Fuji Live Firing Exercise 2011

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) conducts a major live firing exercise each year that is open to the public. Known as the Fuji Live Firing Exercise (富士総合火力演習), it takes place at East Fuji Exercise Area. This year, the event was conducted over two days (27-28 Aug 2011), and I managed to get a ticket for 28 Aug 2011. It was an impressive show of the JGSDF's firepower, with tanks and artillery firing away at targets and helicopters flying around.

The event draws huge crowds each year, and this year was no different.

The weather was a bit cloudy during the live firing exercise, and the paratrooper event was cancelled because of the low-lying clouds, but the cloudy weather spared us from the summer heat, so it was actually a blessing in disguise. It was good to see this again after 13 years (the last time I got a ticket for this was in 1998).

Sumida River Fireworks Festival 2011

One of the biggest fireworks events in Japan, the Sumida River Fireworks Festival is an yearly event that takes place usually in late July, but this year, it was postponed till 27 Aug 2011 because of the earthquake. Our friend stayed near the Sumida River, so she invited us to join her family for a picnic by the riverside while watching the fireworks.


We never imagined so many people turning up for the fireworks... at this portion of the Sumida River, an hour before the fireworks started, the place was already filling up. It got even more crowded as time passed.

We had a great time, watching the fireworks while eating the food and drinking beer and chatting away. The kids had a great time too!

Summer vacation 2011

This is a post to consolidate the various places visited during my summer vacation in Japan.

Here we were, at Shinagawa, ready to set off.

Of course, once we got onto the train, the kid decided to take a nap so that he can wake up at the destination fresh.

Hiroshima
Akiyoshi Caves
Hagi
Etajima
Dougo Onsen
Oozu
Kochi
Ooboke and Koboke
Kotohira
Marugame
Okayama

Total distance driven (from Dougo Osen till Okayama): 459.2km
(We went with a family friend from Hiroshima to Hagi and back, and he drove the whole way.)
8 days, 7 nights, 7 prefectures (Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Ehime, Kochi, Tokushima, Kagawa and Okayama) visited, although we only spent the night at 6 of them (stayed two nights in Hiroshima, and did not stay overnight at Tokushima).
4 castles visited (Oozu, Kochi, Marugame and Okayama). 5 castles if you count the remains of Hagi Castle. So this trip was like a trip to see castles, though the main reason was to eat Sanuki udon.

Summer vacation 2011 - Okayama

Our final stop for this summer vacation after leaving Marugame was Okayama (岡山). Okayama is famous for peaches (momo in Japanese) and thus the figure of Momotaro from Japanese folktales is a common sight here.

Okayama has her own castle, Okayama Castle, which is also known as Crow Castle (烏城) due to its dark colour.

Okayama Castle is separated from Okayama Korakuen by a river.

Okayama Korakuen is one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan, and is definitely worth a visit. The landscaping is excellent, with its own little stream and pond running through the garden.

After visiting these two famous spots in Okayama, we had Tokushima ramen (徳島ラーメン) for lunch.

And then it was time to say goodbye to Okayama and head back home!

Summer vacation 2011 - Marugame

After leaving Kotohira and Zentsuji, our next stop was at Marugame (丸亀), which contained one of the venues which was the reason for us to visit Shikoku in the first place. Marugame has her own little Mount Fuji, called Iinoyama (飯野山), also known as Sanuki Fuji (讃岐富士). What do you think, does it look a little like Mount Fuji?

Our first stop in Marugame was to climb up Marugame Castle. The little kid fell asleep in the car, and I ended up carrying him up the little hill that the castle was built on... it was quite a climb!

But it offered a great view of the Seto Inland Sea.

Next was the reason why we visited Shikoku. We wanted to eat Sanuki udon in Kagawa, which used to be called Sanuki. There was this long queue outside the shop "Nakamura" (なかむら) which we went to.

After 40 minutes, we finally managed to get into the shop, and dug into our own bowls of Sanuki udon.

After a delicious lunch, we took the Seto Ohashi (瀬戸大橋) and left for Okayama, our final stop on this summer vacation.

Summer vacation 2011 - Kotohira

After passing through Ooboke and Koboke, we finally arrived at Kotohira (琴平), where we were to spend the night. Kotohira is a hot spring town centred around Konpira Shrine (金刀比羅宮). We got there in the evening so the streets were quite quiet by then.

We had a great dinner that night, staying at an old hotel with a rooftop open-air hot bath. It was a bit windy that night so it was a bit difficult to enjoy the hot bath up on the rooftop.

Konpira Shrine has 1368 steps before reaching the inner shrine... with a two and a half year old kid, it was a challenge that I wasn't going to take (imagine having to carry him up and down the 1368 steps if he doesn't want to walk...) Instead, we went to Zentsuji (善通寺) which was actually just nearby. Zentsuji is the birthplace of Kukai (空海), who is the founder of the Shingon (真言) school of Buddhism in Japan.

Summer vacation 2011 - Ooboke and Koboke

After leaving Kochi, our next stop was Kotohira. On the way, we passed by Oobuke (大歩危) and Koboke (小歩危), two parts of the Yoshino River (吉野川) famous for their rapids.

We also made a short detour to Iya Valley, where an old vine bridge (かずら橋) was.

The bridge itself was a bit hairy trying to get across... look at the space between the floor boards!

Just beside the vine bridge was a beautiful waterfall known as Biwa no Taki (琵琶の滝).

Summer vacation 2011 - Kochi

After stopping by Oozu, we continued on our way towards Kochi. Along the way, we passed by Mezurudaira (姫鶴平), part of Shikoku Karst (四国カルスト). It was partly covered by the clouds,  so you can imagine up a difficult drive it was to get there (and down). The roads were narrow and windy, and it was hairy passing on-coming traffic.

Mezurudaira happens to make the border between Iyo (present day Ehime prefecture) and Tosa (present day Kochi prefecture).

And here are some Tosa cows grazing away.

The way to Kochi from Oozu was tedious... the roads were narrow and windy, and the on-coming traffic was speeding along the mountain roads at high speeds as they were used to it, unlike me, a first time traveller along those roads. There were a few times in which I had to pull over and stop the car so that on-coming traffic can go first (the road was too narrow for two vehicles to pass by each other) and we were inches apart. A wrong move and I would have rolled down the side of the mountain, or get flattened against the cliff by a trailer truck. After almost 5 hours of driving from Oozu, we finally reached Kochi, and a sumptous dinner was waiting for us!

We were also fortunate to have a nice view of Kochi Castle from our room.

Kochi is the birthplace of Sakamoto Ryouma (坂本龍馬), a samurai who helped engineered the Meiji Restoration. We took the next day to explore the town, visiting a museum dedicated to him.

Of course, who can miss visiting Kochi Castle?

During our visit, we coincidentally met the Yosakoi Matsuri, which explained the long line of decorated trucks lining the roads. These trucks provide the music for their respective troupes.

At Kochi Castle itself, there was even a nation-wide competition to decide the best Yosakoi troupe.

Summer vacation 2011 - Oozu

Our next stop on the trip was Oozu (大洲), which was a short drive from Dougo Onsen. Okay, not that short a drive, but still short comparing to where we were going after that. The original plan was to drive from Dougo Onsen to Ashizuri Misaki (足摺岬) and then to Kochi (where we were spending the night) but it was too long a drive to be accomplished in one day, so we gave up the idea, and instead decided to go straight from Dougo Onsen to Kochi, stopping by Oozu along the way.

Our first stop at Oozu was Garyu Sansou （臥龍山荘）, a beautiful retreat built during the Edo period. The rooms were beautifully decorated and created to give a sense of the seasons, and the garden was beautifully created.

There was even a natural fridge dug into the cliff.

The next stop at Oozu was of course the castle itself. Oozu Castle was rebuilt in 2004 based on old photographs.

And here is the little ninja wannabe, trying to scale the castle walls...

And he doesn't give up, here he is again climbing up the steep stairs inside the castle.

This postbox in Oozu is famous for being the one used in the filming of "Tokyo Love Story".