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02 June 2008
I awoke to the ringing of the hotel room phone from a peaceful slumber. It's 6am and my friend suggested we go for another soak in the Onsen (hot spring). After a comfortable bath we went for breakfast in our yukatas.
View the previous post in this series here.
02 June 2008
I awoke to the ringing of the hotel room phone from a peaceful slumber. It's 6am and my friend suggested we go for another soak in the Onsen (hot spring). After a comfortable bath we went for breakfast in our yukatas.
The garden in the morning
Breakfast! Simply great
This fish is really sweet. We bbq it slowly on the hot foil
Soup-like dish with tau-pok, vegetables, fishcake, and pumpkin
Then, we left Minoya Taiheikaku (our hotel) for Tōjinbō Cliffs (東尋坊) -- a popular place
for high school students that fail their exams to plunge to their deaths.
In fact, it is said that the local public phone booths have coins placed there by
the local people. This is to allow potential suiciders to phone home before taking the plunge.
The tale about this place is no less morbid. Legend has it that Tōjinbō was a corrupt monk that goes around bullying the local populace. One day a woman that he has designs on was to wed his friend. Being himself, he decided to snatch the bride somehow. His friend, suspecting Tōjinbō's evil intentions, hosted a party. At that party they got Tōjinbō drunk and subsequently pushed him down these cliffs. In order to prevent his spirit from haunting them, the local populace erected a shrine on an island opposite these cliffs and painted the bridge connecting to it red -- a colour that prevents his spirit from returning to mainland.
The tale about this place is no less morbid. Legend has it that Tōjinbō was a corrupt monk that goes around bullying the local populace. One day a woman that he has designs on was to wed his friend. Being himself, he decided to snatch the bride somehow. His friend, suspecting Tōjinbō's evil intentions, hosted a party. At that party they got Tōjinbō drunk and subsequently pushed him down these cliffs. In order to prevent his spirit from haunting them, the local populace erected a shrine on an island opposite these cliffs and painted the bridge connecting to it red -- a colour that prevents his spirit from returning to mainland.
Traditional style rural house
After arriving at Tōjinbō, we walked through some stalls selling seafood
Large crab legs
Tōjinbō
Map of the area showing the island
The rock formation, due to lava cooled by the sea and erosion, that makes these cliffs a scenic spot
A panorama from the top of the cliffs, the island on the right is where the shrine is
Another panorama
Fishing on a little rocky outcrop
Near the base of the cliffs
The vertical ``columns" of the cliffs are what make them special
Close-up of the island where Tōjinbō's spirit is trapped. Notice the red bridge
The cliffs from the carpark that is on high ground
Some school children gathered here on an outing
After posing for pictures all over the cliffs, smelling the bbq seafood and staring at the noisy school children,
it is time to go for our next stop: Kenroku-en (兼六園, Six Attributes Garden) that is located in Kanazawa.
There, we will be having some Emperor's lunch (according to our guide) before enjoying one of the top three gardens in Japan.
5 comments:
Where is the Tojinbo cliff? Towards Tokyo?
Not really, attached a map to the post.
if i am not mistaken, there was a sign there saying that the cliffs are formation of exploded lava.
oooh... kanazawa and takayama... i heard before. think its a little off kansai already. wah the kansai stay is quite short.
sucker,
Yup I think you are right.
tommy,
Yeah our tour is not focused on Kansai at all. By the second night we were already out of kansai.
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