2011年07月31日
Yashima: A Guided Tour
Yashima Volunteer Guides
I recently discovered a very friendly and helpful group of volunteers dedicated to introducing Yashima, Takamatsu's flat-topped lava plateau, to visitors. There are actually many different groups of volunteer guides in Takamatsu, each one dedicated to a particular site, such as Yashima or Ritsurin Garden. A tour with one of these guides is very pleasant and a great way to find out what the local people love about their home.
Sunset from Yashima
Many of the Yashima guides get together every Wednesday to practice their English so that they can introduce the mountain and its surroundings to non-Japanese speakers. This is actually how I met the group. One of my neighbors is a member and he asked me to come and talk with them in English.
Guides practicing English
While their English level varies, they are all motivated by the same warm-hearted hospitality and a love for Yashima. On weekends and holidays, you can find these guides on standby inside Yashima JR station
Yashima Station
and at the top of Yashima in an office just up the road from the parking lot on the left before the temple gate.
The office on top of Yashima
The guides and friends
You can recognize them by their colored jackets and their friendly smiles. The day I went the 'boss' as they call him was collecting donations for the Tohoku disaster.
The boss and his donation box.
He also happens to be a carpenter who does some of the restoration work on the temple buildings. Below is one of the buildings he worked on.
Look at the way they've reused the wood as much as possible, just planing and sanding it to make it look newer. Now that's real conservation.
The guides also helped me get a glimpse inside the shrine next door.
It's called Sentaido (Hall of 1,000 Figures) which explains why the far wall is covered with a thousand images of Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy.
I would not have thought to try it, but you can get a glimpse inside by pushing on the upper part of the latticed door. It swings up and out. Sorry for the poor photography but I took this in great haste, fearing that someone would come along any minute and scold me for being so sacrilegious.
To return to my topic, thanks to the volunteer guides, I enjoyed two great tours of Yashima, one around the south ridge and one to various historic sites scattered around the base. I'll share some interesting glimpses of these in subsequent posts.
I recently discovered a very friendly and helpful group of volunteers dedicated to introducing Yashima, Takamatsu's flat-topped lava plateau, to visitors. There are actually many different groups of volunteer guides in Takamatsu, each one dedicated to a particular site, such as Yashima or Ritsurin Garden. A tour with one of these guides is very pleasant and a great way to find out what the local people love about their home.
Sunset from Yashima
Many of the Yashima guides get together every Wednesday to practice their English so that they can introduce the mountain and its surroundings to non-Japanese speakers. This is actually how I met the group. One of my neighbors is a member and he asked me to come and talk with them in English.
Guides practicing English
While their English level varies, they are all motivated by the same warm-hearted hospitality and a love for Yashima. On weekends and holidays, you can find these guides on standby inside Yashima JR station
Yashima Station
and at the top of Yashima in an office just up the road from the parking lot on the left before the temple gate.
The office on top of Yashima
The guides and friends
You can recognize them by their colored jackets and their friendly smiles. The day I went the 'boss' as they call him was collecting donations for the Tohoku disaster.
The boss and his donation box.
He also happens to be a carpenter who does some of the restoration work on the temple buildings. Below is one of the buildings he worked on.
Look at the way they've reused the wood as much as possible, just planing and sanding it to make it look newer. Now that's real conservation.
The guides also helped me get a glimpse inside the shrine next door.
It's called Sentaido (Hall of 1,000 Figures) which explains why the far wall is covered with a thousand images of Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy.
I would not have thought to try it, but you can get a glimpse inside by pushing on the upper part of the latticed door. It swings up and out. Sorry for the poor photography but I took this in great haste, fearing that someone would come along any minute and scold me for being so sacrilegious.
To return to my topic, thanks to the volunteer guides, I enjoyed two great tours of Yashima, one around the south ridge and one to various historic sites scattered around the base. I'll share some interesting glimpses of these in subsequent posts.
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Cathy Hirano キャシー ヒラノ
I've lived in Japan since 1978. After graduating from a Japanese university with a BA in cultural anthropology in 1983, I worked as a translator in a Japanese consulting engineering firm in Tokyo for several years. My Japanese husband and I moved to Takamatsu in 1987 to raise our two children in a slower-paced environment away from the big city pressures. We've never regretted it. I work as a freelance translator and interpreter and am involved in a lot of community work, including volunteering for Second Hand, a local NGO that supports educational and vocational training initiatives in Cambodia, and for the Takamatsu International Association. I love living in Takamatsu.
Cathy Hirano キャシー ヒラノ
I've lived in Japan since 1978. After graduating from a Japanese university with a BA in cultural anthropology in 1983, I worked as a translator in a Japanese consulting engineering firm in Tokyo for several years. My Japanese husband and I moved to Takamatsu in 1987 to raise our two children in a slower-paced environment away from the big city pressures. We've never regretted it. I work as a freelance translator and interpreter and am involved in a lot of community work, including volunteering for Second Hand, a local NGO that supports educational and vocational training initiatives in Cambodia, and for the Takamatsu International Association. I love living in Takamatsu.
Posted by cathy at 14:00│Comments(3)
│Exciting&Beauty Places
この記事へのコメント
These people are so nice indeed.
One day, in Ritsurin, one of them really wanted to give us a tour in English, but unfortunately for him, it was a moment when we wanted to be just the two of us.
I felt so guilty saying no, and he felt quite sad too, I could see it on his face.
I guess next time I go both to Ritsurin and Yashima, I'll ask for a guide. :-)
Also, I always want to peek inside closed shrines, but I never dare too, I'm always afraid to make a grave mistake.
One day, in Ritsurin, one of them really wanted to give us a tour in English, but unfortunately for him, it was a moment when we wanted to be just the two of us.
I felt so guilty saying no, and he felt quite sad too, I could see it on his face.
I guess next time I go both to Ritsurin and Yashima, I'll ask for a guide. :-)
Also, I always want to peek inside closed shrines, but I never dare too, I'm always afraid to make a grave mistake.
Posted by David at 2011年08月11日 19:10
Thanks for the comments, David. You've got a good point! Next time I see the guides, I'll let them know that some people do want to just wander on their own so not to feel disappointed!
Posted by cathy hirano at 2011年08月16日 10:58
I'm impressed. You've rlaely raised the bar with that.
Posted by Roxanna at 2012年01月30日 07:28
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