Visiting
Akita/ Carlos Pueblo
I am always
looking forward to visiting Akita for two reasons, first, a dog breed
Akita Inu;
secondly, a railroad Gonou line along the northeast sea coast. Akita is
a very
pretty city facing the sea of Japan with mountains behind it. I must admit
that I have
achieve neither. It was snowing and very wet days. Instead of Gonou
line, a
coastal line, the Japan Rail staff arranged me Ouu Main line which was inland
safer route
and I changed to Shinkansen via Morioka instead. I did not run into one
of the
famous Akita dog, Hachiko’s kind, and I learned that the statue was at Shibuya
station of
Tokyo. Hachiko has been a worldwide sensation
for her loyalty to her
master,
Professor Ueno and a Hollywood release with Richard Gere’s help made it to
the Oscar
award.
At the
station, I took the ticket for the next trip to Niigata and walked out of the
station.
I didn’t
know if that was lucky or unfortunate for me to run into a snowing day. I was
on Hirokoji
Dori passing by two big ponds like two giant skating rinks with snow cover
them. It was
Sunday and stores were closed. Fortunately, I was prepared with some of
the dry
staff and I bought a lunch box and orange at a convenient store called Lawson.
Next
morning, I was in a hotel restaurant to enjoy Japanese breakfast for 900 yen,
less
Than $8.
Usually, I would take it to fill myself until late afternoon for a Japanese
noodle.
I was hurt
on both upper side of my two teeth for infection and I thought that I caught
a cold.
I was
looking for the Kutoba Castle Ruins, actually inside the Senshu Park. I went to
a
wrong direction
visiting wrong places for more than an hour. Finally, I came back to
the hotel,
it did mention the location was Akita Senshu Koen, Akita Senshu Park. A
nice
Japanese lady asked me following her and I was back to where I came Hirokoji
Dori with
two skating rinks like ponds. She pointed me to the street in between the two
ponds for
the main entrance of the park. The Castle is on a hill inside the park.
I enjoy very much when I visit Japanese
temple, shrine, and castle. I always try very hard
to read the
monument, the epitaph or tablet, the inscription of a tablet. They are all in
traditional
Chinese literature writing. I don’t pretend that I can understand all of them;
however, I
know that they are within certain kind of classic writing after Tang and Song
dynasties,
in China, it lasted until early 20 century. There is a small turret of the castle,
lord’s
temple, shrine, and several monuments. After Meji Restoration, the emperor abolished
the han,
local domain Satake donated the Castle to the city. The last lord’s statue was
melted
during the
war for munition and was rebuilt after the war. It was the same fate for
Hachiko’s
statue at
Shibuya station in Tokyo during the war. The park was covered by 2 feet of snow
on
that day and
all the pretty cherry trees were leafless. I ran into a Taiwanese young family
in
the park and
had a good chat with this high tech executive of Taiwan.
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