On Saturday, my wife suggested going for a drive the next day. Our first choice was a place called Hayakakenuma Park in Mutsu. We would make a stop in Yokohama Town to eat some U no Hana donuts which are donuts made from soy pulp. We would pick up lunch at the Roadside Station in Yokohama Town, then continue on our way to Mutsu. But as my wife did a bit of research on the Internet, it seems that there really is nothing to see at the park. The chances of us seeing a serow is pretty low too. We decided to think of a different place to go. I found a temple that we haven't visited yet. It's called Koyasan Koboji Temple and it's located in Tsugaru City, only an hours drive away
土曜日に妻が日曜日にどっかドライブに出掛けようと提案した。一番最初に考えたのはむつ市にある早崖沼公園。途中で横浜町にある豆腐の店「湧水亭」で卯の花ドーナッツを食べて、ランチは横浜町の道の駅で買う。だったが、妻がネットでいろいろ調べたら、早崖沼公園にはなんもないと気付き、別の場所にしようと話した。ま、早崖沼公園でカモシカが見れるかも知らないという情報もあったが、見る確率は低いと想う。僕がいろいろ調べたら行ったことないお寺があった。つがる市にある高野山弘法寺というところ。うちから車でだったの１時間の距離。
Fudodo / 不動堂
The traffic safety frog. Frog in Japanese is kaeru which also means to go home. So this frog wishes for you to return home safely.
交通安全守護蛙。サインに書いてあるのは「今日も一日安全運転無事かえる家庭の幸福（しあわせ）無事故運転から」。
Nanmu Daishi / 南無大師
Stone lanturn / 石灯籠
Fortune beckoning racoon dog / 招福狸
Monument to the contributors for building the Hondo.
本堂建築費助者の記念碑。
The temple's mascot, Koya-kun. Wow, the blurb on the bottom says this temple opened 1200 years ago.
お寺のマスコット、こうやくん。おう、下に書かれてるのは高野山開業１２００年。凄くない？
Small shrine housing two of the Seven Lucky Gods of Fortune, Ebisu and Daikokuten.
七福神の恵比寿様と大黒天様の神社。
Shoten Myojin / 諸天明神
The oldest statue of Kobo Daishi in the Tsugaru area. It was made in the seventh year of the Taisho Era (1918).
大正７年に設立され、津軽最古の修行大師。
Hand purifying basin / 手水舎
The pictures below are of different monuments. My Japanese is not up to par on translating all of it.
下記の写真はいろん記念碑。自分の日本語読み力足りないので、訳すことは出来ません。
The Sanmon Gate, also known as the Nio Gate as it's protected by two Nio guardians.
弘法寺の山門（仁尾門）。
The two statues below are of the Nio deities that protect the entrance to the temple.
下記の２枚の写真は山門の両サイドにお寺を守る仁尾様。
The wood for the Nio statues were made from the root of Japan's largest gingko tree located in Kita Kanegasawa in Fukaura.
My wife standing in front of the Sanmon.
山門の前に立つ僕の妻。
The Six Boddhisatvas / 六地蔵
Buddhist at rest.
休憩してる仏教徒。
The entrance to the main temple.
本当への入り口。
We didn't know it when we went but an art exhibition was being held at the temple. The exhibition opened on June 21 and will be on display until the end of September. The title of the exhibition is [Art of Tsugaru from the temple].
お寺にお参りした時、私たちが知らなかったが丁度アート展をやってました。「五人展 津軽のArtをお寺から」というアート展。令和４年６月２１日～９月３０日まで開催。
Cute little racoon dog on a nice pedestal.
素敵にスタンドに触ってる狸さん。
Check out the size of those prayer beads!
数珠のデカさにびっくり！
Miniature Nebuta art kites were for sale. \3000 yen for one. Hm, a little expensive.
ミニねぶた絵の凧が販売してました。１枚３０００円。ちょっと高いね。
Uh, I don't know what it is but it looks kind of cool.
え～、なにか分からないけどカッコイイな。
Hm, it's a five-pronged pestle called gokosho in Japanese.
おう、先ほどのアイテムの説明文だ。五鈷杵（ごこしょ）というものでした。
The Aji mailbox, aji being the first letter in the Sanskrit alphabet. In Buddhism it symbolizes the source of all things. You can send a letter here in the hopes that your desires will be met.
阿字ポスト。あなたの想いが届きますように。
And now to check the art exhibition.
さて、これからアート展を観覧する。
Sometimes it's hard to tell if certain pieces are part of the art or are a part of the temple.
いろんなものがアートィストに手掛けたものか、お寺のものか良く分からない。
But this wall piece was awesome.
でもこの壁一面の絵が凄かった。素晴らしい。
The Seven Lucky Gods / 七福神
Dragon flying in front of Mount Iwaki.
岩木山の前で飛ぶ龍。
Taijima in Mutsu / むつ市 「鯛島」
Oku-Yagen Hot Spring Kappa Statue / 奥薬研温泉 かっぱの像
Kawauchi Valley in Mutsu / むつ市 「川内渓谷」
Mutsu City's [Swallowtail Butterfly Night View] / むつ市「アゲハチョウの夜景」
Stained glass art.
ステンドグラスアート。
Hirosaki Neputa Float / 弘前のねぷた
Hirosaki Neputa Float / 弘前ねぷた
The wall art is so cool. And the black and white pieces are cute.
壁のアートがカッコイイ。そしてテーブルの上のアートが可愛い。
Kokesu = Kokeshi doll + chess / こけす（こけし＋チェス）
You can't tell from this picture, but the gold disc in the middle has a kind of 3D effect.
写真じゃ分からないが、真ん中の金の輪が三次元になってる感じ。
I think this was the most unique art piece in at the exhibition.
この部屋でこのアート作品が一番ユニックと想った。
Horseback archery / 流鏑馬
[Haneru] / 「跳ねる」
I took this photo while lying down as it was displayed on the ceiling.
この写真は部屋で仰向けになって撮った。なせと言えば、絵が天井に貼ってあるから。
Bird drummer? / 鳥のドラマー？
Paper craft Neputa Floats / ペーパークラフトのねぷた
A miniature Tachineputa / ミニ立佞武多
I think that concludes the art exhibition but now it was time to check out the temple and its various items.
それでアート展が終了しましたが、今度はお寺のものを拝見することに専念。
Hondo / 本堂
I think the backdrop is another art piece.
バックドロップがアート展の物と想います。
Definitely more art of the exhibition.
これも絶対アート展の作品。
So many deities.
神様が多すぎて、全部覚えられない。
I recognize the top figure as Daikokuten, one of the Seven Gods of Fortune.
上にある七福神の一人は大黒天で分かった。
Statue of Pindola Bharadvaya, an arhat who was asked by Buddha to remain in the world to propogate Buddhism.
賓頭盧様。
The Hondo / 本堂
I don't know what the picture represents but it's really cool too.
絵はなにを表してるのか知りませんが、凄い素敵な絵と想う。
I didn't notice this Buddhist the first time.
また横になってる仏教徒。見逃すところでした。
There was one room that really caught my interest though. It was called the Ningyo-do or Doll Hall. Unfortunately, there was a notice that said it was not open for public viewing. After getting my temple seal, I said to the monk that it's too bad I could not view the Doll Hall. To my surprise, he said I was more than welcome to check it out and he led the way. There was a group of three others who were about to leave but wanted to ask the monk the same thing. Not only did we get to see the Doll Hall, he explained the significance of the dolls and why the temple chose to close it to the public. Although, I thought the dolls were displayed in one room, there more rooms further back. I asked about how many dolls were displayed and amazed to find that there were currently over 900 of them in the temple. The dolls were interned at the temple as a memorial to their loved ones. Each doll had a story, some more tragic than others. I was very moved but also saddened at the same time. It didn't feel appropriate to take a picture so I searched the Internet just to share a bit of what I saw.
お寺にある部屋が凄い気になった。それが人形堂でした。ですが部屋の前に貼紙があり、人形を納めた方のみが入るようなことが書いてあった。御朱印を頂いたあと、帰り間際に、僕がご住職に人形堂が見れないのは残念ですと言ったら、どうぞ、ご覧になって下さいの言ってくれた。他の参拝客３人も居て、同じことを聞くところだったみたい。妻が先に車にもどろうとしてが、僕が呼び戻して、人形堂が拝見出来るよと伝えた。ご住職は人形について後丁寧に説明してくれた。一つの部屋と想った僕がびっくり。奥の奥までの部屋があり、ご住職に何体くらいありますかと聞いたら、９００体以上でした！！お寺に納めてる人形は亡くなった方々の供養の為にあると知った。人形たちがそれぞれの話があり、感動の一つでもあったが、悲し、切ない気持ちにもなった。聖なる場所な感じで、もちろん写真撮影はしてません。インターネットで検索して、写真を借りて、僕が見た物をちょっと紹介したいなと想った。
Doll Hall / 人形堂
All the dolls were housed in a beautiful glass case. The reason why it was closed to the public was because the monk got complaints from some of the people who said there was some mischief done to their dolls. I can't believe people would show such disrespect in a temple, no less.
人形たちは素敵なガラスケースに納めてる。一般公開してない理由は人形を納めた方々から苦情が来た。人が人形にいたらずらをしたらしい。こういう場所でそいういたずらをする人は信じられない。残された家族の怒りが理解出来ます。
The monk that explained the origin and reason for the interning of the dolls. One of the saddest things he said was that in recent years, it was younger and younger people's parents who interned dolls. He also said most of the recent deaths were attributed to suicides. There were also many children's dolls representing a child that a parent lost. Not only were the dolls incredible but to listen to the monk explain everything was very educational. It was the first time I had seen or heard of people interning dolls at a Japanese temple. I'm so glad we chose to visit this temple today. I think the saddest story was when I saw a picture of a cute five-year-old girl. The monk explained that she passed away from pediatric cancer. Her mother would come every year and fill the case with what her daughter would need as she grows older such as a randsel, books and notes for starting school and such. The monk pointed out a doll that had a foreign face. He explained that the parents of the daughter who took her life had dreams of marrying a foreigner. So the parents interned a doll with an American looking face and named him Gilbert.
ご住職が人形の意味や納めについてわかりやすく説明してくれた。個人的にご住職が話して、悲しくなったのは最近亡くなった方々が主に自殺であった。また別の場所で子供の人形も納めてるので、全部が水子だったこど。５歳児の写真を見て、住職がその子が児童癌でなくなった。若いお母さんが毎年お参りして、ケースの中に娘が成長してる様にランドセルやら、ノート、鉛筆などを入れてる。もう一つ話してくれたのは、最近外国の人形も納めるかたも来た。若い娘が自殺し、彼女の夢は外国人と結婚する願望があった。それで、外国らしきの人形を納めて、ギルバートと命名された。
Next, we explored more of the temple grounds.
そのあとまた境内に探索した。
Koboji Temple Seal / 弘法寺の御朱印
It was such a hot summer day, my wife suggested going to the ocean. However, on our way, we saw a sign for the Dake Hot Spring Resort area and decided to head there instead.
日曜日は結構暑かったので、妻が海に行こうと提案。行く最中に嶽温泉行きのサインを見て、予定変更し、山にある嶽温泉のほうに向かった。
(photo borrowed from the Internet)
At the Dake Hot Spring Resort area, we decided to eat lunch at the restaurant located inside the Yama no Hotel.
嶽温泉に着き、山のホテルの中にあるレストランでランチを食べた。
The name of the restaurant in the hotel is called [Matagi-tei].
山のホテルにあるレストランはお食事処「マタギ亭」。
The interior of the restaurant.
レストランの店内。
The house specialty is the matagi meshi but as we have had that on a number of occasions, my wife and I ordered the matagi soba.
店の名物はマタギ飯ですが、僕と妻はそれを何回も食べてるから、今日はマタギそばを注文した。
And what exactly is matagi? It is the name for the winter hunters in the Tohoku area. They usually went hunting for deer and bears.
マタギとは？ 日本東北地方・北海道などの山地で古い方法を用いて集団で狩猟を行う者の事。
The matagi soba is made with green tea soba noodles and is topped with a special spare rib and maitake mushroom tempura and more.
メニューに寄るとマタギそばは喉ごしの良い茶そばの上には特製スペアリブや天ぷらなど具沢山です。
The spare rib. It was quite delicious.
特製スペアリブ。超美味しかった。
The green tea soba noodles.
茶そばを使用してるのは分かる。
(photo from the Internet)
After lunch, we went to the Cafe & Bar [Meheyakko] and ordered a couple of shakes - banana and caramel.
ランチを食べ終わったら、山のカフェ＆バー「めへやっこ」でシェイクを買って飲んだ。バナナとキャラメル。
Instead of going to the ocean, we found ourselves driving through the mountains and headed towards Nishimeya Village.
海ではなく山道を通って、西目屋村に向かった。
We've been to the Tsugaru Dam on a number of occasions so we decided to head back towards Hirosaki when I spotted a sign for Romantopia. This was another place we've never been to so we made that our next destination.
西目屋村の言えば津軽ダム。でも何回も行ってるから、弘前に戻る方向に決定。今度は「星と森のラマントピア」のサインを発見、前から気になって、それが次の目的地となった。
On our way to the main grounds of Romantopia, we first went to the observatory called [Ginga]. My wife didn't join me but as I had never been in an observatory before, I wanted to see what it was like.
ロマントピアのメインの施設にたどり着く前に山の上にある天文台「銀河」がありました。自分は天文台に入ったことがなかったので気になってた。妻は車の中で待って、自分一人で入った。
Observatory [Ginga] / 天文台「銀河」
Displayed inside the observatory was a model of the space probe [Hayabusa].
天文台の中に探査機「はやぶさ」のモデルが展示されてました。
The telescope. I didn't get a chance to look through it but joined the resident astronomer's lecture for a while before getting a call from my wife.
望遠鏡で宇宙を見ることが出来なかったが、天文学者のレクチャーはちょっとだけ聞いた。妻が電話するまではね。
I had a great view of Mount Iwaki from the observatory.
天文台から岩木山の眺めは美しかった。
On our way back to Aomori, my wife was getting very tired and we still had to think about what we were going to have for dinner. That's when I spotted the Fujisaki Shokusai Terrace. I suggested that we stop there for a short rest.
青森市の帰りで妻が段々疲れて眠くなったので、丁度藤崎町通過するところで、妻にふじさき食彩テラスでちょっと休憩しようと言った。
Fujisaki Shokusai Terrace / ふじさき食彩テラス
The place is like a small farmer's market and also houses a restaurant and sells local crafts.
場所はファーマーズ・マーケットみたいなところ。中にはレストランもあるし、いろんなグッズも販売してます。
Fujisaki Town is home to the Fuji apple, one of the best selling apple brands of Hirosaki.
藤崎町はふじ林檎の発祥地でもある、結構人気ある林檎です。
Fossilized beech tree leaves / ブナの葉の化石
We made it home but then went out again to pick up my mother-in-law from her workplace. She was supposed to get off work around 6:30pm or 7:00pm but she was still nowhere to be found and it was passed 7:30pm. Tonight, there was to be a fireworks show at Asamushi and I thought I might be able to see it from where the Memorial Ship [Hakkoda Maru] is docked.
一旦帰りましたけど、またすぐに出掛けました。今度は義理の母の職場まで行って、迎えに行く事にした。仕事上がりは１８時半か１９時くらいだったが、待っても待っても、船から出てこない。もうしかして、連れ違って、駅のほうに行ったのちょっと考え始めた。だって、携帯にも出ない、LINEが既読せず、どうしようかと想った。今夜浅虫の花火が開催され、八甲田丸のほうから見えるかなと覗いてみた。
Well, you could see a bit of the fireworks. Of course it looked really small.
花火はちょっと見えたが、結構小さめになってた。
I edited and enlarged the above picture.
上記の写真を拡大して編集してみた。
Even without the fireworks, it's still a beautiful night view.
花火がなくても素敵な夜景になってる。
Looking towards the city, you can see ASPAM (the triangular building) and part of Aomori Bay Bridge.
街のほうを見ると、アスパムと青森ベイブリッジが綺麗に見える。
Aomori Bay Bridge in the background with the Memorial Ship [Hakkoda Maru] off to the right.
青森ベイブリッジと右側にあるのはメモリアルシップ「八甲田丸」。
Japan Coast Guard ship / 海上保安庁の船
Memorial Ship [Hakkoda Maru] / メモリアルシップ 「八甲田丸」
Well, my mother-in-law didn't leave before us. She was still working and finished a little after 7:30pm. All in all, a very eventful and fun day.
義理の母と連れ違ったわけではない。結構残業してたみたいで、１９時半くらいになって船から降りた。そして無事に帰りました。それで今日の冒険の幕が閉じた。
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