Cruising to Tomonoura, a historic town

There are no unsophisticated people who come to the Seto Inland Sea and travel by land from Onomichi to Tomonoura. On the way of sea, you can see a large suspension bridge, a shipyard, and Kannon who prays for maritime safety. However, please note that this cruise ship makes two round trips a day only on weekends and holidays.

Crusing from Onomichi to Tomonoura

cruising1

cruising3 shimanami kaido

cruising4 fishing boat

cruising5 shipyard

cruising6 shipyard dock

cruising7 utsumi ohashi

cruising8 abuto kannon

cruising10

cruising11

cruising12 goal

Well, Tomonoura is located right in the middle of the Seto Inland Sea and was a port of waiting for the tide in the age of ships that depended on the wind and currents. The high tide coming from the east and west channels of the Seto Inland Sea collides offshore, and the force is used to enter the port. When leaving the port to advance offshore, it uses the power of the ebb tide that pulls it to the east and west .

The place where the Korean envoys stopped by still remains, and it is also the place where Japan’s first maritime casualty negotiations occurred between steamships on the late Edo period. Here is the site of a true story in which the Kishu Domain (almost Wakayama prefecture), which was under the control of the shogunate, was defeated by the Kaientai led by Ryoma Sakamoto, according to the World Public Law.

It’s fun to take a leisurely stroll through the nostalgic port town. This is the stage of “Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea” produced by Studio Ghibli. Furthermore, ‘Hohmeishu’, sweet sake with Japanese herbs, is famous, but you should also try original sweet sake ‘mirin’ which enhances the flavor of the dish.

tomonoura1 fukuzenn temple

tomonoura2 hohmeishu sake of life

tomonoura3

tomonoura4 allnight lighthouse

tomonoura5 meien temple buddha birthday decoration

tomonoura6

tomonoura7 ankoku temple

itsukushima shrine1 — go back to itinerary

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The cat road full of slopes is photogenic. Onomichi is a mecca for movies and anime.

Anyway, Onomichi has a lot of slopes, cats and temples. If you get lost in the narrow roads friendly to cats, you are sure to come across a photogenic scenery.

Since Onomichi has a quiet channel between it and Mukaishima island on the opposite shore, it has been used since the Middle Ages as a shipping port for rice as annual tribute from inland manors and a shipping port for

silver from Izumo’s Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine, which has become a World Heritage Site.

Takauji Ashikaga, who established the Muromachi Shogunate, also used this place as a foothold to advance to Kyoto.

A town packed with various elements. That’s why it may be used in movies and anime scenes. Walking route is as below.

onomichi1 joudo temple

onomichi2 joudo temple

onomichi3 joudo temple

onomichi4 saigo temple

onomichi5 onomichi east highschool brick fence on cinema

onomichi6 cat road

onomichi7 saigoku temple gate

onomichi8 cat heaven

onomichi9 misode shrine on cinema

onomichi20 retro alley

onomichi21 under railway

onomichi22 shopping street without people

onomichi24 yamato hot spring on the street

onomichi27 ramen

The ropeway in the town is quite crowded, but from the top you can see the beauty of islands in the Seto Inland Sea. The time of sunset is the target. During the cherry blossom season, the whole mountain is dyed in cherry blossom color.

onomichi10 ropeway

onomichi11 ropeway

onomichi15 senkou temple with giant rocks

onomichi16 rock

View from the top

onomichi12 skyaview left

onomichi14 skyview right

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Kamei Villa of the Taisho romance built by the president of the Energy Conglomerate

When I travel to Tohoku, I often stop at a gas station, so I often see Kamei’s mark (red flag on the sea). When I visited Shiogama Shrine and walked along the long back path, Kamei’s villa suddenly appeared and I was surprised why it was in such a place. So I learned that Kamei was a company that originated from Shiogama City and lasted over 100 years.

There are many companies in the world that have been in business for more than 100 years, but according to a survey by Nikkei BP, Japan was twice as many as the United States, which was second in the number of companies in the world. In Japan, the ratio of these companies was high in the manufacturing, retail, wholesale, and lodging/restaurant industry, but low in the service industry. Prolonged life is proud, but I think it’s because of the conservative constitution of business practices and it leads to conservative job hunting for students who are only looking at large companies. Amazon is taking over the Japanese market in the retail industry with ICT as a weapon. I hope that a new venture that will bring innovation will be created. I think Japan must learn more about the reincarnation of Buddhism.

Returning to Kamei, many companies that have continued for over 100 years are transforming themselves. General Electric(GE) was also a company that manufactured and sold Edison’s inventions, but it is now a major player in the energy and aviation industries while changing industries. Kamei also focused on new energy oil at that time and established a sales route in Tohoku based at Shiogama Port. It was explained that the contractor at that time was the current ENEOS, energy supplier, and the design of the bat of the company emblem was incorporated into this villa. Perhaps it could be the story when the president of Kamei received the contract customer at this villa. Nowadays it is surrounded by commercial areas, but it is imagined that the view of Shiogama Port and Matsushima Bay would have been good because it was located on a hill. It’s a great place to take a break on a hot day. It’s free.