Worship early in the morning !

by Kazu

The premises of Yahata Shrine were surrounded by well-trimmed pine trees, spruce, Gingko Biloba. The contrast and balance of the colors of autumnal foliage was so comfortable and breathtaking.

The cobbled ground was also well-cleaned and wet with morning moist.The stairs made of stones led to the residential area of Yachigashira and hot spring spa where many senior citizens.

The wooden sacred house of the shrine seemed to have aged and seasoned absorbing the sadness, happiness, tragedy and various kinds of feelings of the citizens. The hand-washing area at the entrance of the premises was not decorated with flowers like other shrines in Hokkaido. 

 

Yahata Hachiman Shrine in Hakodate !

by Kazu

I went through the trail in the woods on the hillside of Mt. Hakodate-yama and reached the exit of the trail leading to the premises of Yahata Shrine in Yachigashira Area of the Port City.  

Fortunately, I had some coins to donate for the shrine and for the first time, I worshiped in front of the main sacred house of the shrine in appropriate manner of worship. Before that, I had not had wallet during my jogging to the area, I passed by the shrine after simple greeting to theGod.

I was so satisfied with my first official worship in the shrine and the landscape of the colored mountain and the shining ocean with rising sun that I lower the guard and made a mistake at the end of comfy exploration. 

 

Yachigashira District in Hakodate !

by Kazu

There is a monument named "Hekketsu-hi" which means "The Blue Blood Monument" built for the soldiers of Tokugawa Administration who died in the battle against the Imperial Army though they themselves had been the official Imperial Army before the Meiji Restoration.   

The blood of soldiers who died for their good, justice turns blue three years after their death, as I mentioned in the previous post, they said. The former official army of Tokugawa Administration could not accept the change of the political situation because they had cracked down on the movement of opening the country to the foreign countries.

They believed that opening Japan to the foreign countries and becoming the prey for the greedy tribes overseas make the Japanese people doomed and unhappy. It might be true in a sense, considering Japan was heading to the wars after the Meiji Restoration.

 

Trekking Trail in Hakodate-yama !

by Kazu

I was wondering how many people including the citizens of Hakodate City had ever walked through this comfy trail so far. The trail must have given so impressive scenery of the place and eased the pain of the trekkers' mind .

I don't think so many citizens had enjoyed strolling around this area but without consideration and cooperation of the citizens,  it must be too difficult to allocate the budget to maintain this fabulous world. 

At almost the end of the trail, there is "The Monument of Blue Blood" that was built for the soldiers who died in the battle against the army controlled by the occidental countries. They divide and rule the developing countries and exploit. The blood of soldiers who died for their good, justice turns blue three years after their death, they say.   

 

The Sunrise in Hakodate, Autumn in 2025 !

by Kazu

The beautiful sunrise could be seen from the trail on the hillside of Mt. Hakodate-yama that connected Motomachi Area and Yachigashira of Hakodate.  It took about twenty minutes to reach the backside of Hachiman Shrine in Yachigashira from Motomachi Area.

Deep in Hokkaido Island, we should avoid to stroll around in deep forest without bear bell and mustard spray. But this trail is 100% safe and free from brown bear attack, so far. 

You can enjoy trekking on this trail in peace and satisfaction with the sense of immersion deep in the forest even though the trail is near the residential area at the foot of Mt. Hakodate-yama. Thanks to the Municipality of Hakodate that allocated the budget to maintain this wonderful space.

 

The Forest of Comfort in Hakodate-yama !

by Kazu

I visited the place "The Forest of Comfort" on the hillside of Mt. Hakodate-yama again and went through the camping site to the trail in the woods. We are sure there is no brown bear in this forest. 

The trail connects the residential area in Motomachi and Yachigashira on the opposite side of the mountain. It is the shortcut course in a sense but no automobile can be used on this way.

The trees in the woods seemed to have been affected by the winds from the strait and to be wild enough to grow naturally. The wooden decks were built and well-maintained on the trail for trekkers. I've never met other trekkers on this trail but the decks were well-maintained.  

 

Shipwreck of "toya-maru" !

by Kazu

The station of the rope way that connected Motomachi Area and the peak of Mt. Hakodate-yama stood with the local radio broadcast station FM IRUKA. To be honest, I've never used the rope way so far but I love the designn of the building and the location.  

There are some monuments for the casualties of the shipwreck. "Toya-maru" that had connected Aomori Prefecture and Hakodate but it was wrecked with hundreds of people. 

From the place where the monuments stood, the residential area that some of the casualties were eager to come back could be seen. Of course, Tsugaru Strait could be seen from there too. Please pray for the souls of the casualties.