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Visiting Echizen Great Buddha of Seidai-ji Temple

2018.05.04

Places to visit

seidai-ji temple

In our previous blog, I mentioned that I visited Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum with Mr. Ugyen Dorji and his family. Today, I would like to introduce Echizen Great Buddha of Seidai-ji Temple which I went with them after visiting the dinosaur museum.

 

Echizen Great Buddha is located in Seidai-ji Temple in Katsuyama City, Fukui Prefecture. It is 17 meter tall in a sitting position and it is 2 meter taller than the Great Buddha of Nara. Echizen Great Buddha is so large that I get scared by its powerful presence.

 

 

Mr. Ugen Dorji's son who is 2 years old running around in front of the Echizen Great Buddha of Seidai-ji temple

Around the large and tall buddha, there are 4 wakiji-butsu (attendant statues of images of Buddha) and there are 1281 buddha statues. And the recorded sutra keeps playing over and over in a loop in the main hall, it creates solemn atmosphere. I felt weak at the knees there.

 

 

Mr. Ugen Dorji and his family are praying
Mr. Ugyen Dorji's sister is on her knees and praying
Mr. Ugyen Dorji's son who is only two years old is praying in front of Echizen Great Buddha of Seidai-ji Temple

Mr. Ugyen Dorji and his family, even his son who is only 2 years old prayed silently. I was impressed by his son’s respectful attitude.

 

 

a five story pagoda with the height of 75 meters, a stone fence with gorgeous dragons drawn on it, and a beautiful Japanese garden

Outside of the main hall, there is a five-story pagoda with the height of 75 meters, a stone fence with gorgeous dragons drawn on it, and a beautiful Japanese garden.

 

Since the temple was founded in 1987, it doesn’t have that long history as much as many other temples in Japan. Even with a short history, the large Great Buddha and many buddha statues make me feel calm and peaceful.

 

If you have a chance, how about visiting Seidai-ji Temple in Katsuyama City, Fukui Prefecture to see Echizen Great Buddha?

 

 

T.F

Visting the third best dinosaur museum in the world! -Bhutanese Family Visiting Fukui-

2018.04.26

Places to visit

I visited FPDM (Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum) and Seidaiji Temple to see Echizen Daibutsu (the great Buddha of Echizen) with Mr. Ugyen Dorji and his family.

 

 

Mr. Ugyen Dorji he is studying as a teacher trainee from Bhutan at University of Fukui since around October of 2017. And at the end of March of 2018, his family arrived in Japan as well.

 

First, we went to FPDM (Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum). There are not many museums that specializes in dinosaurs in the world and this museum is one of them. And this is the third best dinosaur museum in the world. 80% of the dinosaur fossils found in Japan are from Fukui Prefecture.

 

There are 44 complete dinosaur skeletons exhibited in the museum and it would you feel as if you are enjoying a dinosaur dictionary in real life. Explanations in Japanese and English are available for the exhibitions, so it can be a good educative experience for you as well.

 

 

a long escalator near the entrance of museum

When you enter the museum, you go down to the basement by taking a 35 meters long escalator.

There are only a few escalators in Bhutan, so Mr. Ugyen Dorji and his family were very excited to take that long escalator.

 

 

Mr. Ugyen Dorji and his family walking through Dino Street

After reaching the basement, we went through “Dino Street”. There were fossils exhibited beautifully on both side of the wall.

 

 

inside of the museum is very large
Mr. Ugyen Dorji and his son are amazed by the large museum and its exhibitions

Mr. Ugyen Dorji and his son were amazed by “Dinosaur World” which is a huge oval-shaped space without pillars (84 meters long, 55 meters wide and 35.7 meters height).

 

 

inside of the museum
powerful-looking dinosaur
inside of the museum is very large
Mr. Ugyen Dorji's son and a Japanese young girl in front of the large screen

In “Dinosaur World”, there are 44 complete dinosaur skeletons. You can also enjoy “Biology of Dinosaurs”, “Dino Theater” with 200-inch screen, “Forests during the dinosaur age” with moving dinosaurs, and “Dinosaurs of Japan and Asia”. They all look extremely powerful. How the museums was built with a great sound system, somehow you can hear the echo of your voice and dinosaur howling. You would feel as if you are in the Jurassic period.

 

 

Mr. Ugyen Dorji and his son and wife

Mr.Ugyen’s son was getting a bit scared but more than that, he was having fun.

 

 

natural stones which are very beautiful

There are also rocks, minerals and gemstones exhibited.
You can see how they conduct researches strata.

 

 

Mr. Ugyen Dorji and his family, his son was still very excited after getting out of the museum

Everyone seemed to have fun. Even after we went out of the museum, Mr. Ugyen Dorji’s son was still excited. He is usually quiet and shy but he was laughing and running alot.

 

How about visiting FDPM ((Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum) when you have a chance?

 

Next, we headed to Seidaiji Temple to see Echizen Daibutsu (the Great Buddha of Echizen) which is 10 minutes away from the museum by a car.
Stay tuned for more blogs about Mr. Ugyen Dorji and his family’s experiences in Japan.

 

T.F

 

 

Official Website of Bhutan Museum Fukui

Official Website of Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum

Restored Fukui Castle Yamazatoguchi Gate　

2018.04.04

Places to visit

The restoration of the Yamazatoguchi Gate in Fukui Castle Ruins was completed the other day and opened to the public. A traditional method of construction and wood from Fukui are used for the gates and the stone walls. It is worth seeing. In the past, Shungaku Matsudaira, who was the lord of Fukui Domain, used to pass through the Yamazatoguchi Gate to go to the keep of the Fukui Castle. In the NHK period drama “Sego-don” currently on air, an actor, Kanji Tsuda from Fukui City plays Shungaku, so I have a sense of closeness with Shungaku again.

 

Ascending a little steep stone steps, it is the castle tower ruins and a cherry blossom viewing spot. Looking inside the turret, go through another wood gate and go over the Oroka-bashi bridge. Then, right before is Fukui City Central Park. Going straight the park and you will find a place to rest which has a public bathroom. This is the season of cherry blossoms, so it’s nice to stroll the historical route with viewing cherry blossoms. (H.S)

 


Inside the white plaster wall was turret（arm storage）at that time.
Now you can enter it and materials related are on display there.

 


The stone wall facing the moat viewed from the inside the wood gate.

 


“Fukunoi” (well) has been restored in the castle tower ruins.
It is said that it is the origin of Fukui, the place name here.

 


The turret opened in the evening as well with illumination of cherry blossoms.
(Usually, it is open until 6 p.m.)

 


The Oroka-bashi bridge viewed from the castle tower ruins.

Picture of a ghost in Awara City, Fukui Prefecture

2018.03.22

Places to visit

A photo which I have seen before was in the Fukui newspaper dated March 5th.
It was a picture of a ghost stored in Gansenji Temple in Awara City, Fukui Prefecture.

 


(From the Fukui newspaper dated March 5th)

 

GEN shares videos from the internet broadcasting station “Net de Awara” in Awara City, Fukui Prefecture with permission. In one of the videos, they visited the Gansenji Temple and interviewed with the wife of its chief priest about the ghost.

 

Who was the ghost?
A long time ago, an old woman came to the Gansenji Temple and asked the chief priest to chant a Buddhist sutra. But while he was chanting, she was gone before he knew it.
Then, someone came to the temple and said “My grandmother died just now.”
There were burnt two footmarks at the spot where the old woman was.

 

The picture of a ghost was painted based on the story and donated to the temple.
Also, a Christian lantern remains in the yard of the temple.
During the Edo Period, when Christian oppression got severe under the shogunate,
it is said that hidden Christians carved a cross or the Blessed Virgin Mary on a lantern
and prayed in secret. This lantern is also considered to have been made during that time.
The lord of Maruoka, Arima came from Kyushu. Probably his retainers and other people followed him and came to Maruoka. In Kyushu, where there were many Christians, so they may have built this. The Gansenji Temple is Shin sect’s one but in fact their family name is also Arima.

 

The Gansenji Temple has rare things such as the picture of the ghost and the Christian lantern. If you want to see the picture, they will show you.
Maybe the hot summer is perfect to visit the temple :) (H.S)

 

*Here is the video of the Gansenji Temple by Awara City. 　　　　　　　

Spreading the Charms of Fukui to the World! -Visiting Ichijodani Asakura Clan Ruins Part-10-

2017.12.28

Places to visit

we went into Ichijodani Asakura Clans Ruins

Today’s blog is the last part of the series about Visiting Ichijodani Asakura Clan Ruins. As I have introduced in our previous blogs that I visited Ichijodani Asakura Clan Ruins in June 2017 with the president of the Hotel Riverge Akebono, Mr. Shimizu, the intern of the hotel, Ms. Julia Coslian, the manager of Fukui City Hospitality and Tourism Promotion Office (the information is only available in Japanese), Mr. Takama and his staff member, Mr. Juancho Santamaria. I rediscovered the charms of Fukui. Since today’s blog is the last part of the series, I would like to look back on our tour at Ichijodani Asakura Clan Ruins and the charms of it, and Fukui.

 

 

map of sightseeing places in Fukui

I rediscovered the charms of Fukui. One of the great charms of Fukui is the food. You can enjoy the variety of fresh foods from the Sea of Japan, rivers, mountains and farms through out the year. If you like drinking sake, you can definitely enjoy it as well. Because Fukui has crystal clear water from the largest river in Fukui called Kuzuryu river and famous brewery rice called “Gohyakumangoku”, “Yamadanishiki”, so we have several great sake breweries. At Ichijodani Asakura Clan Ruins, since the whole area is surrounded by rich nature so you can feel calm and relaxed while you are learning about the history of Warring States Period.
In Fukui, besides Ichojodani Asakura Clan Ruins, there are many other places that are very interesting and attractive to visit.

a cook is making tempura in the middle of the restaurant

Source: Photographs of the restaurant, from the photo gallery of the official website of Tempura Yaguruma(the website is available only in Japanese).

 

a plate of tempura combo lunch

Before heading to Ichijodani Asakura Clans Ruins, we had lunch at the tempura restaurant, "Tempura Yaguruma" (the website is available only in Japanese) which is a popular tempura restaurant in Fukui.

As the chef finished cooking in the middle of the restaurant, the freshly made tempura, which was crispy and hot, was served with Miso soup (the taste of the soup was amazing), Japanese pickled vegetables and freshly cooked rice. It was free refills on the rice. We enjoyed our lunch so much.

 

 

juancho and julia are using an ipad at ichijodani asakura clans ruins
julia is holding an ipad

At the information desk of the Ichijodani Asakura Clan Ruins, visitors can borrow an iPad to use throughout the area, which shows how things were built during the Warring States Period in Japan. English versions of the iPads are also available, so visitors from overseas can enjoy this place and its history. It was new and exciting for me to see iPads were used at places of natural beauty and historical interest. No one could imagine high-technology products would be used at any historical sightseeing places about 10 years ago.

 

 

julia and mr. takama finished wearing kimono and an armor

Mr. Takama and Julia participated in the Kimono Dressing experience. As they finished getting dressed, they walked through a replica of the town from the end of 15th and 16th centuries. Julia said that she felt as she had stepped back in time to a Warring States Period.

 

 

julia and mr. takama are standing in the middle of rich nature

Julia and Mr. Takama enjoyed walking around in their Kimono and armor as if they were in the time of Warning States Period.

 

 

a woman from Warning States Period

Inside of the restored houses, you can see how people used to live from 1471 to 1573 in the area.

 

 

a man from osaka who fell in love with the charms of ichijodani asakura clans ruins and moved to fukui

It seems like once people found Ichijodani Asakura Clan Ruin their favorite place, they keep visiting every time they have a chance. The man in the photograph above is one of them. He fell in love with the charms of Ichijodani Asakura Clan Ruin and he moved from Osaka to Fukui. He is there as a volunteer whenever he has time.

 

 

Suwayakata-ato Garden and julia
Suwayakata-ato Garden

Suwayakata-ato Garden was made by the 11th leader of Sengoku period Asakura family, Asakura Yoshikage to please his concubine. As you can see, his concubine lived in such a beautiful atmosphere which is surrounded by the rich nature. The garden and the area around it has the crisp and clear air which is very soothing. I was feeling much more uplifted and more energetic than when I arrived at Ichijodani Asakura Clan Ruins.

 

 

the woman who showed us around has such a beautiful smile

the woman who showed us around finished guiding us that day and she looked relieved

I myself think it is best to visit actual places like this and not simply read from books or watch TV to understand the charms of such places. I also think that the Fukui accent and dialect, which sound relaxing, are an important part of Fukui’s charm.

In conclusion, I rediscovered that the charms of Fukui are the foods from the the Sea of Japan, rivers and mountains, sake made with the clean water from the largest river in Fukui, and Fukui accent and dialect. It is enjoyable and soothing that you can become more uplifted and more energetic in Fukui for sure. Moreover, at Asakura Clans Ruins, you can learn about the history of Warring States Period and enjoy the rich nature at the same time. If you have a chance how about visiting Ichijodani Asakura Clans Ruins?

 

T.F

 

 

Please enjoy our previous blogs as well.

Spreading the Charms of Fukui to the World! -Visiting Ichijodani Asakura Clan Ruins Part 1-

Spreading the Charms of Fukui to the World! -Visiting Ichijodani Asakura Clan Ruins Part 2-

Spreading the Charms of Fukui to the World! -Visiting Ichijodani Asakura Clan Ruins Part 3-

Spreading the Charms of Fukui to the World! -Visiting Ichijodani Asakura Clan Ruins Part 4-
Spreading the Charms of Fukui to the World! -Visiting Ichijodani Asakura Clan Ruins Part 5-

Spreading the Charms of Fukui to the World! -Visiting Ichijodani Asakura Clan Ruins Part 6-

Spreading the Charms of Fukui to the World! -Visiting Ichijodani Asakura Clan Ruins Part 7-

Spreading the Charms of Fukui to the World! -Visiting Ichijodani Asakura Clan Ruins Part 8-
Spreading the Charms of Fukui to the World! -Visiting Ichijodani Asakura Clan Ruins Part 9-

 

You can see some tourist attractions and the directions to these places from the webpage, "Hotel Reiverge Akebono, Tourist attractions around our hotel".

Made by Julia during her internship, this webpage has directions that are easy to follow.

She researched these tourist attractions, before visiting them and experiencing

the charms of Fukui herself. As I mentioned in our previous blog, it can be difficult for tourists

to get to some great places in Fukui, so this map that Julia made will help you

get around easier.

 

There is also a Japanese version of this webpage(only available in Japanese).

However, some of the places which are introduced on the Japanese webpage

are different to the English version that Julia made.

 

 

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