all morning, stopping at an oceanside cafe for tea and coffee, at the grounds of a shrine to eat the lunch we'd brought, and finally at the ruined Hagi Castle to walk around.
biking off in our raingear into a canal-side neighborhood |
buildings on either side of the canal |
Dana, Paul, Tom, and David cross the street |
a flooded field full of cranes |
the rest of the group riding away while i photograph cranes (spoiler: it took me like 10 minutes to catch up with them) |
David contemplates a change in direction |
electric meters of Japan |
view along the coast towards fog-covered mountains |
more rough seas |
geometric breakwaters, a town in the mountains, a group of cyclists |
breakwater action shot |
house snowman at Beach Side Tadonohama cafe, where we stopped for coffee |
it's nice to be seeing the rain through a window |
Sarah, David, and Tom in our booth |
Gina has given up on the indoors and gone out to look for shells |
shell-gathering action shot |
the tea arrives (i don't remember its nature) |
Gina returns with the spoils of her shell-gathering mission |
inside of a spiral shell |
sea urchin and its spines |
underside of sea urchin |
we should probably think about getting underway again |
sign inside the cafe |
front door of the cafe |
preparing to get underway |
riders, passing a phone booth |
a smokestack, reflected in two different choppinesses of water |
buildings and mountains across the water |
a bird, seemingly at random, spreads its wings |
climbing up the steps to a shrine on whose grounds we'll eat lunch |
handwashing station with pointy dragon |
a harpoon? |
Rei on the shrine grounds |
view from the shrine grounds |
my lunch, tuna mayonnaise onigiri (aka tuna salad) |
an archway with a crane and some other things happening |
many roofs and several fishes |
Sarah, Tom, David, and Paul, riding |
green fields, hills, and trees |
Gina, riding |
David, climbing |
the sea, the sea! |
colors of cloud, sky, water, island |
the road rounding a curve into the trees |
view along the coastline from the top of a climb |
Sarah and Tom, checking out the view |
the view |
my bike, in front of the view |
canal wall with ladder |
canal running down the valley in front of houses |
trees full of covered citruses |
here are some uncovered citruses also |
one theory is that the bags are to prevent cross-pollination |
David, rounding a curve |
looking down at the road ahead |
cyclists from the future on the road ahead |
steps up to a cemetary |
many red roofs |
Tom, David, and Paul, back at the coast |
the van, containing Rei and Catherine, has caught up |
waves against the rocks |
Tom and David |
anti-avalanche cover |
train tracks in Sanmi |
this tree is trying very hard |
our stone-lined route |
tree root growing in the wall |
look, a forest |
trees by the roadside |
birds on a rock |
Tom, taking photos in front of the coast |
more coast, rocks, surf |
street view doesn't know what that red thing is, and neither do i |
Gina, pausing |
Dana, at the top of the avalanche barrier maintenance staircase |
the sign says not to use this road, but our guide says it's okay |
the San'in Main Line, from above |
the road was closed because of this rockslide we are walking past |
rockslide netting |
egregiously out-of-focus photo of the rockslide itself |
the end of the closed segment |
trees and fallen petals as we return to the coast again |
more citruses! |
canal in Hagi |
around Hagi Castle and to the hotel (on foot and by bike): we walked around the castle grounds, then quickly finished our ride to check in at the hotel.
crossing the canal into the Hagi Castle area |
koi! |
a turtle, and the mouth of a fish |
there were quite a number of fish |
this turtle is on land for some reason |
Hagi Castle was built at the beginning of the 17th century, and dismantled during the Meiji Restoration in the late 19th century |
castle walls with stone staircases |
a large tree |
wisteria! (attractive to both humans and bees, we learned) |
torii gate |
discussion of a poem by Kodama Kagai |
a carved stone on the castle grounds |
this tree was next to a sign about how the Midoriyoshino cherry is named for its green outer layer and is only found in Hagi, so your guess is as good as mine, but let's say these are those cherries |
a taiko bashi, or drum-style bridge |
shape-sorter lantern! |
many little vine leaves growing on a tree |
pentagons tiling the plane |
a well |
Shizukiyama Shrine |
remains of castle tower |
a decorative turtle |
a turtle family on a rock |
a turtle swimming with a baby turtle |
Sarah, on the castle tower |
moat view from castle tower |
ruins across the moat |
tree-covered hillside |
view towards the town of Hagi |
Gina, returning from some ruins |
David and Tom, walking along the wall |
Gina, standing on the wall |
time to get our bikes and head to the hotel |
Gina, climbing down from the wall |
around Hagi old town (on foot): we wandered around the old town of Hagi, visting a couple of temples and many former residences of notable people in the Meiji Restoration who were from Hagi. Then we went to the onsen, and then had another banquet dinner, followed by a brief conversation about manga, and a walk outside to look at the full moon.
i liked this painting in our hotel lobby, 'Waiting for the Spring' by Kazusa Nosaka |
an octagonal tower |
canal in Hagi which used to be the castle outer moat |
a building with an asymmetrical roof |
a building with many roofs |
first in a set of tiles along the canal in Hagi |
we think they are telling the story of the tradespeople of the town |
third tile |
fourth tile |
ducks in the canal |
former Kubota family residence, which we walked by but didn't go in |
lacquered wood |
look, a crane! |
it was initially so still that i wasn't sure it was alive, but then it shifted to a different position and took off |
decorative map of part of the old town of Hagi, showing the birthplaces of several members of the Meiji government, who grew up together |
a field with fruit trees |
a wood door |
the bucket for a well |
a cleared area of dirt around a tree |
according to a sign, houses in the Edo period were forbidden to have second stories, so some had second stories hidden from the street |
Gina and Catherine outside the former residence of Aoki Shusuke |
stone outside the residence |
whoa, a giant wooden horse |
backing up a step, we are at the Enseiji Temple, which celebrates the animals of the zodiac |
statue with cap and smock |
enormous bamboo |
visual discussion of the animals celebrated at this temple |
a tengu mask |
you could get a book, and use it to collect stamps from temples across Japan |
that brings us back to this very impressive wooden horse |
a bell |
a field |
an admirable sentiment (may peace prevail on earth) |
a carved block |
a wooden scene including a pig |
a street in Hagi's old town |
a path in a field in Hagi's old town |
a dragon in a shop |
a street in the town |
a decorated bamboo stick |
a pottery shop and the street beyond |
a garden on the other side of a wooden door |
a cat participating in side-eye |
a building in Hagi |
a cartoon about bike helmets |
statue of Giichi Tanaka, i think |
some neat roof tile edges |
Cats of Japan: just hanging out |
Cats of Japan: on a fence |
a gap in a lacquered wood wall |
the old gate to the tenement house of the Hanzawa Family |
Resort Hotel Mihagi, where we are staying |
breakwaters off the coast of Hagi |
a bit later, early sunset over the breakwaters |
nice clouds |
fish in hotel gift shop |
mice in hotel gift shop |
giant wasp nest on display at hotel |
banquet dinner starts with this sampler plate |
we have a nice sunset view from our dining room |
banquet dinner: what's in that bowl? |
banquet dinner: note the koi chopstick rest, and the lasagna-ish dish in the back left |
banquet dinner: that must be an eggplant, but i don't have notes about this course |
the miso soup contained a very nice sesame tofu |
banquet dinner: dessert |
after dinner, Gina checks out the manga library |
we went outside with Catherine to investigate the full moon |
the full moon |