Miho, a good Japanese friend, is moving to the Tokyo area next week. We decided to one more day trip together before her move. We went to Tsuwano, a cute little town that is nestled between mountain valleys. Sometimes it is known as "Little Kyoto". This town greets you with a huge red tori gate that you drive through before your way down the mountain. Once you get to the actual town there are several quaint places to see and visit.

First we visited Taikodani Inari Jinga Shrine. It sits on the top of a little mountain opposite of the mountain you drive down to get into the city. It is pretty impressive. It's famous for the 1,045 tori gates you walk through on your climb up the mountain. It's a nice little jaunt up there, but worth the view at the top!

We also walked the old streets, saw samurai houses, lots of carp, museums, temples and churches. We went to the Hokusai Museum of Art. Hokusai is famous for his woodblock prints, especially the 36 with Mt. Fuji in them. A book of original sketches were found in Tsuwano, and thus the museum came to be. Now they have about 60% of his works there. It was really interesting to have the woodblock process explained. For each color there was a different woodblock, so if there were seven colors there would be seven blocks. Each time they had to make sure that the paper was in the exact same place so everything would line up. Very interesting! (Picture from http://www.andreas.com/hokusai.html)

I was most interested in Otometoge Maria Seido Chapel and the Via Dolorosa footpath. In 1865, 150 Christians from Nagasaki were transported to Tsuwano. 36 were eventually killed for their beliefs. The chapel was built to commemorate the martyrs. The six stained glass windows told some of the stories. One of the most poignant was of a five year old girl who had sweets put in front of her. If she renounced her faith, she could eat the sweets. Instead, she said that taste of heaven is sweeter. Wow! The Via Dolorosa is a path from the chapel that leads to the burial place of the 36. Along the winding footpath through the hills there are stops to read the Stations of the Cross. At the burial spot there is a Christian grave but also a shrine as you enter the area. I don't understand.

We finished our day at an onsen. It was a wonderful way to feel the tension in my body melt away. I was curious to see what an onsen would be line in the hot summer since the water is hot as well. It still felt good, and at the end there was a tub of cold water to dip into. It was very refreshing!