Japan 8 - Matsue

Monday, 18 May 2026

Continuing down the coast to the southwest, today we docked at Sakaiminato and then bused to Matsue.

Along the road to Matsue.

Guardians at the Matsue Shinto shrine next to the castle. In the traditional manner, one dog has an open mouth and the other a closed mouth.

View of the castle looming above the walls.

Full view of the castle. We climbed up to the top floor - shoes come off just inside the door.

Closer view of the stone work composing the base of the castle.

View from the top.

Pulling weeds along the castle wall requires rappelling skills!

Quite a few of the retaining walls we saw in Japan were laid out in this diamond pattern.

Before leaving Matsue, we visited a samurai house, Buke Yashiki, in the historic samurai district.

Shinto shrine in samurai residence.

Buddhist altar in the samurai residence.

Tearoom in the samurai residence.

We had to return to Sakaiminato to start the overnight cruise to Ulsan in South Korea.

Large bridge in Sakaiminato.

Oyster farms as we were leaving Sakaiminato.

The mountainous coast along the Sea of Japan.

Japan 7 - Kanazawa

Sunday, 17 May 2026

Overnight we cruised to the southwest and docked at Kanazawa.

First stop of the day was a lesson in making "Wagoshi" or bean-paste sweets. Some were easier than others!

Kenroku-en

Kenroku-en (Kenroku Garden) is arguably Kanazawa's top attraction. Its 25 acres of immaculately groomed landscape offer peace and beauty - even when it's crowded on weather-perfect Sunday.

Many, if not most, of Kenroku-en's gnarly trees require substantial support.

Even tall trees are supported.

Perhaps the ultimate in tree supports!

Supports along the periphery of a large tree.

Of course, the garden is about much more than large trees. This is the teahouse.

Flowers are not the main attraction, but they add color throughout the growing season.

These stepping stones are in a V-shape - like flying geese.

Even the rocks in the stream beds are deliberately arranged.

Geisha District

A willow tree in the Higashi Chaya Historic District signals that this is a "Geisha" (or entertainment) district.

One of the main streets in the historic district.

Swallow nests were common over doorways - most with a clutch of chicks.

Ishigawa Prefecture Museum of Traditional Arts and Crafts

Among the day's demonstrations: porcelain painting.

Japan 6 - Sado Island

Saturday, 16 May 2026

Sado-jima is an island (jima = island) near Niigata in the Sea of Japan. We spent the morning visiting a fishing village and Sado City, and then had a Taiko drumming lesson in the afternoon.

We were greeted by middle-school dancers.

And fish kites.

Japan is a mountainous country. Agriculture, such as this rice paddy, is squeezed in wherever flat-enough ground can be found.

Vegetable garden. Everything is neat, tidy, and clean in Japan.

Winds off the sea can be fierce, and the roofs were held in place with stones.

The stones have a hole drilled into them that fits over a raised nail so that they don't roll off the roof.

Personal Shinto shrine in a wealthy merchant's house.

Tea room in the house.

Garden behind the house. Notice the shoes for walking through the garden - no shoes in the house!

A ride in a "tub boat" in the Sado City harbor.

After lunch, we went to the drum school in the small village of Ogi.

Lon was in the first group of drum "students".

I had my turn next. It was fun to pound on the drum!

Experts at work. It's an athletic performance.

Local students - of many ages - sent us off to drums.

Japan 5 - Tokyo

Friday, 15 May 2026

Today we finished our time in Tokyo, and then headed to Niigata to board our cruise ship.

Hie Jinja

The Hie Shrine is a small Shinto Shrine right next to our hotel. We decided to do an early morning walk across the street for a visit.

The shrine as seen from our hotel room. A significant portion of the shrine was undergoing restoration and was a construction zone.

Looking back at our hotel (Capitol Hotel Tokyu). Note the torii at the base of the stairs leading up to the shrine.

The washstand.

Since this is an Inari shrine, in addition to the usual wooden amulet placards, you could purchase a ceramic fox amulet.

The "Inari Sando" - a torii path from street level up to the shrine.

The two gatekeepers. In an Inari shrine, they are usually foxes, but these look more like dogs to me. Regardless, the left one is clearly female with pup, and the right is male. The female's toes are separated to be able to wear sandals. It is common for the guardians to be wearing clothing.

Amulet rack.

Ginza & Beyond

Ginza is one of Tokyo's most famous shopping streets. Tour buses are given specific times to show up at their bus stop. Our bus had the 13:30 time slot.

We walked about 2 blocks off Ginza to go to Bic Camera - a department store that combines Best Buy, Dick's Sporting Goods, and Total Wine. It was quite the Japanese experience!

"Black Cat" is the ubiquitous Japanese delivery service. Transportation is so crowded that most people ship their luggage to their destination ahead of time. When we rode the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Niigata, our luggage was delivered to our ship on a van that traveled separately.