Mt Tsukuba Shrine

Mt Tsukuba Shrine is an ancient shrine in the Ibaraki Prefecture. The shrine has a history of over 3000 years, its name appearing in poems written in the 8th and 10th century. Tsukuba Mountain has been considered a sacred mountain since people started to live in the Kanto area. The male “kami” or spirit, enshrined on the Nantaysan peak, and the female “kami”, enshrined on the Nyotaisan peak, represent the Izanagi-no-Mikoto and Izanami-no-Mikoto deities. Tha main hall of the shrine is at the base of the mountain on the south side.




A huge metal Torii signals the way to the shrine, and a smaller concrete torii marks the entrance to the shrine grounds.


The holy bridge was dedicated by a Tokugawa warlord to the shrine, and passing through the bridge is allowed only on certain festival days in February, March and November.



The gate to the main courtyard is beautiful old wooden gate that gives perfect emphasis to the age of the shrine.


In the main court there is an old tree called “marubakusu”, it has been designated as a natural monument by the city, it is said that there are only two trees of this type in Japan.



The gardens on the courtyard are beautiful and well kept. Some of the structures were slightly damaged by the earthquake and still need to be repaired.






The Main shrine with his giant bell. the carving on the shrine and adjacent building, are similar to the ones in Nikko.




The shrine it is believed to bestow marital harmony and conjugal bliss and has become a popular place for traditional Japanese weddings.

View Mt Tsukuba in a larger map


Español

Mount Tsukuba

Mount Tsukuba in Ibaraki, with 877 m is one of the most famous mountains in Japan.
According to the legend, a deity descended from the heavens and asked two mountains for a place to stay, Mt Fuji with the higher summit and a perfect shape, thinking arrogantly that it does not need the deity’s blessing, refused. Mt Tsukuba humbly welcomed the deity. Today Mt Fuji is a cold and bare rock mountain, whilst Mt Tsukuba is full of vegetation and colors that change with the seasons.



Mt Tsukuba is a popular hiking destination; its double peeks Nyotai-san (female) and Nantay-san (male) are considered kami or spirits by the Shinto religion. For non-hikers there is a cable car to the notch between the peaks and a ropeway to the East Ridge, to about the same elevation as the cable car.



On this trip, I used the funicular to climb to the top. At the station at the top there are several shops and restaurants, even one with a rotating panoramiv view (looking like it will fall apart any minute). The view was fantastic, and from there you can see Tokyo and Mt. Fuji on a clear day.


From here, you can climb to the true summits, Nantay-san to the left of the station and Nyotai-san to the right. The hiking courses to each of the summits are clearly marked.






The climb to the Nyotai-san is a 15 mins hike through a well-maintained path. There is a small shrine at the top (there is another at the top of the Nantay-san), and a rock formation where you enjoy the view.






There is a path to go down to the top station of the aerial tramway, the tramway offers dramatic views of the mountains. At the end station at the bottom, there is a small amusement park next to the exit of the hiking course.


View Mt Tsukuba in a larger map


Español

Tsukuba Science City

Tsukuba in Ibaraki prefecture, it is also known as the Tsukuba Science City, A planned city with 13,000 scientist (5600 Ph.D. holders), and close to 300 science related companies, it is the world’s leading Science City.
Conceived in an initiative to move part of government from Tokyo to reduce the city overcrowding. In 1967, 6 ministries and 36 institutions agreed to move to the new city, with only the Science and technology center for disaster prevention starting actual construction on the new city. In 1985, the Tsukuba International Science and Technology exposition was held there to attract private enterprises to the city.


The city become attractive to companies after the opening of the Tsukuba express rail service, halving by half the time required to travel from the city to Akihabara to 45 mins.


The city garden city design is another of the attractions for companies to relocate, the green areas are significant in proportion to the industrial, and residential ones.


The city has an underground join trench to accommodates all the power telephonic llines, etc... Giving an uncluttered image to the city, something I wish we had more in Tokyo.


The city university is well connected to the downtown by a system of bicycle pathway and bridges. The one pictured above counts also with a line dedicated for robot testing.


In the city park there is a full-scale working rocket to commemorate the city expo.


View Tsukuba city in a larger map

Español