Journals

Praying for love at Izumo Taisha

Izumo-taisha, officially Izumo Ōyashiro, is one of the most ancient and important Shinto shrines in Japan.

Izumo-taisha, also known as Izumo Ōyashiro, is one of the most ancient and important Shinto shrines in Japan No record gives the exact date of its establishment, but some of the oldest mythological stories of the country originate at this very place Located in Izumo of Shimane Prefecture, the shrine is dedicated to the god of nation-building, Okuninushi-no-okami, and it is said that, if you visit the shrine, you will have great luck when it comes to your love life and personal relationships How to reach Izumo-taisha I and my wife, Ranita, were staying at the Dormy Inn, just beside the Izumoshi Station Dormy Inn is a

Hinomisaki Shrine

Hinomisaki Shrine is an ancient shrine encircled by a grove of old pine trees near Cape Hino in the Izumo city of Shimane Prefecture. The vermillion-lacquered shrine, described as “Misa Gisha” in the ancient text of the Izumo no Kuni Fudoki, was built in honor of two sibling deities with a prominent presence in Japanese mythology; Amaterasu, goddess of the sun, and her younger sibling Susano, god of storms and the sea.

After spending a beautiful breezy morning at the Hinomisaki lighthouse, we walked down to the Hinomisaki Shrine, which is just about 15 minutes away It was pretty easy following the markers leading towards the shrine Hinomisaki Shrine was built in honor of two deities with a prominent presence in Japanese mythology: Amaterasu, the goddess of the Sun, and Susano, the god of storms and the sea The temple is believed to bring luck in business & travelling The weather had greatly improved and the dark grey clouds had scattered away At the entrance of the shrine grounds a white stone Torii welcomed us into the temple grounds

Exploring the Hinomisaki Lighthouse

Japan’s tallest masonry lighthouse and ranked in the top 100 historic lighthouses in the world, Hinomisaki Lighthouse is one of the unique sites in Shimane Prefecture. Situated in a quaint fishing village overlooking the rugged coastal terrain, this iconic guidepost has been aiding maritime navigation since 1903.

Hinomisaki is a cape at the western-most part of the Shimane Peninsula The Izumo Hinomisaki Lighthouse, which stands in the corner, boasts to be the highest masonry lighthouse in Japan Situated in a quaint fishing village overlooking the rugged coastal terrain, this iconic guidepost has been aiding maritime navigation since 1903 I and my wife, Ranita, left the hotel at about 10 am in the morning We were staying at the Dormy Inn Hotel, just behind Izumoshi Station It’s a nice place to stay, especially because of its proximity to the train station The Wi-Fi access was pretty good and the room was nice They also provide a Japanese-Western semi-buffet with Izumo Soba for

Sunset at Lake Shinji

Lake Shinji is a lake in the northeast area of the Shimane Prefecture in Japan. The lake is the seventh largest in Japan, with a circumference of 48 kilometres. It is enclosed by the Shimane Peninsula to the north, and the Izumo and Matsue plains to the west and east respectively.

Lake Shinji is a brackish water lake in the northeast area of the Shimane Prefecture in Japan It is the seventh-largest in Japan, with a circumference of around 48 kilometers The lake is enclosed by the Shimane Peninsula to the north, and the Izumo and Matsue plains to the west and east respectively We were staying in the city of Nara From this western city, we were traveling all the way to Izumo for a short tour of the heritage city The plan was to stop for a break at Lake Shinji and enjoy the beautiful sunset, which is very popular for Getting to Matsue from Nara

Sunset at Nigatsu-dō

Nigatsu-dō is one of the important structures of the Tōdai-ji temple in Nara. If you are here to know more about Nigatsu-dō, you already must be familiar with the Todai-ji temple, registered as a world heritage site, and one of the most revered Buddhist temples in all of Japan. I have visited Nara Park many […]

Nigatsu-dō is one of the important structures of the Tōdai-ji temple in Nara If you are here to know more about Nigatsu-dō, you already must be familiar with the Todai-ji temple, registered as a world heritage site, and one of the most revered Buddhist temples in all of Japan I have visited Nara Park many times Nigatsu-dō is located to the east of the Great Buddha Hall, on the hillside of Mount Wakakusa Even though I had visited the Nigatsu-dō temple hall earlier, it was only after one of my friends on Instagram posted a picture-perfect view of the evening sunset from here, that it became an

Fall at Nara Deer Park

One of the most amazing places to enjoy fall is at the Nara Deer Park in Nara in Kansai. The lavish park contains many momiji trees that begin to turn red and impart vivid red colors to the area. The roaming deer adds to the already beautiful canvas created by nature.

It is said a criminal eventually goes back to their place of crime My crime is that I fell in love with the heritage city of Nara Nara was the first capital of Japan and has a rich history that has kept me captivated since I first set my foot here in the fall of 2015 Nara Park is the central attraction of the ancient city and also one of the most amazing places to enjoy the fall season in the Kansai region The lavish park contains hundreds of Momiji trees that turn into red, brown, and yellow imparting a vivid range of colors to the area The roaming deer adds a touch

Group of Monuments at Aihole

Today we drive to Aiholi, said to be one of the first regional capital of the Karnakata region under the rule of the Calukyas. The town contains a large number of early Hindu temples and shrines including some outside the walled site that mostly date from the 6th to 8th century CE when the city was at its zenith of prosperity and power.

Today we drive to Aihole, said to be one of the first regional capital of the Karnakata region under the rule of the Chalukyas The town contains a large number of early experimental Hindu temples and shrines that date between the 6th to 12th century CE It was a beautiful morning as we left for Aihole The heritage town is about 35 km from Badami and 11 km from Pattadakal, both of which are major centers of historically important Chalukya monuments Highway to Aihole Along the way we passed vast spaces of empty terrain with nothing but brown bushes The desolate landscape

Group of Monuments at Pattadakal

Pattadakal, also called Paṭṭadakallu, is a collection of temples from 7th and 8th century CE Hindu and Jain temples in northern Karnataka. Declared as a UNESCO World Heritage site, it is a historically significant cultural center and religious site to witness the structural tastes during the times of the Chalukya dynasty.

Pattadakal, also called Paṭṭadakallu, is a collection of temples from 7th and 8th century CE Hindu and Jain temples in northern Karnataka Declared as a UNESCO World Heritage site, it is a historically significant cultural center and religious site to witness the structural tastes during the times of the Chalukya dynasty We were staying in Badami, which is just about 23 km from Pattadakal The drive to Pattadakal is beautiful Surrounding by empty vastness along a beautifully paved road, you will find the ride very satisfying Road to Pattadakal The heritage site falls on the main road and very easy to find using Google Maps The

Hiking to the Shivalayas of Badami

Today we hike up to the Shivalayas of Badami. These shivalays dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva are surprisingly located inside a fort protected with canons et all. On the hike, the most intriguing structures are the stone granaries located midway to the top of the hill which I have never seen anywhere else on my travels.

Today we hike to the Shivalayas of Badami These shivalayas dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva are surprisingly located inside a fort protected with canons et al However the most intriguing thing that I saw were some uniquely dome-shaped stone granaries, never seen before in my travels across India The hill hosting Upper and Lower Shivalaya in Badami Badami was the regal capital of the Badami Chalukyas from 540 to 757 CE It is located in a ravine at the foot of a rugged, red sandstone outcrop that surrounds a man-made Agastya lake The road to the ASI protected hill goes through a massive slum area I was naive to take my

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