Fifteen new statues were built next to the Ishite Temple.  On November 20^th there will be a ceremony.  And from 21^st to 25th temple priests pray and offer Buddhism rosary.  There is an application with a fee (1,000yen).

http://nehan.net/

It's a beautiful clear autumn day!  Dogo Park is located not far from the Dogo Onsen. From the observation platform you'd get a whole view of Matsuyama. There are reconstructed samurai houses in the park. It's worth visiting!

 What nice autumn weather it was!  We met a lovely couple from Australia and had a joyful time with them.  To our surprise, a few cherry blossoms started blooming.  According to the news, the same phenomenon was unseasonably found in many places in Japan because of the latest strong typhoon which blew off all the leaves and made the trees naked.  They say when a warm day follows a cold day, cherry trees misunderstand that spring has come.  Why don’t you check out your neighborhood during your stay in Japan?

 Sweltering summer heat has finally gone and now we can sense signs of autumn.  It’s a good season to go out.  In Ishite-ji, we met a group of cyclists. Yesterday they cycled Shimanami Kaido, stayed at Nibukawa Onsen, and this morning they crossed a pass to come here. Tough guys.  Devout pilgrims in white clothes, and active cyclists wearing colorful clothing.  I’m sure Kobo Daishi welcomes everyone.

 Have a nice trip!

 Haiku poet and essayist Masaoka Shiki was born in 1867 in Matsuyama.  He was influential in developing a modern style of haiku/tanka and writing essays on the subject.  Thanks to him, haiku is very popular here in Matsuyama.  September 19th is the anniversary of his death.

(Image: his haiku monument and haiku post box for haiku fans)

 There are lyrics flowing in the stream in the courtyard of Asuka-no-Yu Onsen.  These lyrics were written by Sekaikan Ozaki, a rock musician popular among young people.  You can find more lyrics of his songs, and other modern art works in the Dogo area.  These are part of Dogo Onsenart, combining onsen and art.  The theme of this year’s Onsenart is ‘Be crazy about art.’  The art works in Onsenart can be enjoyed not only by artists, but by everyone.  Let’s explore them together!

There are caves behind of the Main hall of Ishite Temple.  Inside, there are several stone statues of Buddha.  All along the tunnel are statues of Jizo.  We can go through to the other side of the hill.  Inside the cave it’s cool, so we recommend it in hot summer.  But you might bring a light because it’s a little dark.

 On the path toward the castle tower, we met a nice couple from New Zealand. We offered them a guided tour of the castle tower and they accepted it.   They had been to Japan several times and they were on the way to travel all over the country.   We had a great time with them talking about Japan’s culture, history and Matsuyama Castle.   Although we have been having a relentless heat wave here, the breeze in the castle tower was refreshing and welcoming.

Today Dogo Festival started, which will last for a month. This morning Yugama-yakushi-sai was held in Dogo Park. It’s a ceremony to pray for the prosperity of Dogo hot spring.

Throughout August, various events are scheduled in Dogo. Let’s join some of them!

 Look at these insects in the picture. Do you know what they are? They are golden-ringed dragonflies, the largest species of dragonflies in Japan. One of our members’ daughter, Misaki-chan, caught them around Ishite-temple. She loves dragonflies and knows a lot about them. She will show up here and there, with a net and a cage, in this season. Dragonflies, here she comes!

 The sun has finally come out after a record week-long torrential rain. Starting our way up the castle mountain, we met a nice Aussie guy walking up a winding path, instead of taking a gondola or a chairlift.  He looked cheerful and well-travelled.  To our joy, he accepted our offer to guide him. Walking together around the castle complex and in the castle tower, we threw him some quizzes, and he asked us some interesting questions. It was so much fun. Thank you, John, for joining us and posting a kind comment to us.  I think you must have brought the sun, cheering up Ehime and other afflicted areas.

 A new work of art appeared in the courtyard of the Asuka-no-yu bath house.   It’s part of Dogo Onsenart, and the motif of this work is camellia, the flower of Matsuyama city.   You can see the entire flower from the bath house.

 It was a muggy day, but we met some pilgrims who were on the 88 temple pilgrimage.  During summer vacation many pilgrims will visit Ishite-ji.  So, the area was cleaned and there were some green plants around the statue.  It is ready for the busy season.  

 This is Matsuyama castle smoked in rain, there were less people walking around there than usual.  Summer events will begin right after the rainy season, for example, “Hikari-no-omotenashi in Matsuyama-castle 2018”, with special illumination around the castle at night from 7/13 to 8/15.  You can ride the rope way till 9:30pm basically on weekends and drink beer outdoors during 8/11-14.  We can’t wait !

http://www.city.matsuyama.ehime.jp/smph/kanko/kankoguide/matsurievent/hikari-no-omotenashi.html

Dogo Onsenart is currently taking place around Dogo Hot Spring.

 Onsenart is a project connecting “Onsen/hot spring” and “art” which started in 2014.

http://dogoonsenart.com/en/

Today we saw an art piece of a bear standing in the rain at the back of Dogo Hot Spring.

Around Ishite Temple, young yellowish green leaves are being purified by the spring rain.  The approach to the temple is roofed with traditional Japanese tiles. There are some souvenir shops along the approach.  An old temple, an old alley, old shops, but nature is always newly reborn.

Summer came early to Matsuyama this year!

We went around the Dogo area including Isaniwa shrine and Yushinden , Imperial bath with 2 groups of students from the US.

The college students were cute and bright as well as in good manners.

Wishing you a pleasant stay for the rest of your journey! 

 We met a nice couple from France at Ishite-temple.  They had interest in Buddhism and we explained about some halls and told them some stories about there.  They have traveled around Japan for three months.  But we were amazed that their baggage was so compact.  They were really smart travelers. Please enjoy Japan!  And we hope your dreams will come true!

 We showed a woman from Italy around Matsuyama Castle, Mitsu Town and Dogo Hot Spring.  She knows much about Japanese culture, so we had a great conversation.

 “S-san, Thank you for visiting us.   We really enjoyed spending time with you! Arigatou gozaimashita!”

 Despite the windy weather, a student from Canada knowing our website was waiting for us near the information center.  We went down the shopping mall eating Gyokusendo’s sweet crackers and Yuzarashi dumplings on the way to the main bathhouse.

 Then we visited Yu-jinja and Isaniwa shrine and found double flowered cherry blossoms still remained in full bloom in precincts.

 We went to Ishite-ji and saw a lot of pilgrims visiting there.  We said hello to one pilgrim, who was a Frenchman and had already made pilgrimages in Europe.  He was now on the Shikoku Pilgrimage in order from the first temple in Tokushima, and really inspired in depth by Buddhism.  He left for the next temple with a Taiwanese pilgrim who looked devout as well.  After that, we went up a hill behind the temple, where Kukai's giant statue stands.  We were overwhelmed by his magnificent size, but he welcomed us warmly, whether we are pious or not. 

 The wind was a bit cold, yet we felt a touch of a spring in the wind.  The local primary school children were doing some research in groups.

 They seemed to be enjoying extracurricular lessons in Dogo. The Dogo area was lively with many people. We met a cheerful couple running a dairy farm in Canada. We showed them around the shopping mall while we talked about various things. They said that they were bleeding nearly 300 cows. “Wow!” After a short guide, they went into the Dogo hot spring main building. They held bamboo baskets with the towels in their hands. “Please recover enough from your fatigue at the farm!

March 3 is called the Doll Festival when people pray for the healthy growth and happy future of girls.

The plum blossoms are so beautiful in Matsuyama Castle. Spring is almost here!!

Next day we guided him and his wife to Matsuyama castle.  It was fine day.  We enjoyed the beautiful view.  We wish he could take a lot of wonderful photos in Matsuyama!

We got a guide request. He is a multi talented and really fun person. He lives in Japan and  knows a lot about Japanese culture. We had a good time walking around Dogo area with him.

Starbudk Coffee has opened at the Dogo Onsen Station. Meiji era architecture style is employed in the building. You can see the Mechanical clock from windows.

There were many pilgrims in Ishite temple.  Some wore their white robe and straw hat. And all pilgrims had their staff.  With this staff, Kobo-daishi(Kukai) is thought to always be by the pilgrim’s side. They prayed at Daishi hall and main hall.  Then they offered their Osame-fuda(name slips)into the box.

It’s very cold today.　Some parts of this region had snow. We met a man in front of a stone wall in the Matsuyama Castle and went up to the top of the hill together.  He is from the Yukon in Canada.  Maybe he brought snow here from Canada.  Tomorrow he will cross the Seto Inland Sea through Shimanami Kaido by bicycle.  I hope snow doesn’t bother him.

 Under the influence of the biggest cold wave passing over Japan, it began snowing and we ended up finding only a few Japanese visitors there.

Preparations for Setsubun ; the day before spring , were already in order.

 While strolling along the Dogo Street, we atopped by Asuka-no-Yu Onsen site, completed recently. We saw something small shining and jumping in the garden of the Onsen. It was water drops, the beginning of the fountain performance. The sign said, “It takes place on the hour during the daytime.” The climax of the water show continued five minutes or so. We were lucky to see it at the right time. Why don’t you join us and explore the street in the Dogo srea?

 Awfully cold today, the shaded areas were still covered with frost though, we saw the cherry trees and plum trees budded.

 “If winter comes, can spring be far behind?” / P. B. Shelley

 Ishite-Temple had a year end ceremony. We heard the priest’s speech in the main hall.  Recently the priests built 15 new Statues in the parking area next to the temple.  Then we got a new calendar for 2018 and had porridge made by Buddhists.  The porridge included some vegetables, sweet potatoes and pickled plums.  It made our bodies and minds feel warmer. 

We wish your Happy New Year!  

 During the past several days, the Japan archipelago has been caught in the cold.  It’s chilly this morning.  We went up to the castle as always. There are many trees on both sides of a slope.  We found dazzling sunlight filtering through foliage. It was not like the sunlight in spring, however it was warm and beautiful enough for us.  It made us feel relieved.  We sat on a bench on the castle hill, and talked about various things for a while.  There were not many tourists while we were on the top hill, but we saw many Chinese tourists coming up to the castle when we went down.  We thought and wished “they will surely be enjoying Dogo hot spring at night after strolling around Matsuyama tourist sites.”

We met two ladies from England and Slovakia, in front of the Dogo Onsen Main Building. They are both students studying Japanese culture in Japan. We walked together to Enman-temple, and to Isaniwa-shrine. They were so friendly and interested in Japanese culture and asked us about various things. One of them had a shrine stamp book and got another stamp at the shrine. They were headed for Ishite-temple. We hope they will come again.

From October 21th to November 11^th Ishite Temple had a special ceremony.  During the ceremony we could go into the main hall.  The temple priest prayed for us and gave the Buddhist rosary there.  This photo is Buddhist statues inside the three story pagoda.  We might look at see them because of the ceremony.

We met a guy from New Zealand at the Dogo tourist bureau and walked around together. In Enman-ji, he tried suikinkutsu. If you pour water over the jizo (guardian deity of children) in the temple, the sound of dripping water, resonant with an earthen pot under the ground, makes an echo which you can hear through a bamboo tube. The echo sounds as if a Japanese harp is being played, though I’m not sure if he could get a clear sound as it’s raining today.

Thank you for visiting Matsuyama in spite of the approaching typhoon. Have a nice & safe trip!

On a beautiful autumn day, Matsuyama Castle was welcoming quite a few tourists from inside and outside of Japan. On top of the hill is a flat called 'Honmaru'. We happened to say hello to a gentleman from Canada, who speaks French as mother tongue and speaks English fluently. We sat together in the shade, and talked about the castle. He was very friendly and interested in history. It was not for a long time but it was a pleasant time. We were glad meeting him!

Today  was a sunny day.

We walked around the Dogo are.  We met Ehime kokutai information guides.  They recommended sweets made of Japanese tea  for  foreign visitors.  We ate them at the Japanese tea cafe CHARAKU.  There are  many Japanese tea sweets.For example, some kinds of pudding and ice cream are made of Japanese tea.  Others are “manju” (a bun with a bean-jam filling) and “shiruko” (sweet red-bean soup) made of  red beans.  We enjoy combinations of many kinds of sweets  and Japanese tea .  Please try some during your Japanese tea time.

Walking up to the top of the castle hill made us a little bit tired after a long hot summer.

We felt the slope up the hill was steeper than usual.  We usually neither get on a chair-lift nor a cable-car. We try to practice English as much as we can. In fact, one of Team Camellia’s rules is to speak English when we get together.  However it’s difficult to keep the rule all the time.  While walking, we tried and tried, yet we ended up speaking Japanese. Oh well, we won’t miss the next time!   Maple trees on the castle hill have not yet changed their color, yet they are soon to change to beautiful shades of red and yellow.  Let's enjoy the natural blessings for a while.

The summer holiday season is over.  Instead of many tourists, today elementary school students came to Ishite-ji to make sketches.  The temple has many beautiful and important structures.  The gate Nio-mon is a national treasure.  The three-story pagoda is one of six national important cultural properties in the temple.  Ishite-ji has plenty of pictorial materials.

 Taisan Temple is the 52^nd temple of the Shikoku Pilgrimage and located in the northern part of Matsuyama. 

 There is a bamboo grove along the street to the temple.  This photo is of Nio Mon (two guardian of the kings gate).  The beautiful main hall is designated a national treasure.  There are other buildings, such as a bell tower, halls, and a unique Jizo.  

Usually we don’t have tours around Taisan Temple.  But if you want to visit there, we can guide you.  Please tell us!

Today is a sunny day.

 We took a walk in the Dogo area.  The Dogo area was swarming with reporters.

 Next month, a new hot spring will open here.  It’s name is Asuka-no-yu.

 Yukata wear was introduced as an Asuka-no-yu original .   We are looking forward to the opening.  If you want to know more about  Asuka-no-yu details, please ask a member of Camellia at the Dogo sightseeing information center.

 We went to Ishite-temple. We saw two couples from overseas. We said hello to one couple, who came from the Netherlands, and helped them take pictures with the temple gate in the background. They looked fresh although it was a muggy day. After the rainy season, the temperature and humidity have been rising.  Even in the morning, the temperature was over 30°Celsius, and the humidity was over 80°! In the background of the temple, we saw a Giant statue of Kobo-daishi as if training in sweat. What a great patient man he was!

The Dogo annex bathhouse, called “Asuka no Yu”, is in the process of reconstruction near the Dogo Onsen main building and is going to open at the end of September.  The building is in the architectural style of Shotoku Taishi (around 1400 years ago)".  It has special bathroom like the Imperial Family's private bath.  It will be possible to have the bathing experience wearing a “special yukata”.

In autumn of next year the Dogo Onsen main building will get anti-earthquake reinforcement and the repair of the damaged parts. It will take about 7 years.  The main building won’t close completely. 

Please visit Dogo and enjoy some of the public bathhouses!

https://dogo.jp/onsen/asuka

Natsume Soseki's great-grandson and his family visited Matsuyama.!! We guided them around Dogo area and Matsuyama Castle. It was a great preasure for us to meet them:-) Natsume Soseki was one of  the famous novelists in Japan. He lived Matsuyama as an English teacher about 120 years ago. He loved Dogo Onsen and later wrote a novel "Botchan". The key setting of the novel was Dogo Onsen.  Now people in Matsuyama use the word "Botchan" in many things; Botchan train, Botchan clock, Botchan stadium, Botchan dumpling, Cafe Botchan, Restaurant Botchan, etc. 

On the next day we went to Matsuyama Castle.Although it was still in rainy season, the weather was pretty good. They've brought the weather with them.  From Dogo Onsen station they got on the "Botchan train". Thanks to Soseki, It's one of major tourist attractions in Matsuyama. 

←He and his mother put on a suit of armor on the second floor of the castle and took many photos:-) 

Taipei city and Matsuyama city have been keeping an interaction for about ten years through some events, such as table tennis matches, Ehime marathon, onsen festivals and so on.  In 2014 the two cities agreed to a friendship interaction to deepen the tie. Since then Taipei has gotten much more familiar to people in Matsuyama. My husband and I took a trip to Taipei. Unfortunately we had four rainy days, yet thanks to the rain, many kinds of subtropical plants and trees in rich green, which got wet with rain entertained us a lot.  We also enjoyed exotic foreign drinks and food.  We saw familiar kanji sign boards on the street, but many kanji were totally different than Japanese. We met many kind people. Whenever we stopped on a road to look for something, someone crossed the street came close and asked, “Where would you like to go?” in Japanese. “Thank you very much!”

Isaniwa shrine has a long stairway. Today when going up it, we played janken (Rock-paper-scissors). If you win, you can go up 6 or 3 steps, depending on the shape you formed. Our two guests from the US and the UK enjoyed playing the game. There is no absolute win nor absolute loss among the three shapes. I think janken is an interesting and clever system.

Oh, you want to know how many steps the stairway has, or want to play janken? Come and join us!

We’ve never guided Bansuiso before, but maybe we will do so in future. So we visited there to learn more. The staff there could explain well enough for us to understand. Located next to the Saka no Ue no Kumo museum, Bansuiso is a French style house built almost a hundred years ago. The building is beautiful and we felt a good atmosphere from that time period.

There is a three- story pagoda at Ishite temple.   Three- story pagodas are rare in Japan.   It was constructed with no nails.   This technique is earthquake- resistant.

We can find Botchan’s effects in most sightseeing spots in Matsuyama. Botchan is a novel centered in Matsuyama, written by a famous novelist, Soseki Natsume, about 110 years ago. This novel features unique characters, of which the most popular are the hero, Botchan, and the heroine, Madonna. At Matsuyama Castle, the staff welcomes you dressed as Madonna or train conductors from that time. They bring these characters to life in our time. Feel the Botchan World!

Probably because of rain, there were few tourists.   The cherry blossoms were over, but wisterias are very beautiful now.   And azaleas have begun to bloom.   The stone wall was tasteful in the rain, too.   Matsuyama Castle has various ways of enjoying.

Spring is the best season for Ohenro, Shikoku pilgrimage. Many pilgrims visited  Ishiteji-temple.  One the way back home, I met a pilgrim from Switzerland. A very sad thing made him come to Shikoku island and do pilgrimage. Walking alone over 1400 km in a foreign island, following the route that countless people went through, I really hope this Ohenro allays his grief.

 We barely avoided getting wet with spring rain while strolling around the Dogo area. Today's guests were a Japanese couple, their two grandchildren and their Russian friend. These teenagers normally live in the UK. They came back to Japan during their spring break. They were curious about everything they saw. They had unfailing interest. When they bought an  English paper fortune at Isaniwa shrine, they eagerly read their futures written on small pieces of paper showing serious look sometimes, smiling,  laughing sometimes. We thought that they were mature for teenagers, yet we were somehow relieved to see their playful child-like behavior. “Best wishes to all!”

 Today we had a Romanian guest from Germany. After visiting Matsuyama Castle, we had a hanami (cherry blossom viewing) party in Dogo Park. Guests from Italy and the UK also joined us. Cherry trees were almost in full bloom. We enjoyed beautiful blossoms, delicious food and amusing conversations.

 We took a walk through Dogo's main shopping arcade.  There are about 60 shops along the arcade.  You can buy many kinds of local souvenirs there.  For example, Bochan Dango dumpling, durable porcelain Tobe yaki, many kinds of citrus food, Matsuyama style sponge cake tarts.  We found a new shop in the arcade.  There are many kinds of Imabari towel products available there.  Imabari towels are high quality and the company started more than 110 years ago.  Please check the quality of these products with your eyes and touch.

You know, we live in Matsuyama, which is called the haiku city. We wanted to know more about the father of modern haiku, Shiki Masaoka, so we went to the Municipal Shiki Memorial Museum in Dogo. By looking around his museum, we appreciated him more. Someday, let’s explore this wonderful haiku city together!

It's a cold day today, but the signs of spring are here and there. Watching them we composed Haiku:) 

plum buds in pink

embrace 

covert spring (Sayuri)

nice old casle guide

with unfamiliar smart phone

ladies smiling in early cherry blossoms (Sumiko)

an early-flowering cherry tree

waiting for you

Matsuyama castle  (Miwa)

 Today we visited Ishite-ji. The temple was being prepared for the Setsubun event on Feb. 3rd. Setsubun means the day before a change in seasons, mostly from winter to spring, in the traditional calendar. On that day, we throw soybeans at demons, saying “Demons out, Fortune in!" to get rid of any evil spirits. Happy spring is waiting for us!

We welcomed a special guest from France.  He is a gentleman and a wonderful guy.  We took him to Matsuyama castle.  Matsuyama castle commands a great view.  We can see a statue on a hill.  It is a statue of Kobo-Daishi.  Kobo-Daishi opened the 88 temple route.  He’s one of the most famous priests in Japan.  We introduced information about Kobo-Daishi and the 88 temple pilgrimage.  But he already knew about Kobo-Daishi, because he visited Kouyasan in Wakayama.  He has a great interest in everything Japanese.  Tomorrow, he will go to Kyoto.  Next time we are looking forward to talking with him about his impression of his tour.  Bon voyage!

Happy New Year!  

We started guiding at Matsuyama Castle this year.  

There are some flags for the birthday ceremony of the castle.

On January 15, 415years ago, they started building this castle.

 This is the grave of Akiyama Yoshifuru (1859-1930) in Dogo area.   He contributed to the victory in the Russo-Japanese war and was called “The father of modern cavalry”.

 After retirement, he became a principal of a middle school in Matyuyama.   He, his brother Saneyuki and their friend, Masaoka Shiki are main characters of the Japanese famous novel “Saka-no-ue-no-kumo” (The Clouds on the Hill).

On a beautiful autumn day we met a musician from Bulgaria. As his T-shirt shows  he's visited many places for concerts. Every two or three years he comes to Japan. After exchanging small talk we went down to Horinouchi park with him. He was looking for the place to practice flute. Some people around us were lucky to be able to listen to his flute:-)

 The weather is nice today.   We had a fine view of the city from Matsuyama castle.

 A grand marathon was held in Matsuyama castle park.   In the old days the park was a middle samurai residence.   Now the place is close to the heart of the people as a park.

Ishite temple’s main hall is only open about one month a year, late October to mid November, when pilgrims and local people get special benefits. We visited there just before this period, and felt that the temple ground was cleaner than usual because the priests used blooms to create a water-like pattern on the ground. At that time, it’s ready to welcome more people!　

On the hilltop of the Matsuyama Castle site, we met three French tourists, one lives in Japan and two from France. We had a chat. We talked about the EU referendum in the UK, same-sex marriage, and more. It was interesting. Sometimes their talking sounded like debating. 

They had planned to take an ukai (cormorant fishing) tour in Ozu city, but it was canceled because the Hizi River swelled due to a typhoon. I feel sorry for that. I hope they come again and can make it next year.

There is a white heron statue on the small tower top of the Dogo Onsen Main building, because the white heron is a symbol of Dogo Onsen.   Today we found a heron on that statue.   It was raining but the heron made the day a lucky day.

This is Nioumon or the Guardian Kings Gate at Ishite-temple. The gate was built in the 14th century. It's a national treasure. Autumn is a good season for pilgrimage.

Autumn insects have begun to sing at night, yet we are still having scorching days during the daytime. Today we walked around the Dogo area in expectation of “pleasant lunch and drinks”. We met a Chinese family, but we could not communicate with each other well, however there was the common point on the Kanji characters between us. We talked with them by writing Kanji for a while. It was good to know that there is a way to know each other. Then the long awaited time had come. All the Camellia members got together and had lunch at Nikitatsu-an.

We had a couple from North Carolina, US. We showed them around the castle and Dogo Hot Spring. They were so eager to learn Japan's history, customs and language. Though it was hot and humid day, we felt privileged as a guide to have such nice guests.

Now is summer vacation, so Matsuyama Castle was crowded with full of tourists. The castle has been decorated with illumination to entertain the visitors at night for a month.

At Ishite-temple we met a couple from France. They have visited Japan 10 times! 

It was nice talking to them. 

Bon voyage:-)

Pokemon Go was released in Japan! We saw many people gazing at their smart phone in the Dogo area. One member of Team Camellia went to Dogo park to catch Pokemon:-)

At Ishite temple

Every 20th of month is believed to be a special day to celebrate Kukai, and today was one of them. A lot of pilgrims visited the temple area, where there were some stalls selling locally grown vegetables, homemade sweets, handmade clothes and accessories, and so on. They soothed the pilgrims and other visitors under the blue skies.

This year's “Onsenart” in Dogo features Yamaguchi Akira. At first sight, his paintings look as if they were traditional old Japanese paintings. But looking closer, you will find they contain some modern or unreal details. For example, a picture with a feeling of Edo era shows a man in a house using a tablet. A horse in a horse stable is actually a horse-faced motorbike. I enjoy those paintings. You can see his works in the Dogo-onsen main bathhouse and some hotels.

An illumination event started at Matsuyama Castle on July 6 and will continue until August 13.

This dragon is going to fly towards the blue sky now, but it is brilliant and backed by a dark sky when it is night.

Please check it out!

It was rainy today.

We took a walk around Dogo town.

Then we had a cup of tea and　sweets at Hotel Dogo-kan. In its small garden is a pine tree, which is said to be 300 years old.

We were impressed by the magnificence of  the pine tree.

At Matsuyama Castle we met some sweet couples from overseas. They had a peaceful time sitting in the shade of the new green trees and strolling around the castle grounds. We practiced guiding from the ticket window of the castle keep. We were able to find many things we hadn’t recognized before. How nice and mysterious the castle is!

There is a place for self service drinking tea at Ishite Temple.  It’s one of the Osettai feeling of hospitality places for pilgrims.  Many pilgrims visit Ishite Temple.  The tea makes them feel refreshed.

With 1350 years of history. Hougon-Temple is one of the most beloved temples in Matsuyama. Unfortunately the buildings and the Buddhist statues burnt down in August 2013. They have been rebuilt by people's great support in this spring.

 In spite of the rain, many tourists visited Matsuyama Castle. They looked like part of a sumie painting in the mist. Among them were high school students on a school trip from outside of Ehime. We hope people can also enjoy Kumamoto Castle soon.

Today is a fine day. We walked along Dogo shopping street. We found many kinds of umbrellas. It will be Tsuyu next month in Japan. Tsuyu is the name for the rainy season in Japan, which lasts from June to mid-July. Please go to Dogo to shop for umbrellas.

It was a chilly day for May. The sky was dark and we occasionally got light misty rain.  In spite of such weather, Ishite temple was filled with many pilgrims.  We went around the guide points of the temple while practicing as always.  We saw a foreign man coming to the temple, however he went off in a hurry after going around the temple.  We wondered “Why was he interested in Ishite temple?” We never asked a question of him.  We hoped he enjoyed his quick tour by himself.  We finished our guide practice and went home before it started raining again. 

 In Matsuyama azaleas and wisterias are blooming here and there.  At Matsuyama castle we enjoy sweet smell of wisterias.  The main castle with fresh green is also beautiful.    

 We had a special guest from U.S.A.!  She had applied to our HP for the guide.  We met a hotel in Dogo, went to Ishite-Temple, Isaniwa- Shrine, Dogo.  Then we got the tram and went to the Matsuyama-Castle.  She was so active and friendly.  We walked so much and talked about many things.  It was fine day with comfortable wind.  Many beautiful flowers bloomed.  We enjoyed a spring day.   

 A location of TV was performed in front of the Dogo Onsenn main building.

 Recently many famous people and television characters visit Matsuyama.           

 Matsuyama is famous for history and literature.  And there are many beautiful natures!

 After visiting the Ishite temple, we strolled along the banks of the Ishite River. So beautiful! Sakura or cherry blossoms are at their best now. Many people were preparing for hanami or cherry blossom viewing parties.

 For Japanese people, sakura is a symbol of spring, and of parting and meeting, since spring is the time of graduation from and entrance into school in Japan. You are lucky if you are in Japan at this time of the year. Enjoy sakura viewing and feel a bit what Japanese people feel from sakura.

At the Enmanji-temple near the Dogo onsen main building there is a huge white statue of Jizo.  One believer had offered the special small dishes for Jizo because of the spring equinoctial week.  In this week we would visit our family tombs.

We met a couple from Malta. Malta is an island country like Japan, so we felt an affinity with them. It was foggy and drizzling. We showed them around the castle in the fog. They told us about Malta and their trip (traveling all over Japan for over 5 weeks!) They were so gentle. We had a pleasant time with them. We hoped they enjoyed our guiding and would enjoy the rest of their trip in Japan. Soon they will see beautiful SAKURA (cherry blossoms). Bon voyage!!

We went to Ishite-ji temple. Spring is sure to be around the corner. We saw a pink carpet of early-blooming cherry blossom petals on the precincts of a small temple along the approach to Ishite-ji temple. It is said there is a cycle of three cold days and four warm days at the beginning of spring in Japan. Today must have been one of the cold days. Chilly rain was beating on the ground steadily, while pilgrims' chants were ringing around. A full-dress spring will be coming soon, brining more pilgrims to temples and shrines.

Several kinds of citrus fruits are raised in Ninomaru garden, which is located at the bottom of the castle hill. Citrus fruits are often offered to visitors for free.  This is Kabosu. The juice of Kabosu is used as seasoning for Nabe( hot pot).