This blog is about the lesser known but beautiful, wonderful, huge, unique and sometimes bizarre places around the World. Started on January 1, 2009, it is an outcome of my association with Google Earth Community, which I joined in July 2006. Since then I have been regularly flying to almost all the corners of WWW (Whole Wide World) and have virtually adopted the age old motto - Perfect time to see the World is after retirement.
Google Earth Community Forum is full of information which ranges from, but not limited to; history, geography, nature, environment, architecture, military, transportation, beliefs, festivals, huge, unique, bizarre items, current happenings etc etc.
My favourite section in the Community is "Fun and Games" - in which members post riddles and puzzles on almost all subjects and generally give hints for searching and locating the relevant places and or events on Google Earth. I have made several hundred posts in this forum and must have solved about the same number, though several were beyond my grasp. Believe me it is not easy to solve these riddles - Finding the answer is 90% perspiration (research) and 10% inspiration but it is pure 100% joy and sense of exhilaration.
This forum provides a stimulus to my brain and keeps it active. I strongly recommend this for those who have time and penchant for solving puzzles, but a word of warning – it is highly addictive.
My travels around the World are not limited to Fun and Games only, however many of the places being covered in this travelogue were found as a result of my researches for making posts in Fun and Games or trying to solve the riddles given therein.
The Original Google Earth Community was frozen by Google in April 2015 and finally killed in April 2019. However the dedicated moderators of the defunct Original GEC created a new Board for the GEC enthusiasts and the new Community is known as "Google Earth Community Forums". This new community continues to function as the old GEC but is independent of google.com
Google Earth
To view the Google Earth links given in this travelogue, the "Google Earth" application should be installed in your system. If it is not, then click on following button to get it!
All other links can be directly accessed through your browser.
Mount Nokogiri in Japan’s Chiba Peninsula is home to not only Japan's Biggest Buddha but also has another hundred feet Buddha and about 1500 statues of Buddhist saints carved in late eighteenth century.
Just a two hour train ride from Tokyo Station is Hama-Kanaya station, which is at the base of Mount Nokogiri (meaning Japanese Saw tool because of its shape) Mountain.
From the station is a healthy 2 hour plus hike up winding paths to the top. One thing you’ll notice as you ascend is the peculiar shape of the cliff faces. The cliffs have flat faces which don’t occur in nature because they had been cut by Japanese peasant stonecutters three centuries ago to supply stone to Edo-Castle (In Tokyo). From the top of the mountain (329.5 metres) you’ll have a panoramic view of Tokyo Bay, as well as the port of Japan’s second largest city, Yokohama.
As you descend, you’ll eventually reach the "Hyaku Shaku Kannon" (Hundred Feed Buddha), which was built in remembrance of fallen soldiers of the second world war. It’s an immense relief carving of a Buddha figure that stares down all who pass. You can climb up above the Buddha statue and test out your vertigo by walking out onto the cliff precipice known as "Peering into Hell" just above the relief statue. Thankfully, the precipice is surrounded by a pretty sturdy fence.
As you keep descending along the trail, you’ll reach the 1,500 Rakan Statues (or 1,500 Arhats as they’re sometimes called). Each statue is a representation of a Buddhist saint, and every single one of them has a different expression. The statues were sculpted by Ono Jingoro Eirei and his 27 apprentices over the course of 21 years (completed in 1783). As you can see from the pictures, the centuries of erosion have taken their toll on some of the statues, although others have managed to stay well preserved as they were placed under overhangs.
If that wasn’t enough, Eirei decided it would also be fun to carve what is to this day the Biggest Sitting Buddha statue (31.05 metres tall) which was also completed in 1783. At the end of the trail, you’ll see the Nihonji Daibutsu (Nihonji is the name of the temple grounds. Daibutsu means ‘Big Buddha’). The temple area is currently maintained by Zen monks of the Soto sect.
Please feel free to write your comments but remember that the same are moderated. So please do not post SPAM comments i.e. your business links here including surrogate links.
Comments containing SPAM are liable for rejection.
Screen captured images from Google Earth / Google Maps and Street Views / MSN Bing Aerial Views / Yandex Maps etc. are under the copyright of their respective owners. Similarly all other photos/images from various other sources are under the copyright of their respective owners, web portals/application etc from which these were obtained. Wherever possible due acknowledgement has been made about the source. Actual terms of copyright/reuse is available in the source link given below each image.
I solicit comments on my posts and also request information/ links to unusual places for inclusion in this travelogue. I will duly acknowledge my source of information.
If you are having any problem in opening Google Earth link then please let me know through comment box or e-mail me. I will send the desired kmz/kml file.
E-mail:
jaymasood-at-yahoo-dot-com
Smart Phone/Tablet Users
Read mobile version of this blog by scanning the QR code.
0 comments:
Post a Comment