[Tohoku] I went! 150th anniversary of railway opening! Travel with JR East Pass. Day 2 Part 2 ②

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[Tohoku] I went! 150th anniversary of railway opening! Travel with JR East Pass. Day 2 Part 1

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[Tohoku] I went! 150th anniversary of railway opening! Travel with JR East Pass. This is a continuation of the first part of Day 2. In the first part of the second day, we arrived at Hiraizumi from Akita via Morioka and Ichinoseki, and ate Wanko Soba at ``Izumikyoan'' in the Chusonji municipal parking lot. After dinner, we will head to the World Heritage Sites of Chuson-ji and Motsu-ji. The JR East Free Pass is valid for 3 days, but this time it will be a 1 night and 2 day trip. The journey is finally coming to an end. Everyone please! But before that, why is "Hiraizumi Cultural Heritage" a World Heritage Site in the first place? I think there are quite a few people who think so. This is a quote from "Hiraizumi Cultural Heritage Bookmark"...

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This is a continuation of.

In Part 1 of the second half of the second day, after lunch we took a walk around Chusonji Temple in Hiraizumi, where we talked about how Hiraizumi's cultural heritage was registered as a World Heritage Site and gave a brief explanation of Chusonji Temple.

In Part 2 of the second half of the second day, we will descend from Chuson-ji Temple and head towards Motsu-ji Temple and the ruins of Kanjizaio-in Temple.

After descending from Chuson-ji Temple, we visited the grave of Musashibo Benkei before heading to Motsu-ji Temple.

Although I wasn't able to explain it in Part 1 of the second half of Day 2

There are various stories all over the country, but the most famous one is that when Minamoto no Yoshitsune's Korokawa mansion was attacked by Fujiwara Yasuhira's army, it did not fall even though it was hit with hundreds of arrows.

This is the ``Benkei stuck'' that is passed down to this day.

The last haiku that Benkei composed on that occasion was

``On the streets of the Six Paths, wait for me, you have a habit of being the first one to be late.''

In response, Yoshitsune replied,

“The next world, and the next world, I will continue to wander until the top of the dyed purple clouds.”

is. Musashibo Benkei's tomb is located along National Route 4, but it may be difficult to notice.

When you go to Chuson-ji Temple, it's a good idea to stop by the grave and recite the haiku above.

The time is 16:00, go to Motsuji Temple and Kanjizaioin ruins.

It's an 11 minute walk to Motsuji Temple and Kanjizaioin ruins, about a 1.3km walk.

On the way there is the Hiraizumi Cultural Heritage Center, so it's a good idea to stop by.

The Hiraizumi Cultural Heritage Center offers visitors a chance to dig, read, and walk around the town as a ``revitalizing of the time and space of Hiraizumi.'' It provides a three-dimensional introduction using topographical models with video and audio, and exhibits artifacts excavated from within the town. You can check Hiraizumi's cultural heritage as materials that support its history.

Unfortunately, I couldn't stop by due to time constraints. Details of the center are listed below.

INFORMATION

• Name: Hiraizumi Cultural Heritage Center
• Address: 44 Hiraizumi Hanadate, Hiraizumi-cho, Nishiiwai-gun, Iwate Prefecture 029-4102
• Business hours: 9:00 to 17:00 (Enter by 16:30)
• Closed: Year-end and New Year holidays (December 29th to January 3rd)

GOOGLE MAP

Kanjizaioin ruins

In the meantime, we arrived at the Kanjizaioin ruins.

Kanjizaio-in, which was built by the wife of Motohira, the second generation of the Fujiwara clan in Oshu, has lost all its buildings, but it is now a Pure Land garden that remains almost completely intact, with Maizuru Pond at its center. Currently, it has been maintained as a historical park and is a place of relaxation for the townspeople.

Kanjizaio-in Temple Ruins is one of the five assets that make up Hiraizumi's World Cultural Heritage Sites.

I wrote above that it is a Jodo park that remains almost in its perfect form, but the site of Kanjizaio-in fell into disrepair after the temple was abandoned in 1189, and by the early modern period, it had lost all its temples and pagodas, and the garden had also been destroyed. It had fallen into disrepair and Maizurugaike had become a rice paddies.

A large-scale excavation survey was conducted in 1971, and it was discovered that there were two large and small Amida halls in the northern part of the temple area, which measures approximately 120m from east to west and 240m from north to south, and that there was a pond in the center.

Based on the results of the excavation of the ruins, the remains of the temple and the garden were restored and maintained, resulting in its current appearance.

highly evaluates the Kanjizaioin ruins, along with the Motsuji and Muryokoin ruins,

INFORMATION

• Name: Kanjizaioin ruins
• Location: Hiraizumi Shirasan, Hiraizumi-cho, Nishiiwai-gun, Iwate Prefecture, 029-4102

GOOGLE MAP

Motsuji Temple

Motsuji Temple is located to the west of the Kanjizaioin ruins that we stopped at earlier.

The origin of the name Motsuji Temple comes from the "White Deer Legend" passed down in Hiraizumi, and this is a quote from Motsuji's homepage.

According to temple legend, when Jikaku Daishi arrived at this area during his tour of the Tohoku region in 850, it was completely covered in fog and he was unable to move forward.
When I looked down at my feet, I saw white deer hair scattered on the ground.
The master was curious, and when he traced the fur, he saw a white deer crouching in front of him. As Daishi approached, the white deer disappeared, and then a white-haired old man appeared out of nowhere and told him to build a temple on this land and make it a sacred place. Daishi felt that this old man was the incarnation of Yakushi Nyorai, so he built Ichiu Hall and named it Kashoji. This is said to be the origin of Motsuji Temple.

It is written.

Afterwards, many temples were built between the second and third generation of the Fujiwara clan, Motohira and Hidehira, and it is said that in the past there were 40 temples and pagodas, and 500 monks' quarters, and that it was larger and more splendid than Chuson-ji Temple.

Currently, the Jodo garden centered around Oizumi Pond and the remains of a temple from the Heian period are preserved in almost perfect condition, and have been designated as a national special historic site and a special place of scenic beauty.

It was around the end of October on this day, but it was a little early for the leaves to turn red. During the fall foliage season, I'm sure you'll be able to see a wonderful sight that fits well with the expression ``Jodo Land''.

This is borrowed from another website, but here is a photo of Motsuji Temple during the autumn leaves season.

INFORMATION

• Name: Motsuji Temple
• Address: 58 Osawa, Hiraizumi, Hiraizumi-cho, Nishiiwai-gun, Iwate 029-4102
• Visiting hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. *8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from November 5th to March 4th
• Admission fee: Adults 700 yen / High school students 400 yen / Elementary and junior high school students 200 yen

GOOGLE MAP

assets that make up Hiraizumi's World Cultural Heritage Site are Chusonji Temple, Motsuji Temple, Kanjizaioin Ruins, Muryokoin Ruins, and Mt. Kinkeisan .

On this trip, I arrived at Hiraizumi Station at 2:00 pm and went around the town, but I was running out of time. If you visit Hiraizumi for sightseeing, you may want to spend one night and two days there, so you may want to explore the area at your leisure.

There are also bicycle rental places in Hiraizumi, so it's a good idea to use them.

Swallow Tour Hiraizumi Rental Bicycle

• Usage fee: Regular cycle 500 yen for 4 hours, 200 yen for each additional hour, 900 yen for one day
  Electric cycle 600 yen for 4 hours, 200 yen for each additional hour, 1,200 yen for one day
• Business hours: 9:00-16:00 (Open from April 1st to the end of November)
• Location: Inside Hiraizumi Station, Hiraizumi-cho, Nishiiwai-gun, Iwate Prefecture
• Baggage storage: Yes

GOOGLE MAP

Gold Rental Hiraizumi also rents go-karts for public roads, although a regular driver's license is required.

Gold Rental Hiraizumi

• Usage fee: Rental bicycle 550 yen for 3 hours, 1 day 1,100 yen,
  public road cart 1 hour 2,750 yen *Regular license required
• Business hours: 8:30-18:00
• Holidays: Irregular holidays
• Location: 14 Shirasan, Hiraizumi, Hiraizumi-cho, Nishiiwai-gun, Iwate Prefecture
• Phone number: 0191-46-4031
• Parking: Available (free for users)

GOOGLE MAP

It was around 17:00, and we had barely enough time to visit the temple, so this was the end of our Hiraizumi walk.

From here, I returned to Hiraizumi Station, went to Ichinoseki Station, and then returned to Sendai, where my ``I went to [Tohoku]! Commemorating the 150th anniversary of the railway's opening! JR East Pass 1 night 2 day trip'' comes to an end for now.

Is it the first time you've been around the three prefectures of Tohoku so much on a school trip? I was able to see and experience so many things.

I am truly grateful for the kind hospitality you have given me at every place I have stopped by, even without using my name.

I haven't been able to write about it in the blog, but I had a lot of encounters, and I think the biggest benefit was that I was able to compare the differences in culture, food culture, and city structure even though we live in Tohoku.

I was thinking about this on the Shinkansen ride home.

The point I have to reflect on is that I packed in too much! It's good to have a plan, but you can't just stare at your computer and a book and think about it. You need to be more relaxed and experience things on your own.

This is a lesson to be learned even when traveling individually.

[Tohoku] I went! 150th anniversary of railway opening! JR East Pass 1 night 2 day trip, fare summary!

This is the total train fare for this one-night, two-day trip.

1st day total

2nd day total

Total trip total of 2 days and 1 night

For the one-night, two-day trip, the total fare was 25,680 yen, the free pass ticket was 22,150 yen, and I was able to save 3,530 yen on transportation costs alone, not including lodging, food, and souvenirs.

just,,! JR East Free Pass is valid for 3 days.

The trip is not over yet; we will return to Sendai and head to Aomori on the third day.

A busy salesman who returned from Akita and Iwate and went to Aomori the next day! I'm tempted to say that, but it's valid for 3 days, so you can enjoy it to your heart's content.

Wouldn't it be better to just stay in Iwate? I understand why you say that, but I would appreciate it if you could interpret it as "an adult's convenience."

There are so many places I want to go to in Aomori! I want to go to Hirosaki Brick Warehouse Museum, Aomori Museum of Art, try curry milk ramen, and visit the Sannai Maruyama ruins!

Still feeling tired, I decided to head to Aomori on the third day just because it was a good idea. Everyone, please join us for a little while.

Commemorating the 150th anniversary of the railway's opening, articles related to JR East Pass travel

[Tohoku] Let’s go! 150th anniversary of railway opening! Travel with JR East Pass. (Explanation ~ Preparation)

[Tohoku] I went! 150th anniversary of railway opening! Travel with JR East Pass. Day 1, Part 1 (Morioka to Kakunodate)

[Tohoku] I went! 150th anniversary of railway opening! Travel with JR East Pass. Day 1, Part 2 (Akita City)

[Tohoku] I went! 150th anniversary of railway opening! Travel with JR East Pass. Day 2, Part 1 (Akita-Hiraizumi)

[Tohoku] I went! 150th anniversary of railway opening! Travel with JR East Pass. Second half of Day 2 ① (Hiraizumi edition)

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@neft_tohoku I went on a train trip with the JR East Japan Pass commemorating the 150th anniversary of the railway. Let's see how much you can save in three days! #150th Anniversary of Railways #JR East Pass #Shinkansen Year 2022 #Train Travel #Tohoku ♬ Walker – Official Sound Studio