Image search results - "izura" - JAPAN PHOTOS by Philbert Ono

Image search results - "izura"

Kita-Ibaraki is a small, coastal city (pop. 42,000) with these picturesque cliffs of the Izura Coast (五浦海岸). Famous art scholar Okakura Tenshin (1863–1913 岡倉天心) found this scenic place to be a great inspiration for artists and moved here

The small red pavilion is Izura Rokkakudo (五浦六角堂), the symbol of Kita-Ibaraki. Izura Rokkakudo was originally designed and built in 1905 by artist Okakura Tenshin (岡倉天心) as part of his residence. His house is on the left..

In Kita-Ibaraki, Tenshin used Rokkakudo to listen to ocean waves and gaze at the scenery. On March 11, 2011, it was washed away by the tsunami, but it was rebuilt in 2012.

Izura Rokkakudo (五浦六角堂) is now being maintained by Ibaraki University and it continues to be a sacred spot for Japanese artists.

For a small admission fee, you can go down a path to see the Rokkakudo. (五浦六角堂).

The glass windows were made in the UK.

Must've been mesmerizing to pass time here. A place to attain artistic enlightenment.

You cannot enter the Rokkakudo, but you can see inside through the glass windows made in the UK. There's supposed to be tatami mats inside.

About Rokkakudo.

Scenery around Rokkakudo.

Scenery in front of Rokkakudo.

Artist-inspiring scenery around Rokkakudo, Kita-Ibaraki.

Tenshin's home on the Izura Coast, near the Rokkakudo Pavilion.

Tenshin's home on the Izura Coast, near the Rokkakudo Pavilion. Can't go inside.

Hina dolls displayed inside Tenshin's home for Girl's Day (March 3).

About the Tenshin residence.

About the "Asia is One" monument.

Along the path to Rokkakudo is this bust of Harvard professor and art historian Langdon Warner (1881–1955) who once studied under Tenshin and visited here. He is being revered here for supposedly helping to save Kyoto and Nara from World War II bombings

About Langdon Warner.

Izura Misaki Park on the coast.

Prop for the movie "Tenshin."

Izura Misaki Park has this lookout tower. 五浦岬公園展望慰霊塔

View from the lookout tower.

Izura Coast

Near Rokkakudo Pavilion on the Izura coast is Itsuura Kanko Hotel (五浦観光ホテル), pictured here on the cliffs. This was our hotel for the night. It had prime views of the coast.The hotel was high enough on the cliff to escape the five-meter-high tsunami on March 11, 2011. The hotel suffered only minor damage from the earthquake. The ground is very solid here, so quake damage was minimal.

Note that the hotel's name is pronounced "Itsuura" while the coast is "Izura." (Kanji characters are the same.) izura.net

In the hotel lobby: Kita-Ibaraki's official mascots, An-chan and Kou-chan. Together, they are "Ankou" which means "monkfish," or angler fish that is the city's most famous delicacy. An-chan is a fisherman, and Kou-chan is a monkfish.

In the hotel lobby, Hina Matsuri dolls displayed for Girl's Day in early March.

Lovely flowers in the hotel lobby.

We arrived in the late afternoon in time for a tea ceremony in the hotel lobby. Conducted by the hotel's okami-san (proprietress 女将).

My complimentary matcha tea and confections.

Itsuura Kanko Hotel's okami-san or proprietress (女将) speaks English. The hotel also has English-speaking staff.

Itsuura Kanko Hotel is quite unique and historical because it renovated the artist residences of Nihonga painters Yokoyama Taikan and Kimura Buzan and uses them as part of the hotel where guests can stay. We actually stayed in the Yokoyama Taikan residence here. (横山大観記念館特別室)

Entrance foyer of Yokoyama Taikan Memorial Hall where we stayed. Great private lodging for groups up to 22 people.

Statue of Yokoyama Taikan (横山大観), a very famous Japanese Nihonga painter. Taikan was born in Mito, the capital of Ibaraki. (横山大観)

Yokoyama Taikan (1868–1958) is one of the most famous Nihonga painters. His former residence includes a showcase of his artifacts.

Main corridor inside Yokoyama Taikan Memorial Hall.

This used to be part of Yokoyama Taikan's living room, now one of the rooms where you can stay.

Another room of the living room.

Outside the living room, a moon-viewing deck.

The Taikan house also has a small outdoor hot spring bath.

Another part of the Taikan house. Very aesthetic.

Beautiful tokonoma and painting.

Taikan's residence is great for groups up to 22 people. It's a residence separate from the main hotel building so there's lots of privacy. Rates are very reasonable too. It was awesome to stay here.

This is a typical room in the hotel's modern tower. Twin beds.

Typical room in the hotel's modern tower.

Typical room in the hotel's modern tower. This is the living room.

In the modern hotel tower, our banquet room for dinner.

Appetizers for our full-course dinner.

Appetizers.

Biwa lute-shaped dish.

Abalone steak.

Local Hitachi Wagyu beef. ("Hitachi" is an old name for Ibaraki Prefecture. The famous electronics company Hitachi is also from Ibaraki.) 常陸牛

Hotel staff in kimono cooking my Hitachi Wagyu beef. 常陸牛

Hitachi Wagyu beef was just a small part of our dinner. We got really stuffed. 常陸牛

Lobster in miso soup.

Sushi. Tuna, shrimp, ika squid, hotate scallop.

We were super stuffed, but there's always room for dessert...

Next morning, breakfast in a large banquet hall.

Breakfast included natto fermented soybeans. Ibaraki is famous for natto.

View from the hotel's modern tower.

View of Rokkakudo from the hotel's modern tower.

Hotel gift shop.

Hotel gift shop had this noren curtain with Rokkakudo design.

Another part of the Itsuura Kanko Hotel is the main wing (本館) which is the former artist residence of Kimura Buzan (木村武山), another famous Nihonga painter who followed Tenshin to Izura.