Image search results - "azai"
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In 2011, the Go and Azai Sisters Expo is publicized everywhere in Nagahama. This is the east side of Nagahama Station.
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Go to the west side of Nagahama Station to catch the shuttle bus going to the Go and Azai Sisters Expo pavilions. Buy the roundtrip bus ticket at the little office near the bus stop at the train station.
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The 1,000 yen ticket includes admission to all three pavilions and roundtrip shuttle bus fare. Best to go the Odani pavilion first, then the Azai pavilion, and the central Nagahama pavilion on the way back.
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The shuttle bus leaves once or twice an hour. It comes with a bus guide.
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The Odani pavilion is at the foot of Odani Castle. Shuttle buses run between the three pavilions. Best to take a shuttle bus from Nagahama Station (West exit) and go directly to this pavilion.
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Path to the Odani pavilion called Odani–Go no Furusato-kan (小谷・江のふるさと館).
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Fence modeled after a samurai battle fence.
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Odani–Go no Furusato-kan (小谷・江のふるさと館) in Odani.
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Rear view of Odani–Go no Furusato-kan (小谷・江のふるさと館) pavilion. The building in the foreground is a small gift shop.
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Outside the pavilion are food stalls and covered picnic tables.
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Food stall named "Ogo-chan."
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Map of area surrounding the Odani pavilion.
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Inside the Odani pavilion is this samurai costume which you can wear and take pictures of yourself.
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Also replica matchlock guns.
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The Odani pavilion's most impressive exhibit was this scale model of Mt. Odani with Odani Castle in its heyday. On the left, you can also see Mt. Toragozen where Nobunaga's troops were perched to attack Odani Castle.
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Model of Odani Castle. The mountain is quite steep and it was a difficult place to live logistically so normally, the castle lord and his family lived in the valley on the left side of the mountain.
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Map of Mt. Odani. From the Odani pavilion, there are shuttle buses going to Odani Castle. The roundtrip fare is 500 yen. It is a guided tour to the main parts of Odani Castle ruins. Photos here.
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At the Odani pavilion at the foot of Mt. Odani, a shuttle bus to Odani Castle with a tour guide is provided for 500 yen roundtrip during 2011. A lot easier than walking up the mountain.
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Outside the Odani pavilion is this outdoor stage. On weekends, a drama troupe performs.
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Samurai
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Entrance to Odani Castle Sengoku Historical Museum (小谷城戦国歴史資) opened in fall 2007. The museum is in the valley adjacent to Mt. Odani. Although the castle was atop the mountain, the castle lord and his family (Azai sisters) normally lived i
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Odani Castle Sengoku Historical Museum. Admission 300 yen (not included in the expo ticket price). Can't take photos inside, but there are two small exhibition rooms explaining about the Azai clan and Odani Castle. No English.
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The third and main pavilion is in Azai. This is where the expo's opening ceremony was held on Jan. 15, 2011 with Shiga Governor Kada Yukiko and actor Tokito Saburo in attendance.
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Statue of the Azai family in front of the Azai pavilion. As soon as they arrive here, most visitors take a picture of this sculpture.
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About the Azai family sculpture. There's Nagamasa, Oichi, Chacha, Ohatsu Go, and Manpukumaru. They are gazing at Lake Biwa and Chikubushima from Odani.
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The Azai pavilion is called Azai–Go no Drama-kan (浅井・江のドラマ館). It displays kimono worn by the actresses (Ueno Juri, Miyazawa Rie) and samurai armor worn by the actors playing Oda Nobunaga and Azai Nagamasa. There’s also a small video
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Food stalls
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Table for food stalls.
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Vending machines with Azai sisters moif.
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Inside the ift shop. This is the expo's largest gift shop. Buy your Azai sisters souvenirs and guide books here next to the Azai pavilion.
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Gift shop
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Go and Azai Sisters Expo banner.
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Shuttle bus to go to the next pavilion. They start from Nagahama Station's west exit and go to all three pavilions with stops at major attractions along the way. A bus guide is aboard the us.
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Otemon-dori shopping arcade in central Nagahama with banners showing the way to the Go and Azai Sisters Expo venue. The expo has three pavilions in three different locations: central Nagahama, Odani, and Azai.
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Across from the Nagahama Hikiyama Museum is the first Go and Azai Sisters Expo paviion called Nagahama Kurokabe Rekishi Drama 50-saku-kan (長浜黒壁・歴史ドラマ50作館).
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This pavilion is actually a small exhibition room on the 2nd floor of a small shopping complex. It has panel displays of past NHK Taiga Dramas (50 of them) and a small video theater.
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Photography is not allowed inside the pavilions except for certain objects. Model of Odani Castle. This pavilion next to the Hikiyama Museum does not have much. See it only if you have time or if you're a Taiga Drama fan.
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Heiwado dept. store in front of Nagahama Station.
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Inside Heiwado dept. store in front of Nagahama Station.
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Lots of Azai sisters merchandise on sale in Heiwado.
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Top floor of Heiwado had this exhibition of Azai sisters-related crafts by local school children.
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Splendid work of Azai sisters made of small rolls of paper.
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Oda Nobunaga
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Odani Castle and the Azai sister trio.
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Calligraphy of Azai sisters-related words and phrases.
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Calligraphy of Azai sisters-related words and phrases.
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Drawings of the three Azai sisters by local children exhibited in Heiwado in Nagahama.
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Drawings of the three Azai sisters by local children.
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Sign for Oichi-no-Sato, a complex consisting of a public library and folk history museums. Named after Ichi, the wife of Lord Azai Nagamasa who resided at Odani Castle. She was also the younger sister of warlord Oda Nobunaga.
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Oichi or Ichi (1547–1583) gave birth to three daughters who associated with famous men. They were Chacha (Toyotomi Hideyoshi's concubine), Hatsu (married Kyogoku Takatsugu), and Ogo (married Tokugawa Hidetada).
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Map of Oichi-no-Sato. The biggest building on the left is the Azai Public Library. If you don't have a car, catch the Kokoku Bus (Takayama Route) at Nagahama Station and get off at Plaza Fukura no Mori-mae (プラザふくらの森前). Walk 10 min.
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Oichi-no-Sato includes Azai Public Library on the left. Its entrance looks like a castle gate. Address: Oyoricho 528, Nagahama. 大依町 Phone: 0749-74-0101 浅井図書館
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Within Oichi-no-Sato is the Azai Folk History Museum, a small complex of history museums.
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Walk past the library and you come to the gate of the Azai Folk History Museum. Admission 300 yen. Open 9 am to 5 pm, closed Mon. (open if a national holiday) and the day after a national holiday.
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Entrance to Azai Folk History Museum.
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Azai Folk History Museum has a few buildings around an iris pond.
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About the Battle of Anegawa.
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On the left is this modern structure called the Folk Studies Museum or Kyodo Gakushu-kan. It centers on the history of Odani Castle and three generations of the Azai Clan. 郷土学習館
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In the rear is the thatch-roofed Shichirinkan 七りん館
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The Azai Folk History Museum (Azai Rekishi Minzoku Shiryokan) has two large thatched-roof houses. This one is called Itohime no Yakata which shows Azai's silk production history. 糸姫の館 MAP
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Itohime no Yakata
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Folk Studies Museum or Kyodo Gakushu-kan. It centers on the history of Odani Castle and three generations of the Azai Clan. 郷土学習館
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Entrance to Folk Studies Museum.
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Video room explaining the Battle of Anegawa River.
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Video screening room explaining the Battle of Anegawa River.
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Model of Odani Castle on Mt. Odani.
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Model of Odani Castle.
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Exhibits about the Battle of Anegawa River.
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Order written by Toyotomi Hideyoshi to award any Shizugatake residents a reward for killing his enemy.
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Letter from Ishida Mitsunari.
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Thank you letter from Azai Nagamasa to a temple for their cooperation in civil construction work.
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Armor worn around the belly by low-ranking samurai to protect against spears and swords. Supposedly used in the Battle of Anegawa.
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Azai Nagamasa, wife Oichi, son Manpukumaru (left), Chacha in the middle, Hatsu on the right, and Go in Oichi's arms.
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Depiction of Oichi and her daughters being allowed to escape Odani Castle while it was under attack by Oda Nobunaga in 1573.
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Depiction of Oichi and her three daughters being allowed to escape Odani Castle while it was under attack by Oda Nobunaga in 1573.
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Oichi and daughter Chacha, Hatsu, and Go were led to safety by Fujikake Nagakatsu, a retainer of Oda Nobunaga. He took them to Gifu Castle.
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A few years before the attack, Fujikake Nagakatsu, a retainer of Oda Nobunaga, had been assigned to Odani Castle to look after Nobunaga's sister Oichi. 藤懸永勝
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About the castle gate.
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Right after their escape from Odani Castle, Oichi and her three daughters went to a nearby temple in Nagahama whose priest was Nagamasa's older sister. The priest hid the three girls in her robes when Nobunaga's men arrived.It is not known for sure where Oichi and the Azai sisters escaped to. This is only one supposition.
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Folding fan supposedly used by Oichi.
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This folding panel greets you with a portrait of Lord Azai Nagamasa and wife Ichi.
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Model of Odani Castle on a mountaintop.
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More exhibits about local history.
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Portrait panels of Nagamasa, Ichi, and their three daughters.
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Ichi or Oichi, wife of Azai Nagamasa.
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Lord Azai Nagamasa
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Map of the Battle of Anegawa where Lord Azai Nagamasa fought against Tokugawa Ieyasu and Oda Nobunaga in 1570.
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Second floor of the museum with a fake stone castle gate.
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Relics from Odani Castle
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Fan said to have belonged to Ichi.
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Blacksmith-related materials.
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Photo of an unusual ax.
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Inside Shichirinkan, a former blacksmith's house from the 19th century. 七りん館
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When I visited in Feb. 2009, there was an exhibit showing artifacts of a local Okonai Festival (held in various locations during Jan. to March to pray for a good harvest).
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Feast for Okonai Festival.
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Food for Okonai Festival.
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Kitchen.
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Wooden bathtub
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How they bathed in the bathtub.
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Near the entrance was the wooden bath.
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Urinal
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Blacksmith's shop
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Inside Blacksmith's shop.
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This is Itohime no Yakata which shows Azai's silk production history. 糸姫の館
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Inside Itohime no Yakata.
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Large exhibition rooms.
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Products which use silk threads made in Azai. They were mainly used for the strings of string instruments such as the koto, samisen, and biwa lute.
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Koto strings made of Azai silk threads. Numerous silk threads are twisted together to make a koto string.
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Biwa strings
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Biwa lute
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Silk cocoons.
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Room with a hearth.
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Silk threads.
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Weaver
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Model of silkworm racks.
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A mannequin spinning silk thread.
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Model of silkworm racks.
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Silk thread
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Iris pond
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Maruko-bune Museum (Maruko-bune no Yakata). The maruko-bune was commonly used to transport cargo over the lake from the Hokuriku region to the Kyoto-Osaka region during the 17th and 18th c. MAPThe museum is a short bicycle ride from Nagahara Station (JR Kosei Line). 滋賀県西浅井町大浦582 丸子船の館
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Maruko-bune wooden boat which was a common sight on Lake Biwa in the old days before trains came to fore. Near this area was a major maruko-bune port called Oura.
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Maruko-bune, a traditional wooden boat mainly for shipping cargo across Lake Biwa in the old days. This used maruko-bune was donated by a local resident. 丸子船
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Black copper plates decorate the bow (ダテカスガイ). This checkered pattern was unique to Lake Biwa boats. The wood seams are stuffed with conifer fiber (槙縄) to repel water.
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Maruko-bune's trademark is this half-round cedar or cypress log on both sides. おも木
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The bow's tip is studded.
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Maruko-bune were a vital transportation link between northern Japan and Kyoto/Osaka. Goods coming and going via the Sea of Japan also went over the lake.
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Rudder hangs down from a torii-like brace (かさ木), also used as a mast rest when the mast is laid down. Most of the wood is Japanese conifer (槇の木).
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The sail is made of thick cotton material, replacing the old straw mat that didn't last long.
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Major parts of a maruko-bune. For details see my video here.
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This maruko-bune is 17.2 meters long.
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Top view of maruko-bune.
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During the 17th and 18th-centuries, over 1,000 maruko-bune sailed on the lake. The busiest ports were Shiotsu in the north and Otsu. After railroads were built, maruko-bune dwindled. Today, there are no maruko-bune on Lake Biwa.
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Maruko-bune transported rice, fish, kelp, and many other northern Japan goods bound for Kyoto/Osaka. From Kyoto, came cotton, confections, soy sauce, sake, kimono, textiles, tobacco, and more.
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Maruko-bune exhibits.
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Diorama of Oura Port. MAP
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Top view with roof partially removed for viewing.
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Maruko-bune crew.
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Maruko-bune boat hands.
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The boat's bottom is flat, suited for shallow waters. Also see Maruko-bune photos at the Lake Biwa Museum.
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Adjacent museum called Oura Furusato Shiryokan. A museum of local artifacts and knicknacks.
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Adjacent museum showing things from Oura.
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Bicycling to Sugaura.
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Sugaura is a small settlement in Nishi-Azai along the northern shore of Lake Biwa. It is a quiet and scenic area with a nice lakeshore road and trail almost to the tip of the peninsula. Akasaki Maruko-bune park赤崎丸子船
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Some scenery from the road between Nagahara and Sugaura.
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Sugaura is one of the best areas of northern Shiga and northern Lake Biwa. Quiet, clean, and scenic.
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Large maruko-bune displayed outdoors, without a mast.
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The wooden maruko-bune boat was a common sight on Lake Biwa before railroads were built. They were mainly used for shipping cargo between Kyoto and the northern region of Fukui, Kanazawa, etc.
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Large wooden paddle of a maruko-bune boat. The boat also had a sail. The boat had a round log on both sides.
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The big maruko-bune boat (17 meters long) was donated by a native of Nishi-Azai. It could hold 13 tons of cargo.
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Lookout point, Chikubushima island in the distance
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Chikubushima island in the distance
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Sugaura as seen from Lake Biwa.
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Sugaura as seen from Lake Biwa. The Oku Biwako Parkway Road can be seen going up the mountain.
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The maruko-bune boat is a symbol of Nishi-Azai town which is now part of the city of Nagahama.
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Going down to the lake shore of Sugaura.
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Sugaura is a length-wise town hugging the shore of the lake.
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Imazu Junior High School rowers on the shore of Sugaura. They row across the lake between Imazu and Nagahama every summer.
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They row in a fixed-seat, wooden boat based on a traditional design circa 1917. Off Sugaura. Oku Biwako Parkway Road going up the mountain.
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Entrance to Sugaura, a quaint lakeshore village on a peninsula. It is will be designated as an Important Cultural Landscape. A pleasant trail goes along the lakeshore trail.
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Thatched-roof gate, called Shisokumon 四足門, on the west end used to monitor outsiders entering the village. Another one is at the east end. MAP
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Suga Shrine, dedicated to Sugaura's patron god. The shrine also has a connection with Emperor Junnin (733-765). 淳仁天皇. 須賀神社須賀神社
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Way to Suga Shrine. Emperor Junnin supposedly once lived in this area in secret.
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Suga Shrine
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Sugaura Local History Museum 菅浦郷土史料館. Contains historical documents related to the town. But it was closed when I went.
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Thatched-roof gate, called Shisokumon 四足門, on the east end used to monitor outsiders entering the village.
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Beyond the east end of Sugaura (beyond the east thatched-roof gate) is a scenic walking trail along the peninsula's shore.After you pass through the town, there is a hiking/bicycle trail along the peninsula.
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Swimming area
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Trail goes further.
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Trail going up the mountain.
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Scenic point at end of trail
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Panorama at end of trail
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Scenic point at end of trail. Notice the hut.
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One entrance to Oku Biwako Parkway is at Sugaura. It's not a toll road. The most trying part of bicycling around Lake Biwa. MAP
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But the views can be marvelous. There is an alternate and less strenuous bicycling route behind the mountains, but there's no scenery like this.
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Looking at Sugaura in Nishi-Azai.
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View from Oku Biwako Parkway
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At the top of the Oku Biwako Parkway road is a lookout point.
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There's a large parking lot at the top.
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A few pretty good views from the top.
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View from Oku Biwako Parkway
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Hydrangeas
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