Lake Yubara and Katsuyama

LAKE YUBARA

Yubara Dam

     There is a dam visible from the thermal pools at Yubara Onsen which make a dramatic backdrop when you consider all the water being held back behind that dam. In spite of the relaxation induced by the hot water there is always that little what if (as in what if the dam breaks) in the back of your mind—not enough to induce paranoia but just enough to give a little spice of apprehension to the experience.

        In all the years since we started going to Yubara we had never gone up to the dam or seen the reservoir called Lake Yubara formed by damming the river. The dam is very high and consequently the lake is extensive. A satellite or map view looks like a monster with a long pigtail. We learned that there is a road across the dam and a long winding road that parallels the southern shore of the lake as well as a nature park. We decided to drive up to the dam and have a look at the lake and do some walking in the nature park after checking out of our ryokan.

Map: Lake Yubara

nature park entrance
and spattered Demi

Lake Yubara

        After a rainy previous day the weather was improving and the sun was breaking through the clouds promising a nice day. We crossed the dam and drove to the nature park which is situated on a peninsula and has a nice viewpoint. The park was deserted and the walking path proved to be very hilly but doable. As we climbed up towards the end of the trail we saw a viewing platform sitting on the crest of a rather steep incline that had to be negotiated on steps that were covered with wet slippery leaves. The view from the platform wasn't particularly dramatic or spectacular, just a nice mix of air, earth and water with an occasional touch of fire when the sun peeped out from behind a cloud. Coming down the wet slippery steps proved dicier than going up, but accomplished without mishaps.

platform with a scenic view
(if you can reach it)

the view from the platform (we reached it)


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KATSUYAMA

antique sewing machine

Mickey D inspiration? noren

         After leaving the nature park we drove along the lake for several kilometers and then veered south to return to the Asahi River and along the river to the city of Katsuyama which has preserved an old merchant area. The area is interesting for a couple of reasons: the unique (暖簾) noren* on the shops, and an old boat canal that was used to supply the merchant's shops. The shops therefore back onto the river and front onto the street that parallels the river.

auto repair shop noren

bicycle shop noren

post office noren

tea shop nore

*Noren are traditional Japanese fabric dividers, hung between rooms, on walls, in doorways, or in windows. They usually have one or more vertical slits cut from the bottom to nearly the top of the fabric. Noren are rectangular and come in many different materials, sizes, colors, and patterns. Exterior noren are traditionally used by shops and restaurants as a means of protection from sun, wind, and dust, and for display of the shop name or logo. [Wikipedia]

Katsuyama preserved merchant street

rear of merchant shops on Asahi River boat canal

The Temple that was thrown up to its cliffside location

Mount Mitoku area- location of
 三徳山三佛寺 Mitokusan Sanbutsuji 

     After leaving 燕趙園 [Enchoen], the Chinese Garden, it was only a short drive into the mountains to the 三徳山三佛寺 [Mitokusan Sanbutsuji] temple and its famous (in Japan anyway) cliffside temple called, interestingly enough, 投入堂 [Nageiredo]. The Japanese language seems to be able to compress complex concepts into a few concise syllables. Na-ge-i-re-do, for example consists of five syllables for what I have to explain in English means: The Temple that was created below and thrown up to its cliffside location—19 syllables, count 'em. Let me bore you with another story. It's called how The Temple (that was created below and thrown up to its cliffside location) came into existence.

The Nageiredo (from the road through my zoom lens)

     Long, long ago in the Nara Period around the 8^th Century when Buddhism was being introduced into Japan from China, there was a sort of magician monk who wanted to spread the teachings of Buddha around the country. This magician monk's name was Enno Gyoja. According to legend he threw three lotus petals into the sky intending to build a new temple in each area where they fell back to earth. One of the petals fell onto a cliffside cave on Mount Mitoku 三徳山 in present day Tottori Prefecture. When Enno Gyoja arrived at Mitokusan and saw the almost inaccessible location of the cave and the difficulty involved in building a temple there he decided to build it lower down the mountain slope. Being a magician monk he compressed the completed building into the palm of his hand and boldly threw it up to the cave where, magically, it stuck and has been there ever since. It's called the Nageiredo 投入堂 (I don't have the patience to translate the name again), and is thought to be the oldest surviving wooden structure in Japan.

old and new (junk drinks even here)

weathered gate to the guest house

       Even accessing the main parts of the 三佛寺 [Sanbutsuji] temple can be a bit of a challenge if you are on the shady side of 70 and living with a titanium pin in the hip. The temple seems to have foreseen the needs of mobility-on-steep-slopes challenged people. They graciously provided walking sticks fashioned from local tree limbs at the base of the first set of steps, one of which I grabbed to begin the climb. The temple is an old weatherbeaten affair where moss covered stone sculptures abound. One set of steps shows evidence of centuries of wear and tear. There is an interesting set of Buddhist style prayer beads in front of the gate to a wayfarers' guest house. Usually these beads are fingered much like a rosary while muttering prayers. This set, however, is huge and hung from a pulley that you pull slowly while the wooden beads drop down with a sharp click that can be mesmerizing if you do it long enough. I guess they are designed to put one in a meditative trance. 

prayer beads for giants

Statue of Zao Gongen, a mountain deity,
that used to be in the Nageiredo
(now in a museum at the temple)

staircase well worn by time and countless feet

sun filtered through cedar trees
produces cathedral-like effect
(in my imagination at least)

weather worn and moss covered sculptures of I have no idea what

the Nageiredo and the view for those
able to see it (not my photos) 

little green haired boy

     The Nageiredo, as I mentioned in the previous post, is notoriously difficult to climb up to and is, consequently used for training monks and challenging intrepid climbers. To this day experts can't deduce how the building was actually built in such a difficult location. Although the climber is rewarded with a breathtaking view and photo op, thanks to me bum leg I had to forego, although sorely tempted, the agony and the ecstasy.

if you look real close you will see the Nageiredo in a notch in the foliage in one of the sun's rays;
the little sparkles all over the photo are a swarm of lady bugs (many of which landed on our clothes)

in a Chinese Garden

     There is a replica of a Chinese Garden that was just a short walk from 養生館 [Yojokan]

our ryokan of the previous Enchanted Evening. The site for the garden, 燕趙園 [Enchoen], was chosen for its location, an ideal setting between a lake and three mountain peaks--this arrangement was aesthetically pleasing to ancient Chinese sensibilities.

Yojokan 養生館 (background)

燕趙園 from the ryokan garden

            Our ryokan was situated on the same Lake Togo as the Chinese Garden and was, in fact, visible from the ryokan garden and one of the open-air baths. Viewed from the ryokan we were looking forward to visiting the garden the following day. After checking out we drove (didn't actually walk) the short distance stopping by the garden and, later on, a mountain temple famous for its cliffside building that is notoriously difficult to climb up to and is, consequently used for training monks and intrepid climbers. Although the climber is rewarded with a breathtaking view and photo op, thanks to me bum leg I had to forego the agony and the ecstasy. 

      But, first, 燕趙園, the Chinese Garden . . . an absolute banquet of primary colors in a completely cloudless blue sky setting off the orange of the roof tiles and reflected in the water of the pond and lake. 

one of the three mountain peaks

detail of roof decoration

typical zig zag bridge
 (saw similar one in the Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai)

dried lotus leaves in man-made pond

covered walkway

moon bridge

 lattice work along the perimeter walls

rest pavilion with circular openings for viewing the garden

partial view from the pavilion

view of lake and undulating wall
from the head of the "DragonPavilion"

the "Dragon Pavilion",  the pavilion is the head and the walkway the tail of the dragon

Enchanted Evening

     After leaving Kurayoshi it was just a short drive to Lake Togo and 養生館 [Yojokan] the ryokan (Japanese inn) we stayed at. We arrived in mid-afternoon, time enough for a pleasant evening soak in the rotenburo 露天風呂 (open-air bath) and a sunset stroll through the garden. 

MAP: Tottori Getaway 

 Arrival at the Inn

Afternoon relaxation in the 露天風呂

露天風呂  [open-air bath] (on the right)

Evening stroll in the garden

Sunset

Dinner

colorful dessert

Night relaxation in another 露天風呂

Morning 

morning routine - wake up coffee