Sawayaka Walking in Mori-machi (2) - Station with retro feel

According to the website of JR Tokai, Sawayaka Walking would be started at 8:30. But there were already tens of people waiting in front of the station to get a course map. The service schedule of Tenhama Line is not very convenient, so the next train from Nishikajima would arrive at 8:54. There are only two trains an hour from 7:00 to 9:00. After that there is one train an hour during the daytime. Though the reception time was 8:30 - 11:00, I chose to come earlier. Luckily, the walking event was started earlier than the specified time thanks to their spontaneous staff. Each of us got a map and start walking.

This is the starting point, Totoumi-Ichinomiya Station. It’s a small wooden station with retro feel. Like Enshu, Totoumi is an old province name for western Shizuoka Prefecture. Ichinomiya means a primary shrine or the highest class shrine. The station is named after Okuni Jinja that is the primary shrine in western Shizuoka Prefecture. As the shrine is dedicated to Okuninushi no Mikoto, one of the major gods in Japanese myth, there is his doll in front of the station. I mistook Okuni Jinja to be located near the station, but according to their website, it takes about 40 minutes to walk there. There are shuttle buses on Sundays and seasons of flowers and autumn leaves.

As I wrote in this blog in May, Mori-machi is known as Little Kyoto with its old temples and shrines. This time, the distance of the course was about 7.5 km, and visits to two major temples were included. One is Gokurakuji Temple nicknamed as Hydrangea Temple, and the other is Koshoji Temple nicknamed as Chinese Bellflower Temple. It was cloudy. I thought hydrangea in the temple might look more beautiful in rain but still didn’t want to get wet while walking. So, I set off at a brisk pace.

Soon after I left the station, I saw a corn field. One of the purposes for which I participated in this walk was to buy some good corn on the cob in Mori-machi. My expectation was growing.