100 Remarkable Waters List

Pictured: Saijoji Temple in Minami Ashigara Shi

Yamakita and Minami Ashigara share the honors in
the 100 Remarkable Waters List for Japan.

Minami Ashigara Info

Students studying English in Minami Ashigara Shi

by TH

City Area: 7,693ha
1. Residential land: 517ha (7%) 2. Agricultural land: 827ha (11%)
3. Forest land: 5,270ha (68%) 4. Other land: 1,079ha (14%)

2. Climate
1. Average Temperature: 16.2 degree C 2. Highest Temperature: 36.2 degree C
3. Lowest Temperature: -3.1 degree C 4. Annual Rainfall: 1509.5 mm

3. Population: 43,702 (April 1, 1995)
1. Male: 21,886 2. Female: 21,816 3. Population Density: 568/square km

4. Other Statistics
1. Tourists: 1,530,905 (1994) 2. Hospitals: 2 3. Schools: Elementary/6, Junior High/4, Senior High/1 4. Sister City: Tilburg, Netherland

Fuji Photo Film Co. Ltd:
World #2 photographic film manufacturer has the largest color film/paper production plants here in Minami-ashigara, where around 4000 people are working. Dominating!

Daiyuzan Saijo-ji Temple (Doryoson):
Founded in 1394, this temple is the third highest in status in the Buddhist Soto Sect (Zen temple), outranked only by Eihei-ji in Fukui and Soji-ji in Tsurumi.

Mt. Kintoki-yama
Elevation1213m、the highest peak in the Hakone mountain range.
It is said the home-ground of "Kintaro" boy. With various seasonal scenes, hikers like to visit there. At the top, the famous "Kintoki-musume" will welcome you and serve you Japanese tea.

Kari-river.
Small but the biggest in the town. Clean and clear water. "Ayu (sweetfish)" is river-fish native to Japan, which only live in clean water like Kari-river.
People love eating "Ayu" as a Japanese traditional delicacy. "Ayu" fishing season opens on June 1, every year.

Daiyuzan Line.
Only one line in the town. Single-tracked. It connects between Odawara, which is the biggest city in the area, and the city center called "Daiyuzan". The distance in between is only 10 km and 21 mimutes ride. The train runs every 12 minutes. No accidents and no competition whatsoever.

"Sunset Waterfall".
One story is that it is named so because the Sun goes down from the center of the fall on January 15th, every year. The 23-meter-high, 5-meter-wide waterfall on the Uchi River on the upper reaches of the Sakawa River (which goes to the Pacific Ocean) is said to have been the place where the legendary Kintaro took his first bath as a new-born baby. The falls and surroundings are beautiful with the fresh green leaves of early summer and the crimson foliage in late autumn. In summertime, the camp-ground is open and the area is enjoyed by people playing along the river.

Along the bank of Horagawa river are Cherry Blossoms.

It is a REAL tourist town, quite friendly, and many of my friends go there for hiking in summer and autumn. Very quiet off-season, and as you guessed not many clubs and bars. Go to Odawara for that. Good intro to the older Japan, that many folks search for.

Originally posted at the Gaijinpot.com Forum

th

Robinsons & Odawara City Mall Cresse

by Kevin Burns

Odawara may well have the best shopping available in one area,
(Kamonomiya) in all of Kanagawa now.

Odawara City Mall recently expanded
(behind the main mall) and now has many more
stores and a food fair that has
Mr. Submarine--Yum yum!

Moreover, the Sports Depot
I surmise is the largest sports store in Kanagawa. It is huge!!!!
The Daiso here too, is the largest 100 Yen shop I have ever
been in, anywhere in the world. It is monstrous.

Lots of parking available. Highly recommended!

On a side note: It is rumored that Odawara will be
getting a Don Kehote store soon. I hope so!

Kanagawa Governor Shigefumi Matsuzawa on Foreigners

Governor Matsuzawa`s spoke out concerning his feelings
about foreigners and crime in Kanagawa. You can read more
here.

Odawara Sangha

Buddha courtesy of my students from Fuji Film

Thought this might be of interest to some of our readers who
live in the area:

Odawara Sangha
Contact: Keisuke Shimada
117 Uchiyama Minami Ashigara Kanagawa
Tel/Fax: (81) 465-73-0831
Tradition: Zen Buddhist Master Thich Nhat Hahn
and Order of Interbeing.
Affiliation: Community of Mindful Living

Beautiful Hadano, Kanagawa

Pictures of Hadano, courtesy of Jonathan DeNardis

Hadano, Kanagawa, Japan is a beautiful city of 165,000 people about 70 minutes south of Tokyo and nestled next to the mountains. There is great air, hiking and sightseeing in and around the city.

Some Canadians say it reminds them of Kelowna,
British Columbia. Which is strange as there is no lake,
and often no river--the river through Hadano runs after
it rains! But there is an ambience that
reminds one of Kelowna. Maybe you have to visit Hadano
to know what I am saying.

Hadano can be accessed by the Odakyu Line and is about 20 minutes
north of Odawara and 70 minutes south of Tokyo`s Shinjuku Station.

It boasts a large library with many English books,riverside walks and a cosmopolitan atmosphere for a mid-sized Japanese city. Where South Americans, Asians and North Americans live side by side with the Japanese. Along route 246 you can often see people of different nationalities taking their nightly walk with their family. If you walk
around the city you can see where they live, and perhaps eavesdrop on
some Brazilian music or sniff some Chinese food being cooked nearby.

The Tobacco Festival is a huge annual event here and has many fun activities going on all along the river and downtown. It shouldn`t be missed!

Odawara Jyuku Nariwai Rest House

Photo of Odawara Jyuku Nariwai Rest House courtesy of Kanagawa Kankou: www.kanagawa-kankou.or.jp/

by Kevin Burns

Admission: Free

Address: 3-6-23 Honcho, Odawara City 250-0012
Tel/Fax: 0465-20-0515

Originally a fishing net wholesale shop built in 1932
(Or the 7th year of the Showa Era). It was reopened
as a rest house for tourists and citizens in 2001.
It can be used to relax in or as a presentation centre.
The building is very interesting and a local landmark.

They style is one of a typical merchant`s house.
It was rebuilt after the Great Kanto earthquake of 1923.

Truly it gives you the feeling of what Odawara was like
in years long gone.

To Get There:
Get off at Odawara sta. on the JR Tokaido Shinkansen line, JR line, Odakyu line, Daiyuzan line, Hakone Tozan line, and take a Odawarajuku Sightseeing Excursion Bus from the east exit.(The Odawara Shuttle Bus runs from the East Exit during certain times of the year.)

Official Site
http://www.city.odawara.kanagawa.jp/ (Japanese)

In Odawara - Poem

Pictured: Hakone Town near Odawara

In Odawara - Poem
Literary Review, Spring, 2000 by Jose Wendell Capili


When it is not raining in Odawara,
I climb a mountain path where I can see
the feudal lord's castle, chrysanthemums
unfolding autumn wind and spice,
sun beams peeping though clouds,
eaves where my lover slept once.

Over cups of wine, I sit on pebbles,
listen to bamboo flutes and a banjo
with four strings recollecting music
from the clasping of watermelon vines.
At night, I put out bonfires on rocks
by the stream shrouded in evening mist.
I am hidden among Odawara's foliage
keeping a lamentation's peculiar mind and ear.

About the Author:

Jose Wendell Capili graduated with degrees from the University of Santo Tomas, University of the Philippines Diliman, University of Tokyo, and the University of Cambridge where he received an MPhil in Social Anthropology. He received prizes, awards and fellowships for his poetry, essays and academic research from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Korea Foundation, Cambridge Overseas Trust, Carlos Palanca Foundation, Cultural Center of the Philippines, and others. He is an assistant professor of English, Creative Writing and Comparative Literature at the University of the Philippines Diliman. He is the author of A Madness of Birds, a poetry collection Short Circuit, and Multiculturalism, a book of criticism co-authored with Joseph McCallus. He is currently working on Mindoro and Beyond: A Biography of National Artist NVM Gonzalez.

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