Portland is Oregon’s biggest city, and the Willamette river runs through its center, dividing the east and west sides. There are 8 bridges that cross the river!! It’s like a big Matsue😉.
My favorite part of the city is the “Alphabet District”, where the street names run from A to Z. In this district are cute shops and old houses. It’s very picturesque, and I was lucky the hydrangea were in full bloom.♡
When we visited Tsuwano, the weather and atmosphere were completely different from Hagi. A bright blue sky and sunshine made walking along the quaint main street of Tsuwano very enjoyable. Of course we also saw many carp!!
We also walked to both Taikodani Inari Shrine and Yomei-ji Temple, located at either end of the town. We walked through many vermillion torii winding up to Taikodani Inari, which looked stunning against the hills. It was very tranquil and peaceful at Yomei-ji Temple. Its unique thatched roof also looked beautiful against the changing colors of the leaves.
最後は津和野城にリフトで向かいました!! 津和野城も今は城跡だけどとても美しい眺めでした♡
Finally, we rode a lift and hiked a little to see the remains of Tsuwano castle. The view of Tsuwano far below was breathtaking!!
My father has wanted to visit Hagi and Tsuwano, so we all went on a short trip! Hagi had a castle ruled by the Mori clan during the Edo period in Japan, but now there are only ruins. Although the castle grounds are vast and lovely, the day we visited, the weather was cloudy and gloomy. There were also very few people, but many stray cats. This gave the castle grounds a mysterious, haunted atmosphere.
Before I came to live in Japan, I read a little bit about the Bakumatsu period in Japan. I was really excited to see the shrine (top center photo) that includes the school where Yoshida Shouin-San taught many of the future leaders of the Meiji era!!