Blogs from Hiraizumi , Iwate, Japan, Asia
May 12th 2010
Today I took the train to Hiraizumi - a 20 minute ride from my base in Mizusawa and a quaint little town that (incidentally) happens to be a world heritage site. Undeterred by the rain, I sallied forth and was not disappointed. My first stop was to a Cave Temple called Takkoku-no-Iwaya Bishamon-Do (try saying that to the bus driver and getting it right!). Cave Temple is a little misleading as the main temple is in fact a free-standing raised wooden structure whose supports are built into a natural cave. The building as it stands today is a reconstruction as the original temple and the first replacement both burned down (for once, therefore, I was grateful for the rain). As I am slowly learning - most "temples" in fact consist of a temple-complex: a fenced-off area ... read more
August 11th 2008
While we still had a few days off work and Renee was here on holidays we decided to hire a car and head down to Hiraizumi about 1 ½ hours drive from Morioka. It’s a pretty small town with a population of around 9,000 people. One thing that you should know is in Japan it's almost cheaper to get a train to wherever you're going then to drive. We paid around $50 just in tolls driving on the highway! No wonder people opt to catch the trains it's just way too expensive, not to mention the price of petrol as well. Anyway, we’d herd about a place called Geibi-kei where you could hire boats that take you around natural gorges with 100-m high cliffs and singing boatmen. When we arrived I have to say I felt ... read more
July 5th 2008
My weekend was spent with Megan in her local town Kitakami. I travelled down on the local train which takes around 50 minutes from Morioka. Saturday night was spent at Crayon Karaoke Bar. A few Gin & Tonics later I found myself learning the art of Japanese Samurai Sword fighting with a few drunken locals and I’d have to say from what I remember I was pretty good! Megan and I stumbled home in the wee hours of the morning but not before stopping at the local Lawsons for some munchies. Can you believe I left my purse in the taxi and didn’t realise until minutes later when I had the taxi driver in the shop handing it to me! I couldn’t have thanked him enough, but I think he just wanted to get back in ... read more
November 20th 2007
I have always understood the logistics of there being snow somewhere in November but I never thought I would actually be in a place to see it. North Carolina is a pretty hot place and snow is few and far between. It snowed this weekend. Sendai didn't get all that much but I was still around when I got up on Monday morning for my little excursion to Hiraizumi. Hiraizumi is in Iwate Prefecture; which is directly north of Miyagi. There was at least 3 inches of snow on the ground when I got there and there was flurries on and off all day. To top it off it was below freezing the entire day and I was walking around with wet jeans from the snow. I almost didn't get out of bed for this trip. ... read more
