On Sunday I went on an 11 hour road trip with Lisa and family to see her favorite Shinto shrine on the west coast of Japan and the Hirosaki Lantern festival. I have no idea what the name of this particular shrine is or how to get there. Lisa found a picture of it in a Japanese travel magazine and talked to a co-worker who speaks the language to figure out how to get there. She has such a knack for discovering these places that are incredibly beautiful backdrops for photos. Sometimes it's because she sees the beauty in the small details that are overlooked in otherwise unremarkable places. But this one needed no enhancements or forced perspective to wow us.
Just outside of a tiny town there is a GIANT wooden torii gate leading to a parking lot in front of a large, ancient looking building that appeared to be an office building or a spiritual school. Off to the left there's a pathway lined with orange lanterns and marble sculptures. The path leads to a very tall staircase climbing up a hill, and at the top of the hill is a standard Shinto shrine. From the top of the hill there we could see the Sea of Japan! Very cool. But if we didn't know that this location offered something more, we would have stopped right there.
Turns out there is a second gigantic staircase leading back down the hill and into a small valley. There, we found a few more traditional structures, a beautiful red bridge which is so iconicly Japanese, AND...
A pathway crowned in hundreds of red torii gates winding up a small hill, leading to some sort of sacred structure. Apparently there's a very famous shrine like this down in Kyoto, but we haven't seen anything like that up here in Northern Japan. It was so beautiful. The red really popped against the pristine white snow, and the evergreen trees and frozen stream added some extra charm. I don't know much about plants but Lisa said there are tons of flowering bushes all over this hill, and there was a stone wall that is obviously a waterfall in warmer months.
We had fun climbing all over the place and taking pictures. It was a little treacherous at times... We'd be walking on what seemed to be solid snow and then all of the sudden we'd sink down to our knees. I think the valley must just be filled with huge drifts because we really had to bend down in order to walk underneath the gates in places. I was definitely wishing I'd worn my waterproof snow pants by the end of the day.
At the top of the hill we stopped and took some nice portraits with the gates in the background. It was fun getting to know Lisa's parents better. They're awesome. I look forward to showing my parents around Japan someday (HINT HINT!!!). ;^)
I wasn't so sure about this trip when we set out. Over 5 hours in the car to see 2 things? But the shrine was definitely worth it! These are my favorite travel pictures from Japan so far. =^)
After we were finished at the shrine, we piled back into the car and headed southeast to the very famous and historical Hirosaki Castle where they were holding their annual Lantern Festival. I'd heard this is one of the best local festivals and so I was excited to check it out. We got very lost on our way down there but we arrived just after dark and had plenty of time to walk around on the grounds and take pictures.
This is definitely the most peaceful festival we've been to. The pathways were lined with snow lanterns filled with candles, many of which were painted in the traditional Kabuki style with Japanese figures on them. Snow was lightly falling from the sky and the air was filled with the sound of bells playing songs like Pachelbel's Canon and Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring. We kind of felt like we were walking around in a musical snow globe all night.
Near the entrance we ran into two other girls from the squadron who had already done the circuit. They told us it was awesome and helped reinforce our excitement to be there. I made sure to get a picture with them next to one of the dozens of snow bunnies scattered along the path. This is the year of the rabbit according to the Japanese calendar so that was a big theme.
I've seen so many pictures of Hirosaki Castle so I was excited to finally get a picture in front of it. I hope to go back this spring when all of the cherry blossoms are in bloom.
One of my favorite areas was lit with tons of purple Christmas lights and candles. There were all kinds of cute snow sculptures, including a mini version of the castle. The walkways down there were lined with little lanterns that local kids had decorated. They were so cute!
Down the hill from there was an area that seemed to be devoted to kids. There were some food booths where we bought some tasty sausages on sticks. That was a much needed way to warm up a bit. There were also some MUCH larger snow sculptures down there, as well as a big snow slide. My favorite sculpture was a big replica of one of the castle towers. Seeing that was a small compensation for missing out on the larger festival in Sapporo.
By the end of our walk we were beyond frozen. (I mean, we were out there for two and a half hours). But it was totally worth it. Thanks to Lisa for one more spectacular Japanese adventure!!
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