Visited 18.04.2015 (Sat)
 |
| View from the observatory of Senkoji Koen. Imagine how beautiful it will look like if the trees are decorated by blooming sakura flowers during the spring season! |
Best view! On Day 3, we crossed the prefecture border from Okayama to Hiroshima, to visit Onomichi, a city located along Seto Inland Sea. First, we arrived at the foot of Mt Senkoji to board the ropeway heading towards Senkoji Park. Here in the park, there is an observatory where a panoramic view of Seto Inland Sea, the water body separating Onomichi city from the nearby islands, can be clearly captured on a good day. During the season of spring, visitors are welcomed by blooming cherry blossom trees which looked incredibly beautiful when seen from an altitude. Unfortunately, we came slightly after this alluring season and missed this spectacular scenery. What made up for this disappointment was that sakura flavoured soft serve was still available for sale here at the observatory!
 |
| Observatory. A restaurant is housed on the second level. Bought my sakura flavoured soft serve from the stall on ground level. |
 |
| A narrow waterway between Onomichi city and Mukoujima. |
 |
| Made our way to Senkoji Temple via the kilometre long Path of Literature. |
And it gets even better! After satisfying our sweet tooth with soft serve cones, we followed the Path of Literature (文学のこみち), a pathway where boulders with poems engraved on them are scattered on both sides, and made our way to Senkoji Temple which is located just a few minutes walk away. Onomichi city has a total of 25 temples scattered in the different parts of the town and Senkoji Temple is the most well known of them all. Built in 806, Kannon-sama (otherwise known as the Goddess of Mercy) is worshiped here. Apart from being a place of worship, the striking vermilion coloured main hall of Senkoji Temple is an excellent observatory to capture a picturesque view of the surroundings! Was there at the right time to spot a train commuting along the Sanyo main line. From here, you can even see Onomichi Ohashi 尾道大橋, a bridge connecting Onomichi city to Mukoujima 向島. Shimanami Kaido しまなみ海道, which spans along Onomichi Ohashi, is a 60 km road which connects the main island of Honshu to Shikoku passing through six other smaller islands.
Under-rated. Personally I will recommend taking the ropeway up to Senkoji Park and descend by foot after visiting Senkoji Temple. Along the way down to the foot of Mt Senkoji, you will be able to see pagoda with exquisite architecture, pay a visit to other temples or even venture into artistic alleys such as Neko no Hosomichi (猫の細みち). In fact, I feel that Onomichi is a bit under-rated and has a lot more to offer. This is definitely one place that I will love to visit again!
 |
| The bell tower. On New Year's Eve, the bell will be sounded 108 times as locals usher in the new year. |
 |
| The main hall of Senkoji Temple, which is also an excellent observatory of Onomichi city. |
 |
| Most visitors will end up spending some time on this main hall of Senkoji Temple to admire the panoramic surroundings! |
 |
| Can you spot both the train and Onomichi Ohashi? |
 |
| The unusually round boulder located on the top of the rock structure is named Tama no iwa (玉の岩). |
======
Senkoji Temple 千光寺
広島県尾道市東土堂町１５－１
Operating hrs:
0900 - 1700 hrs
Free admission
How to get there?
(1)
Senkoji-san Ropeway 千光寺山ロープウェイ
Operating hours:
0900 - 1715 hrs
One way = 320 yen; Return trip = 500 yen
http://onomichibus.jp/ropeway/index.php
There are two ways to get to Senkoji-san Ropeway (千光寺山ロープウェイ), either by foot (which takes approximately 15 minutes) or take any Onomichi Bus (尾道バス) from Onomichi Bus Terminal Platform 1 and alight at Nagae guchi (長江口). There is a bus departing from this platform almost every 10 to 15 minutes, making bus a convenient option to get to the ropeway station located at the foot of the mountain.
Fee (from Onomichi ekimae to Nagae guchi) = 140 yen
Upon exiting from the terminus station at the summit, you will first reach Senkoji Koen where the observatory is located in. Senkoji Temple is about 10 minutes walk from here.
======
Commemorative stamps:
No comments:
Post a Comment