A Japanese cherry blossom cruise.

[drron29]

This is the place where 5 of the Feudal lords of Hagi are buried with their wives.In older times when the lord was buried all his servants and staff were buried with him.They figured out that was a bit of a waste so instead here they erected stone lanterns to represent those that previously would have been sacrificed.It makes for an impressive sight.On some special nights candles are lit in each of the lanterns.That must be really impressive.

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[drron29]

There is a Chinese camellia bush said to be 300 years old here.However if you step on a fallen flower you will have bad luck for the rest of your life.I was very careful-

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[drron29]

The last of Tokoji temple-

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So it was now back on the bus and off to Hagi port where the Caledonian Sky was waiting for us.It had been a fine day but it turned grey and really cold.As we sailed we noticed a large house which was certainly not your typical Japanese house-

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The sun did actually peep through the fog for a quite different sunset-

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[drron29]

That night the sea did get a little rough but with a swell of 2-3 metres there shouldn't have been much problem.The Caledonian Sky didn't handle it that well and there was a fair bit of movement.The problem though was the noise.We weren't the only ones who couldn't sleep with the constant noise.So with 2 quite long days and little sleep we didn't feel 100% the next day.But we had escorts into port-

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So now on to the bus and a drive to Matsue castle.It is one of the 12 surviving original castles and the second largest of those.Some pics from the bus-

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[drron29]

When we arrived at the castle there was a very old man being photographed in front of the castle and the sign of the clan name.The young man then went to swap places.So I offered to take a picture of the 2 of them.The young fellow was full of thanks as it was his grandfather and they were of the Matsudaira clan.He was sure it would be his grandfather's last trip here so appreciated having a photo of he and his grandfather together.It really is part of the enjoyment of Japan.

So to the castle and surrounding grounds-

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On to the castle-

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The last 3 pics plus the next 4 are all part of a long screen.Beautiful-

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[drron29]

Then you get tp the top which gives great views-

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You can see the outer moat where we will be going next to cruise on one of those little boats.

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[drron29]

So now down to the dock.Our group will be last so some time to look around-

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The gardener.Our guide talked to him and he is 86.He doesn't intend retiring any time soon.

[drron29]

And off we go.A bit of a scream.Shoes off and sit on a mat.Several low bridges which mean you have to basically lie down as the roof is lowered.Getting up was the difficult part and it made photography hard.We were told to expect birds and wildlife.On the land this was as wild as it got-

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Even here the trees are looked after and supported-

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We come to one of the low bridges.Gets a bit claustrophobic-

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And as you expect in Japan-a passing samurai-

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And views of the castle-

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Another little wait for the bus back to the boat for lunch-

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[drron29]

I enjoyed Matsue castle.A bit more than the reproductions.However after lunch we were going to another garden and this one was different and very enjoyable.But first scenes on the drive to Yuushien Garden-

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So a tea plantation.Now the roof tiles that are from this area.Said to make the house warmer in winter.Very different from the usual grey/black so stand out

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When you reach the garden the parking lot is at a retail nursery you walk through.The plants and flowers are spectacular.Bright flowers and perfect foliage-

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You then cross a road and walk through a shop and café to get into the garden-

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[drron29]

The garden at first seems to be a traditional Japanese garden-

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But it's about to change.This garden,indeed this island,is known for it's peonies.Also grown on the island is ginseng but that wouldn't go in a garden.

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[drron29]

These are tree peonies very slow growing.The majority of the peonies grown on the island are the herbaceous type which are easier to grow and better for the flower market.

We now had to wait our turn to go through the indoor peonie building.So we had some time to amuse ourselves-

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[drron29]

And now it was our turn.So now prepare to be bored if you don't like peonies.

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[drron29]

Both of us really like peonies though our experience is with some gardens in the North East of the USA and those are the herbaceous type.The fact that peonies were a feature of this garden was not mentioned in any of the cruise literature so this was a great bonus.

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