Twenty-third and twenty-fourth days in Japan

 

The Bridge of Heaven

Tuesday

Wandering the halls of the Hotel Anteroom ホテルアンテルーム in Kyōto 京都:

All good things must come to an end. Bidding Kyoto farewell as we prepare to board the Hashidate はしだて limited express train:

Typical scenery en route to our next stop on the Japan itinerary:

Passing by Fukuchiyama Castle 福知山城, one of Japan's many ferroconcrete castle reconstructions:

We arrived in Amanohashidate 天橋立 several hours before the start of check-in at our hotel, so after safely stowing our bags there, we hopped on a bus going to Ine 伊根, considered one of the most beautiful villages in Japan. A good spot to have a wander about:

Ine is best known for its funaya 舟屋, houses that are built right over the water so that boats can moor underneath:

Sea urchins "basking" on a rock near the surface of the water:

Lunch at a seafood restaurant above the local tourist information center:

Tanuki タヌキ:

Ine is one of many places in which I could retire, in a house such as this:

Having some "sakeless ice cream" purchased from a sake 日本酒 brewery:

 

Yet another descriptive manhole cover:

Summer is here, which means the cicada セミ are out in force, much to Amber's annoyance:

The done thing when visiting the village is to take a sightseeing tour of the houses from the water. We could've chartered a small boat (captain included), but opted for the regularly-scheduled sightseeing cruise instead. We had to wait a bit, however, as one boat was full of passengers from a Korean tour group. Fortunately, the next cruise was blissfully uncrowded:

These snacks for sale in the sightseeing boat company gift shop...:

…were in contrast to the poster put up on a wall across the street by the Japanese Communist Party 日本共産党, saying "No" to both large military expansions and big tax increases. I lived for several years in a city (Komae 狛江) which had a Communist mayor. Were I eligible to vote in Japanese elections, I would seriously consider supporting the JCP :

Returning from Ine and after checking into the Amanohashidate Hotel 天橋立ホテル:

The view from our second-floor room:

Amanohashidate wasn't the liveliest of places on a Tuesday evening...:

…but we were able to find a restaurant open for dinner, and with a view of the Asoumi Sea 阿蘇海 to boot:

A nightcap back in the room:

Wednesday

On our way to breakfast, passing by the onsen 温泉 baths, some of the most relaxing I've had the pleasure of soaking in on this trip:

Amanohashidate is famous in Japan for its narrow sandbar known as the "bridge to heaven". The spit is covered in over 5000 pine trees, and has long served as inspiration for painters and poets. We set out to explore the area via rented bikes from our hotel:

Our first stop, however, was at a local shrine 神社 to thank the thel kami 神 for ensuring the safe trip we'd been having up to that time:

At the southern edge of Amanohashidate is Chion-in 知恩院, a popular Buddhist temple:

The late 16th-century pagoda is an Important Cultural Property:

I know they mean well, but the noise level produced by this group of Chinese tourists shattered the morning calm of the temple grounds:

Time to ride the 3.5 kilometer/2.2 mile-long stretch to the northern end of Amanohashidate 天橋立:

The Amanohashidate Hotel visible across the water, on the right:

A poem by the Edo-period haiku 俳句 poet and painter Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村:

An opportunity for a couple of selfies while the girl was using the restroom:

Reaching the northern end of the spit, we parked our bikes and rode the chair lift up to Amanohashidate Kasamatsu Park 天橋立傘松公園:

Amanohashidate is considered on of Japan's "top three views". Having already visited the other two (Matsushima 松島 and Miyajima 宮島), I now can boast of completing the trinity:

Believe it or not, you are supposed to bend down and look at the "bridge to heaven" from between your legs:

Supposedly, this creates the illusion of the "bridge" floating in the sky. I saw one person actually taking a photo from between his legs while striking the pose!:

Lunch with a view. Soon after this photo was snapped, a sudden squall hit the area, complete with heavy rain, lightning and wind. The chair lifts were halted, but the gondola remained in operation:

By the time we reached the bottom, the weather had returned to its pre-lunch state, so we hopped on our bikes for the return trip to the southern end of the sandbar, riding past this scene as we set out:

Had we more time and better weather, a swim would have been in order:

Somewhere along the way I rode through a spider's web, and this critter hitched a ride on me for a short distance:

Just as we neared the southern end, the skies opened up again. Despite having a rain poncho (her) and an umbrella (me), we still got a little drenched. Fortunately, we dried out in time to board another Hashidate to take us to our next location:

A gashapon ガシャポン Miroku Buddha 弥勒菩薩 kept us company on the journey:

The ominous-looking sky would prove to be a harbinger of things to come:

At Toyooka Station 豊岡駅 we changed from the limited express...:

...to a local bound for Tottori 鳥取. Something was going on as we were asked by station personnel after getting off the Hashidate if we were heading for Kyoto or Ōsaka 大阪:

It was a slow, 2½-hour ride through the countryside and along the coast:

We actually pulled into Tottori Station 鳥取駅 a few minutes late due to a long stop at Hamasaka Station 浜坂駅, during which a train conductor made sure we weren't planning on continuing on from Tottori that day. It turned out that a number of train lines in the greater Chūgoku region 中国地方 had suspended operations due to heavy rain. It would be our turn the following day to have our trip disrupted by the weather, but on this night we were meant to be in Tottori. For dinner we went to Gottsuo Rāmen ごっつおらーめん. In Tottori beef bones are used for the soup's base instead of pork. The end result was delicious:

According to the menu, customers 60 and over were eligible for a ¥100 discount on the bill. The cashier took my word for it, and said she didn't need to see my passport for proof of age. With the reality setting in that I'm now obviously in my silver years, the arthritis and rheumatism immediately started up:

The view from our room on the 7th floor of the Tottori Washington Hotel Plaza 鳥取ワシントンホテルプラザ:

Next up: the weather kami decide to have some fun with us...