Megane-iwa, a huge rock in Sasebo

On the second day, we went to some sightseeing spots in the northern part of Sasebo city.

First we went to Megane-iwa (眼鏡岩). It is a very big glass rock in the suburbs of the city.

Taking on National Highways 35 and 204 and passing through central Sasebo, we arrived to the glasses rock. But we're a bit confused where the entrance way is.

We went down to the end, we met a cleaning lady. She said, "Do you want to see the rock?". We say hello. She also told us about the history of rock. This rock seems to be a hole made naturally by erosion of waves in long ago when this place was the sea.

The rock. I was surprised that it was bigger than I thought.

Views from Hotel Nikko Huis Ten Bosch

After seeing the sunset from Mount Yumiharidake, we headed to the Hotel Nikko Huis Ten Bosch. We just stay for one night and booked on the hotel site at cheapest price, 10,700 yen per person per night with breakfast. There are a variety of food available both Japanese and Western. They also have some dessert, we enjoyed very much.

The room was a standard twin on the top floor. It's a casual atmosphere like Europe; they only have minimum essential amenities such as a comb, razor etc.. And the bathroom is too narrow so we went to the public bath on the first floor.

We could see the night view from the room. 

I took a picture of Huis Ten Bosch in the morning from the window in front of the hotel elevator.

Sunset from Mount Yumiharidake observatory

After visiting Fukuishi Kannon, we went to see the sunset from Mount Yumihari observatory.

We came here at 5:30 in the evening. It was a great time to see the sunset; we saw a middle guy who took a picture of it.

I took a pic of the Central Sasebo and the US navy first, then I went to another viewing platform near the main observatory.

At 5:48 pm, the sun will be go down.

The sun falls into the sea in 10 minutes.

 

Fukuishi Kannon, Sasebo

In the evening, we went to Fukuishi Kannon (福石観音), a Buddhist temple of Shingon-shu Chizanha in Sasebo. The temple was founded in the early 8th century.

The statue of Prince Shotoku at the entrance of temple.

We went up stairs to the main temple.

The Kannon-do main temple. The Eleven-faced Kannon, which said to have carved by a priest known as Gyoki, is in the main temple building. It is one of the seven famous kannon statues in the Kyushu Island.

The bell tower seen from the main temple.

After that we went to see the 500 Rakan cave behind the main hall. Because it is on the mountain side, we have to go up the steep stairs to there.

 There are 500 arhat statues in the cave which Kukai is enshrined.

Taking a short break, we went further up to the hill.

We could see the main temple building on the way.

We saw a big stone called Zazen-iwa (座禅岩) on the hill of Mount Fukuishi.

What did we see on the way

Here, I'll tell you the places we went on the way to Fukuishi Kannon (福石観音), a Buddhist temple of Shingon-shu Chizanha in Sasebo.

First, we stopped at Siebold-no-yu (シーボルトの湯) public bath in Ureshino. Ureshino is locally known as a tea garden and its hot spring resorts.

Next, we dropped in Kincharaku-kan (嬉茶楽館) tea cultural hall. I bought a bag of fresh green tea for my souvenir.

Further down the road to the south, there is a monument of the twenty-six martyrs of Japan on the mouth of Sonogi River, in Higashisonogi town, Nagasaki. This is a place of Catholic believers who martyred in the Nishizaka area of Nagasaki in 1597. Christians who were caught in Kyoto and Osaka after the Christian ban by order of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. They will be sent back to Nagasaki on foot for the purpose of punishment. They took three boats from this place and headed for Togitsu on the other side of Omura Bay. On February 5, all the twenty-six martyrs were punished in the Nishizaka area.

Waking around Hama-shuku, a historical place in Kashima

After seeing Keishu-en, we went to the Hama-shuku (浜宿) area in Kashima, Saga. This area has been designated a national important preservation district for groups of historic buildings.

The Nakajima Sake brewery company. Hama-shuku was one of important post stations (宿場 -shukuba) along the Tara Kaido (多良海道), a road that connected from the Nagasaki Kaido. There were 16 Sake breweries and ten Kamaboko shops in the early Showa period. However, those shops were closed after the World War Two. Currently there is only five breweries left. 

The site of Hama Post office is a Japanese and Western style building next to the tourist information center. It was built in 1937 and used until now.

An old style house is currently under repair.

The Mitsutake brewery company is located just center of the street.

We got tired very quickly, so we took a break. I ate soft-served ice cream and my mom went toilet.

After that we went to Hizen-ya (肥前屋) breweries. It is open for tourists every day; you can have some Japanese rice wines here.

Going back to the Sakagura-dori (酒蔵通り) street, then we headed for the Norida Family House. 

The samurai house was built in the late Edo period. It has a characteristic of cuddly roofing usually seen in Saga Prefecture.

The Keishu-en garden tour

We went to Saga and Nagasaki for 2 days on October 8 and 9. 

First We went to Keishu-en (慧洲園), a Japanese garden in Takeo, Saga. The garden is located next to the Takeo Century Hotel and made by Kinsaku Nakane (中根金作), the greatest artist of Japan who is also known as the Kobori Enshu of the Showa period, which is open in the site of the former Nabashima clan residence in 1979.

The entrance gate of Keishu-en and Yoko Museum. It's a shared gateway, but you have to pay another fee unless you want to see the museum.

A beautiful garden landscape with a mountain shaped tea field in the background.

Let's take a walk to the garden.

A red bridge over waterfall and pond.

Takeo Century Hotel and the Keishu-en pond garden seen from a walking path.

If we look to the other side, we could see a museum that floated in the pond.

The lovely Japanese style karesansui (枯山水) garden inside villa. 

Going back to the walking path, and then we tried to go up to the top of the tea fields.

As we went up the slope, we could see the story tower called Monomi-yagura (物見やぐら).

The tower. It was relocated from the Yoshinogari site in November 2004.

A view of the entire tea plantation from the observation deck.

Visiting Sumiyoshi-jinja, Fukuoka

On September 28, I went to Sumiyoshi-jinja (住吉神社), a Shinto shrine in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka. Along with Sumiyoshi-taisha in Osaka and that of Shimonoseki, it is known as one of the three major Sumiyoshi shrines in Japan. There are over 2000 Sumiyoshi shrines nationwide, and in general Sumiyoshi-taisha of Osaka is considered as the head of shrine. But it is seems to be like that it is the origin of the all Sumiyoshi shrines in Japan.

Let's take a walk to the shrine.

Before going to the main shrine, I washed my hands at Chozuya.

Going through the Shinmon (神門) gate, I got into the main shrine.

The main shrine, built by Kuroda Nagamasa in 1623, is the only architectural style of Sumiyoshi-zukuri that is unique in Japan. It has been designated as the important cultural properties of Japan by the Government.