After visiting Kenchoji Temple in Kamakura, a famous temple of the Rinzai sect, I climbed Mt. Shojoken in the precincts and watched the sunset. I could also see Kamakura Gakuen below. I sang the words to the classic Southern All Stars song, ”Bid farewell to the sunset’. Sagami Bay can also be seen beyond Wakamiyaoji Street. It was a beautiful sunset.
Its official name is crepuscular rays. It is also called an angel’s ladder or Jacob’s ladder (derived from Genesis). Since a strange cloud covered Sagami Bay in the morning, I climbed Shonandaira, a scenic spot in Shonan, and waited for dusk. As I aimed, an angel’s ladder descended from a gap in the clouds above the Izu Peninsula and the sea surface off Odawara began to shine like a spotlight. I enjoyed the mystical scenery that reminds me of the movie ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ for a while.
I enjoyed the Koharubiyori of Mt. Azuma in late autumn. Mt. Azuma near Ninomiya Station on the JR Tokaido Line is a small mountain 136 meters above sea level with a wonderful view overlooking Tanzawa, Fuji, Hakone, Izu Peninsula, Oshima, Miura Peninsula and Sagami Bay. How is Chami, the idol cat of Mt. Azuma in Scottish Fold walking up to the top of the mountain? It was a beautiful sunset.
Ritto has come again this year. It is said that the day of 24 divisions of the old calendar is the day when autumn reaches its climax and the sign of winter begins to appear. From now until the first day of spring is winter. The day before the first day of winter, the Chigasaki Beach saw a spectacular sunset that seemed to welcome the first day of winter.
Autumn has advanced, and it is the season of frosting of 24 sekki. It is said that it is the time when dew is cooled by cold air and falls as frost, but today’s Chigasaki is blessed with good weather and many fishing boats are out. The air was becoming clearer and the sunset more vivid. The sunset is beautiful.
That is the 75 th temple of Shikoku 88temple pilgrimage.After Kobo Daishi returned to Japan from Tang, he built the temple on the land donated by his father, SAEKI no Yoshimichi, imitating the Qinglong Temple in Changan, China, where his master, Keika Osho, lived. The head temple of the Zentsuji School of the Shingon Sect is said to be the birthplace of Kobo Daishi and the principal image is Yakushi Nyorai. The monastery is huge with majestic buildings and trees such as the Kondo, the five-storied pagoda, and the Nandaimon gate, and is about 1.5 kilometers away from Kozan-ji Temple. I stayed at this temple’s temple lodgings for two nights and attended the morning service every day. The view of the sunset from the shukubo(temple lodgings) is wonderful. It is quite different from other fudasho temples.
A huge cumulonimbus appeared over Yamanashi on the evening of August 30. The top of the cloud is wide and flat, and it is called ‘Kanatoko (gold floor) Clouds’ because of its shape. They were seen in a wide range of areas, including Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture, and made the news. At about the same time, anti-twilight rays also appeared in Sagami Bay. From the sky above Miura Peninsula, which is opposite to the direction of the sun, light pillars radiantly extended toward Izu Peninsula. The moon appears and the scene is fantastic. I was lucky to be able to take pictures on the same day, because I rarely see these clouds and anti-twilight rays.
That is the 74 th temple of Shikoku 88temple pilgrimage.This temple was founded by Kobo Daishi. The principal image is the Yakushi Nyorai.I walked about two kilometers through the countryside from Shusshakaji.Located at the foot of Mount Kabutoyama, which is covered with thick forest of trees, this temple has a clean and neat impression. The next temple is Zentsuji.
Risshu is the day when summer reaches its peak and the signs of autumn begin to appear. In the 24 divisions of the old calendar, Risshu is between the summer solstice and the autumnal equinox, and from then until the first day of winter falls. This year, the rainy season has finally ended for a very long time, but is it already the beginning of autumn? The days of intense heat continued, but today’s sunset at Chigasaki Beach was somewhat autumn.
Shonandaira is one of the best scenic spots in Kanto. From Oiso Station on the JR Tokaido Line, go up the mountain path for two kilometers until you reach the 180 meter peak. The panoramic view is overwhelming. I enjoyed views of Tokyo Sky Tree, Yokohama Landmark Tower, Sagami Bay, Enoshima Island, Miura Peninsula, Shonan Coast, Oshima Island, Izu Peninsula, Mt. Fuji and the Tanzawa mountain range. Above all, the sunset is wonderful. There is also a historic site related to Soga Monogatari, and Mt.Komayama in front of you is derived from toraijin of Kokuri is painted in Hiratsuka juku, ‘The 53 Stations of the Tokaido’ by Hiroshige Utagawa