Miyukinohama – Odawara Beach

Last year, during the peak of the summer I visited Odawara City on the coast south west of Tokyo, at the far west end of Kanagawa Prefecture. Odawara is easily one of my favorite cities in Japan (after Tokyo of course), not least because it is a coastal town with a long beautiful coastline. When I first came to Japan I always wondered why Japanese were so reluctant to develop their coastal areas, whereas France and the US have resorts, mansions, expensive commercial districts and high class villas built up right up to the ocean most of coastal Japan has nothing more exciting than a high way or a gasoline stand. Well, after the tsunami I sort of get it. The main beach here in Odawara is called Miyukinohama (御幸の浜), for the Japanese word “miyuki” or 御幸 which means imperial visit. It is in memory of the emperor Meiji who visited with his empress in 1873 to observe local fishing. For thousands of years the emperors had been very secluded in their palace, so for the local citizens of Odawara an Imperial visit must have been amazingly exciting! Emperor Meiji was the first emperor to actually travel around a little bit and Odawara was one of his first visits during a difficult transition time between the old and the new Japan. It was much too hot for me to dare to undress and get into the ocean, my skin would have burnt up in minutes, but I imagine it must be very different during the traditional New Year’s swim that is held here on the 1st of January every year when hundred of people brave the cold! Odawara is close enough to Tokyo be a possible day trip and well worth the effort. Get on the first train out of Tokyo and go back just after sunset, it will be a great way to spend a day off without having the hassle of booking hotel rooms, or you can stay the night like I did. Definitively recommended!

Odawara Town – Old Buildings

Located exactly 80km from Nihonbashi (the central point of modern Tokyo and old Edo) lies Odawara town. This and the surround mountains and rivers make this one of the most difficult sections to travel on the old Tokaido road that connected all the major cities in old Japan. Hence, Odawara became known as Odawarajuku, or Odawara Lodging Inn Town and a very popular spot for spending a night on the way to or from Edo. Naturally local artisans and merchants took full advantage of this and for hundreds of year they did a roaring trade in souvenirs, trinkets, travel goods, local specialities and food especially prepared for travelers. There were 90 regular inns and 8 larger inns reserved for the samurai class and their lords, these 8 inns were the grandest inns on the entire Tokaido route. These days not many of these old inns have survived wars, earthquakes and tsunami, but a few of the original shops, many of the local specialities and at least one (that I could find) inn remains standing. The day I visited was blazing hot and I was hindered in my exploration of all the traditional shops and houses by the looming threat of sun stroke and rather than spend a couple of days in a local hospital I actually called it quits after merely sampling a fourth of all this wonderful sea side town has to offer. The next time I visit I will be better prepared and make sure I see it all!

Here’s a few of the buildings I managed to photograph. Usually I do not care much for these sorts of scenes as the ugly concrete buildings, roads and tarmac makes me sad. I wish there were more of these older buildings left, or at least that local people took more pride in their history and heritage.

The last two photos are from the Matsuhara Shrine, a shinto shrine that is famous for the giant turtle that is said to have crawled up and blessed the town in the late 16th century. It is said to have visited regularly and due to its blessing the town garrison of a mere 8000 men is said to have successfully defended the town from an invading army of 80 000 men. In honor of the giant turtle there is now a turtle statue on the grounds of the shrine, but by this point of my exploration, I had almost expired so I didn’t investigate further. Always leave something to discover for the next time you visit, I think!!

Odawara Toy Railway

Time for another summer memory, this one from Odawara and my trip there in August. Behind Odawara Castle, there’s a small park on a hill and around that hill there’s a miniature, toy railway, complete with a miniature train and mini rail crossings. It must be a treat for the kids to ride on this train, and I saw quite a few fathers with big smiles as well. It is surprisingly long for a toy railway and if you’re ever in Odawara with small kids it is a must visit! The day I spent in Odawara was blazing hot with clear blue skies and a sun that almost knocked me out. But I miss summer already!

Sontoku Ninomiya – An Amazing Historical Figure

Yesterday I wrote about the Ninomiya Shrine in Odawara City, a shrine that is named after Odawara’s most famous son, Sontoku Ninomiya (二宮 尊徳, 1787-1856). Ninomiya was born in a poor peasant family and lost both his parents while still a teenager. Despite being of low rank and having to raise siblings by himself he grew up to become a respected philosopher, thinker, administrator and agriculturalist. In his twenties his own personal farming enterprise was thriving due to his diligence and ground breaking ideas about agriculture and his local fame led him to be recruited to administer the agriculture of Japan’s elite, starting with the most run down fiefdoms in Japan and turning one after the other into successful enterprises. As a result of his dedication and honest, down to earth had work he is now enshrined in the shrine that bears his name and worshiped. He has also given his name to the town of Ninomiya in Kanagawa Prefecture and to Ninomiya City in Tochigi prefecture.

In addition to agriculture he also taught the ruling classes about the importance of rewarding hard work and successful immigrants, about basic economy, money and lending. He started Japan’s first credit union (basically banks that without the use of leverage lend money only using existing funds at low interest rates and risks shared by all existing members, in essence the only ethical banking system the world has ever seen).

Ninomiyas legacy is most commonly seen, at least to the casual traveler, in the many statues of him all around the country and especially in school grounds. Almost every school in Japan has a statue of him as young, carrying fire wood to support his family while reading a book to make up for his lost school time. The next time you pass a Japanese school, see if you can spot this statue! The statues themselves had a tragic story too, during World War 2 most schools had to give up their statues for the war effort to use the metal in arms manufacturing. Despite most school fighting tooth and nail to avoid giving up their statues most were confiscated even though a few schools managed to hide their statues. These stories are reflected in the greatest book about growing up as a child in war time Japan ever written, the classic autobiography by Kappa Senou, “A Boy Called H”. This was the first book I read in Japanese and it is a young adult book but suitable for anyone, from young to old. It’s an easy read even in the original Japanese. I’d say it is one of the must read books if you ever want to aspire to understand Japan and the Japanese. It’s available at Amazon here.

But back to Sontoku Ninomiya. In essence, Ninomiya life works serves as the essential role model for all Japanese. Utterly humble, utterly hard working his life form the basis of all moral and ethical education in Japanese schools even today, and in all forms of media his successors are highlighted, daily, across Japan. There are countless books, magazines, articles, television programs published or aired daily telling the stories of people who through common sense, hard work and humility turns a school, a family, a friendship or even a multinational business around, and the people who succeed in these things, whether they are carpenters or prime ministers are hailed as heroes here. A far cry from the worshiping of pseudo-celebrities and so called “stars” of the west. People in Japan, since a young age are just fascinated by success stories. When I first came to Japan one of my favorite TV shows was a series reenacting successful small businesses: every episode they would look at one shop, corporation or school that had managed to turn themselves and their activities around by hard work, common sense and high morals. The episode I remember most vividly was one about a hot dog stand and how the owner went from daily losses to a profitable business in a few simple steps that can be copied by everyone. I also have a few personal heroes in Japanese business, for example the founder of Oriental Land, the company that invented and runs the only non-Disney owned Disney theme park in the world (Tokyo Disney Sea). Him and his company turned their business around completely by adhering to a few simple ideas, pioneered by this boy who did a lot of thinking back in the 18th century, Sontoku Ninomiya (other famous examples are the Odakyu line real estate company here in Tokyo, The Nissan corporation, etc). Ninomiya was not a genious, he dind’t have any patents or brilliant solutions or advisors or markets. He succeeded because of his common sense and virtue alone.

If you want to learn the secret of Japan, the secret of success, thinking like Sontoku Ninomiya is a good start.