Daizaifu

Weekend! Time for field trips. Today I went to Daizaifu. Today it's a small town outside of Fukuoka, but during the 8th to 12th century it was the most important administrative and military centre in all Kyushu. After the Mongolian invasian Hakata (=Fukuoka) became the most important town in Kyushu.

Today it's a huge park-like recreation area which also hosts a number of museums and temples.

This is one of the bridges leading to the Shinto shrineTenmango. This shrine worships Sugawara Michizane (a 9th century sholar) as "God of Scholarship" who was exciled and spent the last two years of his life in Daizaifu. After his death they built a temple to calm down the ghost of Sugawara Michizane who was obviously responsible for a series of catasthrophies.

Although in folclore the God bird "Kiuso" was worshipped (looks like an owl) there are definitly more turtles here than owls. They are everywhere in the ponds and lakes of this site, there are numerous statues and even the big water basin in front of the temple is featuring the 'kame-sama'.

You have to look closely at the bottom of the basin:

A little shrine in the Daizaifu park area:



A wealth of little shops is plastering the street from the station to Daizaifu proper and one thing you definitly have to try is a toasted mochi, a specialty of the area. It's a rice cake filled with sweet azuki bean paste. Try it hot! Oishii!!!