 |
| at Ningyo Toge pass on the divide |
Japan,
being an island nation, has something of a non-continental divide
between the Pacific Ocean, the Inland Sea and the Sea of Japan,
especially on the main island of Honshu. There is a special
designation for either side of this divide. Here in Okayama in the
south, the region is called San-yo 山陽
(the sunny side); in our
northern Prefectural neighbor, Tottori, it is called San-in
(the shady side). To go from one side to the other you have to cross
the divide through various mountain passes. The actual distance is
not so long and you can traverse from coast to coast in two to
three hours. In the winter, it can be sunny when you leave home in
the southern coastal lowlands and after driving for an hour or so you
can find yourself in need of tire chains (if you have them) to cross
the mountain pass before descending to the northern coastal lowlands.
In the fall, autumn color is more dramatic and comes earlier in the highlands and it is a
great time for a little overnight getaway to the San-in region--and
you don't yet need tire chains. So we decided to stay at an old hot
spring ryokan in Tottori Prefecture not too far from the Sea of
Japan.
 |
| programming the route with "Demi" |
The
two-day road trip was our first excursion with our Mazda Demio
(outside of the local area) since she was returned to us from an auto
body shop in Hokkaido after being repaired from a collision. (I
related that story in a recent post here on Noilly Prattle.) Demi, as
we have nicknamed the car, performed beautifully and seemed to enjoy
being on the road again as much as we did.
 |
| picnic lunch at Ningyo Toge |
There
were a lot of clouds lingering around the high peaks of the divide
when we stopped for a picnic lunch of chicken rolls, potato chips and
tea at a small rest area just outside the Ningyo Toge (Doll Pass)
tunnel that crosses the divide. There are a couple of legends about
the strange name of the pass. My favorite one (because I could
imagine the atmosphere) is a kaidan 怪談
(ghost
story). It goes like this: Long, long ago a
mother and her daughter were crossing the pass on a dark foggy night
when they got separated. They could hear but not see each other.
After a while the mother could no longer hear the girl so she
backtracked to find her, but all she found was a doll lying on the
ground.
 |
| typical road frontage... |
 |
| ... of merchant establishments |
After
crossing the pass, the road descends quickly into the lowlands and
our first stop was in Kurayoshi City, Tottori Prefecture, which has a
preserved merchant area of town from the Edo and Meiji (17 to 19 Century) Period. The preservation area is not without interest,
however the area is not aesthetically charming, not because of the
old buildings, but of the modern, unsightly forest of utility poles and electrical wires that mar the overall effect of what you would like to imagine the
town had looked like in the era in question.
 |
unusual 3-story building with unsightly
utility poles and electrical wiring |
 |
| typical red tile roofs of the old houses |
 |
long canal spanned by stone bridges
to rear entrance of shops |
 |
| beautiful woodwork ceilings inside |
 |
| fire brigade display |
What would a preservation district be without beautiful Japanese paper kites?
 |
| Shichifukujin - the seven good luck gods |
 |
on a stone slab bridge
in front of the main temple gate |
There
was an unusual Buddhist temple on a little side street running along
an irrigation canal. The gate to the temple was traditional, however,
the main temple was unusual for a Japanese temple. It was painted a
rather bright yellow color and had lines reminiscent of India,
especially in the arches, quite in contrast to a typical Japanese
main temple. It seemed appropriate in a way since Buddhism was
founded by Siddhartha Gautama—in India. I found that there is great
variety in the design of Buddhist temples, depending on the region
and/or inspiration of the architectural designer.
 |
| traditional temple gate |
 |
| unusual (in Japan) main temple |
 |
Buddhist temple in India
(Google images) |
 |
very modern Buddhist temple in China
(Google images) |
