Bunsui to Izumozaki and back

Because the Bunsui museum was closed yesterday, I decided today I would mix Bunsui with Izumozaki, Ryokan's birthplace. So I hopped on the same 9:40 am bus and an hour later crossed the red, viewable-for-miles bridge into Bunsui. I had seen it on the horizon yesterday as I walked and wondered if I could make it from Mount Kugami by foot.

My plan today had been to catch the train from Bunsui to Izumozaki, but when I stopped by the little rice store to say hi, the owner called her English-speaking friend again, and she insisted on driving me there herself.

So we got in her tiny little white Daihatsu (most cars in Japan are tiny) and headed for Izumozaki. Along the way I got a reminder of how close we actually are to the Sea of Japan. We passed an artificial river, the Okozu Divided Waterway, which was constructed to handle flooding problems along Shinano River, Japan's largest. And the water was raging ... we pulled over and I rolled down the window to snap some photos. The smell of sea salt was in the air.

Then we headed south along the coast to Izumozaki and arrived at a museum there to commemorate Ryokan. The rain had stopped and the weather was perfect for watching the sea. From the museum grounds was a picturesque view of the sea and Sado Island.

the memory
of my loving mother
makes me cherish
the view of Sado Island
every morning and evening

You can also see from there the little memorial to Ryokan, as well as the mountains along the coast ... from left to right: Mt. Yahiko (634 m), Mt. Kakuda (482 m), and Mt. Kugami (313 m).

After we returned to town, I visited the Bunsui museum, as I had intended, and saw original calligraphy of Ryokan's, though photos weren't allowed. There was also original calligraphy by Teishin as well as Kokusen, Ryokan's teacher at Entsu-ji. How did I know they were originals? It was pretty obvious, but I managed to confirm that with two women on staff who spoke little-to-no English, but after gesturing and finding a dictionary we managed to communicate: not copy, original. They were so kind and eager to help with my question.

Afterward ... the rice shop again for tea and (sort-of) conversation. While there, I was looking at an adjacent room, a formal tea room with tatami mats and such. I asked about some of the items in the room: a Butsudan, a Buddhist altar, as well as a Shinto shrine. And what were the little wooden "chips" hanging from string with Kanji? I made the "mistake" of asking and was kindly given one, a souvenir I'll cherish: a Shinto "portable" shrine with the characters "Bunsui Mikoshi" on one side, and "Tori" (year of the bird) on the back.

Then the bus ride back to Nagaoka ... another satisfying day.