Japan Travel (Part 3) - May 2025

Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, Honshu

We met our "ToursbyLocals" private guide at the port for a day trip to Matsue Castle. This castle was constructed between 1607 and 1611 for Horio Yoshiharu, the leader of the Matsue Domain during the Edo period. The castle ultimately was passed to the Matsudaira clan, a branch of the ruling Tokugawa family. It is one of the 12 remaining feudal castles in Japan that retain the original wood form and survived earthquake, fire and wars. Removing our shoes, we walked up wooden ladder-like steps to the upper floors. Along the way, we passed narrow windows for arrow weapons and rock dropping on enemies.

After a shabu-shabu lunch, we toured the "Bukeyashiki" Samauri house. This was the home of a middle-ranking Samauri, built in 1733 after a large Matsue fire. It is the only Samauri house on the street that remains. After touring the house, we continued to the residence of Lafcaido Hearn and the next door museum dedicated to Hearn. Lafcaido Hearn was a Greek-born writer that widely traveled and wrote from his experiences in Ireland, the US and Japan. Hearn married in Japan and resided here until his death. His books and writings are popular and studied in Japan schools. He is well-known for translating Japanese ghost stories into English in "Kwaidan." Remarkably, Hearn was able to share these Japanese stories but never actually spoke Japanese. 

Bukeyashiki Samauri House

Lafcaido Hearn

Our final stop was Yuushien Garden, with over 430,000 SF of traditional Japanese gardens. Yuushien is known for its 240 varieties of peonies, but we enjoyed the landscape with ponds, waterfalls, streams, lanterns, rock garden, pines and grasses and seasonal flowers.

Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, Honshu

We had a wonderful time during a first-time visit with my Japan relatives while the ship docked at Tsuruga. My Japanese and US families had not reunited since the mid-1950s. There is a previous blog posting about my genealogy research.

After being picked up from the port by family members, we went to a konbu shop to learn about how konbu is made. After a demonstration, we were given the opportunity to try shaving konbu ourselves. This was fun and a great way to start the visit.

The day was filled with meeting extended family members, visiting the family gravesite, viewing the local scenic lake area, having a wonderful lunch, enjoying the nearby coastal view and learning about family history. This visit was a highlight of our trip.

Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture, Honshu

Rather than take an excursion offered by the ship, we opted for a walking tour of Takaoka. We started at the Zuiryuji Temple, a Soto Zen Buddhist Temple. It is considered a National Treasure by the Japanese government. The temple was completed around 1659 to recognize and honor Maeda Toshinaga, the second lord of the Kaga Domain. His mausoleum is located withn walking distance from the temple.

Butsuden Main Hall

Master Teacher Recognition

Our next Takaoka walking tour stop was the Great Buddha. Originally constructed in wood, in 1745, it was heavily damaged by fire. In 1933, the bronze statue was revealed. This bronze status weighs about 65 tons and stands about 45 feet tall. Note the statue's original wood head survived fire and is displayed in the exhibit area under the Great Buddha statue. 

Great Buddha, Takaoka

A Guard for the Great Buddha

Sakata, Yamagata Prefecture, Honshu

We used a private "GoWithGuide" guide for this port stop. Our tour started with a stop at the Oranda Senbei Factory. Senbei are rice crackers that are available in a variety of flavors and shapes and are very popular in Japan. The factory tour allowed us to view the manufacturing and packaging process from start to finish. Along the tour, we were able to taste crackers straight from the line.

At the end of the tour, you enter a gift store with many different senbei products. In this area, you are also able to get hands-on experience with cooking a few crackers over an electric burner. We "baked” our senbei crackers and were able to add a shoyu flavored dipping sauce.

Our next stop was at the 15 historic Sankyo-soko rice storehouses. Originally constructed in 1893, they were still in use until 2022. Since feudal days, high-quality rice has been grown in the Sakata region. Thus, Sakata  served as a major storage facility and shipping hub for Osaka delivery. Presently, visitors cannot enter the storehouses. We enjoyed a Shokado seasonal bento (lunch) at Houkoutei, a restaurant in one of the repurposed storehouses.

After lunch, we toured the Honma Residence (1603-1768). The Honma family gained great wealth as merchants and through shipping. Given the time period in which the house was used, there were sections specifically used by Samarui and visiting officials and other sections used by family members.

Our final stop was Kaikoji Temple. This temple holds two Sokushinbutsu Living Buddhas. These were monks that mummified themselves as a sacrifice and prayer for people suffering from famine or other hardships. After subsisting 1,000 days on a very limited diet and reduced amounts of water, the monks lost muscle and became dehydrated and very weak. Placed into an underground chamber, they chanted and rang a bell until they could no longer do so and soon thereafter died. This practice is no longer permitted in Japan.