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I'm hosting my parents for a couple months and have been really itching to finish my current roll and do some car tinkering, but I'm too busy and exhausted, haha. But not too busy to catch up! The Alcantara on the 964 is interesting. Did it look well-done? Feel like that can look sketch if done poorly or if "mistakes were made" during install.
Ditto! Sadly I have to drive pretty far to find any, like this one near Anza-Borrego. The contrast of a clean car and an abandoned, rusty gas station somehow complement each other.
Nice pic!
The all-gray re-trim of the 964 did indeed look good.
I didn't notice any 'mistakes were made' at the time, and only just saw that one wrinkle on the top rail in the photograph.
I used to camp regularly in Anza Borego too... How's that?
For our last night in Miyagi-ken, we had booked an onsen hotel, and with the village built over many hot springs, the air was filled with steam and sulfur.
The front entrance to the hotel, and the views from the room were great!
We parked the Cayman near a steam vent, thinking not too much about it, but over a month later the HVAC still burps sulfur sometimes...
Like a teenage girl, breakfast next morning has us reaching for our digital camera telephone-like devices to take a photograph.
Sticky rice, grilled fish, bacon, and egg, with some pickles and miso soup was just about perfect - as opposed to the often 20-course breakfast offered at most ryokan.
Which is often too much to eat (notably after a similar sized meal the night before).
With the sun going down, we took a slow walk through the town, and stopped to speak with a kokeshi apprentice, carving a piece in this last shop.
Our next stop was in Akita-ken, and we again took the preferred slow roads, stopping many times to explore...
Loved your most recent photos - Tohoku is my absolutely favorite region of Japan. About 18 years ago, we did a 2-week, small-group walking tour of the region - hiking village to village and/or taking local public transport. So, so different from the urban Japan cliche. It was hilarious walking up the stairs at rural train stations and seeing the looks of consternation on the faces of those walking down the stairs as we came into view - a gaggle of a dozen gaijin, we might as well have been a gaggle of extra-terrestrials. Tohoku is well worth a visit. I can’t imagine the bliss of doing that in a Cayman!
Loved your most recent photos - Tohoku is my absolutely favorite region of Japan. About 18 years ago, we did a 2-week, small-group walking tour of the region - hiking village to village and/or taking local public transport. So, so different from the urban Japan cliche. It was hilarious walking up the stairs at rural train stations and seeing the looks of consternation on the faces of those walking down the stairs as we came into view - a gaggle of a dozen gaijin, we might as well have been a gaggle of extra-terrestrials. Tohoku is well worth a visit. I can’t imagine the bliss of doing that in a Cayman!
That must have been a great experience, as so much there is true; we love Tohoku too, and our mission this time was to spend some more time in the area, and do some exploring in the areas we first visited to volunteer after the Great Eastern Earthquake. The generally well-meaning foreigner fascination is certainly funny sometimes... Running down the coast roads in the Cayman was included in our planning.
One of our plans was to stay in as many historic buildings we could find, and used these as the plan to set destinations.
Here, we stayed in a reformed kura in Kakunodate.
An old storehouse, in a block of two, in a nice quiet side street.
We did not realize it when we booked, but the town is a historic village and has some amazing places to explore.
Upstairs in the kura was the bedroom.
Downstairs was the living space and kitchen, with a central irori for dining...
You should plan a trip back!
As well as the preserved merchant district, and our overnight kura, Kakunodate also has a preserved district of samurai homes.
Weeping cherry and maple trees line the wide streets, and while most of the homes are privately owned, a few are open to the public.
You can peek inside and see how the rich samarui of the area lived from the mid-1600s, to the end of their era with the Meiji Restoration - late 1800s.
Some of the courtyards and gardens are very nice, especially on a hot day.
One of the privately owned kura.
The copper-capped fences of the home are all different, and some still have what appears to be the guard's window.
An omiyage shop selling ice cream; the necessary cooling for the slow walk under the overhanging trees.
Some of the homes were for middle class samurai, and not as elaborate as others.
Mid-week, early morning we were alone with just a few owners sweeping leaves.
With the demise of the Meiji-era, came the opening up of Japan, and my favorite architectural era - Taisho.
This style building is typically for a doctor, dentist, or similar.
They can still be seen scattered across Japan in towns that have resisted modernization, and with the availability of electricity and the up-take of Western influence (democracy! hats! coffee! siting on chairs!), present a significant shift from the Meiji- and Edo-era that preceded...
Wonderful shots and narration! Who knew that there were "middle-class samurai"!
If I remember right, they were sorta like gov’t bureaucrats with a special dispensation to carry rather large sharp instruments, and shop owners with a…ditto. In later years, they were given a monopoly in certain regions to create decorative artifacts made from cherry wood. In the closing years of that era, there was a big problem with unemployed samurai, not dissimilar to parts of the world in present times.
Wonderful shots and narration! Who knew that there were "middle-class samurai"!
Thanks!
Originally Posted by SCMike
If I remember right, they were sorta like gov’t bureaucrats with a special dispensation to carry rather large sharp instruments, and shop owners with a…ditto. In later years, they were given a monopoly in certain regions to create decorative artifacts made from cherry wood. In the closing years of that era, there was a big problem with unemployed samurai, not dissimilar to parts of the world in present times.
I think that's about right, particularly toward the close of their era - no wars to fight, castles being dismantled, and a central government being established.
Some of the samurai I think, went to Hokkaido to try and set up their own feudal state, and shortly after the central government invaded and took over there too.
No more samurai, except for Thomas the Cruise of course.
This day's destination was the Hachimantai Aspite Line*.
We drove it many years ago in a rental Prius, and have had it on our return agenda ever since.
At more than 1600m ASL, it has ski resorts in winter, and spectacular views all year round.
One of Japan's famed touge, it is lightly trafficked mid-week, and a great driving experience - safe, with many places to pass, and plenty of smooth, well-cambered corners.
It is a great place to test Michelin, and that second to third gear PDK bark.
There is also lots of nice places to stop and admire the view.
Companions on the day included many sport bike, a few S660, and a lot of GT86.
Though we happily rent an 86 when we have to fly and drive, we were glad we'd taken the time to bring the Cayman this time.
In some places, it was a difficult decision to keep driving or stop and look at the view.
Comparable views of the same piece of road; summer and spring.
The overcast day, blocked our views of Mount Hachimantai.
Weekend and winter car parks empty, and only a few cars made a great day.
Our previous destination when we first visited, was an abandoned danchi complex, adjacent to a now closed mine.
When you are finished on the Aspite Line, you can connect to the Jukai Line:
* 'Line' is one of the many terms used to label a touge (峠) in Japan - skyline, parkway, road, route, panorama, driveway, highway, turnpike, etc, are all used. 峠 too is a great kanji, being made from 山 (mountain), 上 (up) and 下 (down).
(Camera: Bessa R3a and Polaroid 600SE. Film: Portra 400 and Type 665.)
We had left Japan before the start of the danchi programme, thus it had not rung a bell with me. What an interesting back story on Japan, and the roads that humanity takes. Hard to escape the law of unintended consequences. Thank you for another bit of unexpected enlightenment…..
This thread always leads to another “thread” to be pulled. Your reference to “Danchi” in one photo led me to wonder what that means. A search brought forth: https://www.archdaily.com/933829/the...ing-experiment
We had left Japan before the start of the danchi programme, thus it had not rung a bell with me. What an interesting back story on Japan, and the roads that humanity takes. Hard to escape the law of unintended consequences. Thank you for another bit of unexpected enlightenment…..
Some interesting photographs there, and they capture the little village feel of the danchi concept as well.
The sense of community, and microcosm of Japanese life in the Showa-era.
This is the wider view of Hachimantai, and its adjacent mining facility...
Here are some more too, including from (perhaps) the most famous danchi in Japan.
Hashima (also known as Gunkanjima, because it looks like a battleship in profile), is an island off the coast of Southern Japan, and during its operational years had the world's highest population density.
This triggered the need for large-scale company / community sponsored housing, and the first concrete apartment building was built here in 1916 - with indoor toilets!
After being abandoned in the 1970s, it is now World Heritage Listed.
Coming down off the mountain, you drive through a few snow tunnels, which present a great op to drop it down a few cogs, and get on the gas a bit.
We overnighted in a conventional business hotel, and watched as the Cayman disappeared up into the parking garage, to be tucked away for the night.
Starting our journey home, we turned South from our hotel in Hachinohe in Aomori-ken, and headed down the coast.
Aomori-ken (Blue Forest Prefecture) is so named because of the vast blue-green Northern forests of spruce and cypress (or similar).
Joining the lower coast road, we were reminded of the 3/11 Great Eastern Earthquake and tsunami, and the reason why we had returned to the area.
The regular tsunami inundation signs are both a reminder of how high the sea came in March 2011, and as reasonable safety point to evacuate to, when it happens again.
The coast though is very rugged, and its easy to imagine the drama as 40m wave crested these rocks.
Some fishing ports have never recovered, but many others have rebuilt their homes above the potential impact zone.
This has made new coast roads, none of which are in the ten year old navi in the Cayman.
Coupled with the roads that are in the Cayman navi are no longer there, made for interesting decisions.
In some places, the coast road is literally the coast itself.
Lacking a center line suggesting fast cornering antics are likely to be met with on-coming cars, meant we took our time to enjoy the views.
A famous rock, whose name we forgot.
Rock slide protection, as part of the numerous tunnels along the coast road.
More great views.
This is the remains of the pre-2011 tsunami wall, with the inundation many times higher, both the advancing and retreating tsunami waves caused its collapse.
Here, the Cayman navi suggested this was the road South, whereas it had been consumed as a seaside park where the previous fishing village had sat.
10-15-2021, 07:50 AM
