Whimsical Sakaiminato
Thinking we had a late departure, my new Aussie friends and I decided to get off the ship around 10:30. On our way out, we realized it was 15:30 all aboard so we would have to get exploring! With yet another excursion canceled by Get Your Guide, we had to rely on the research we’d both done to make a plan… The day was cloudy but not rainy, so that’s a plus!
Once off the ship, we decided to take a taxi rather than the ship shuttle. Had we checked more closely on a map, we would have realized that the shuttle stopped exactly where the taxi dropped us off. Live and learn. Due to the fact that there really was nothing close to the ship, we had to venture out. The three of us quietly snickered on our way because the non-English speaking driver hit the brake, the hit the gas… constantly… causing the car to jerk. He said nothing until a car pulled out in front of him and then he became VERY animated… and had a LOT to say! If only I had the translator app on. I’m guessing his rant would have been entertaining.
As soon as we stepped out of the taxi, we knew we were in for quite a treat. This sculpture was the first thing we saw! Located in western Tottori Prefecture, I had learned about this street while looking for things to do in the area. Much too far to walk, our taxi was only about $12USD. This is a fishing village found on the Miho Peninsula facing the Sea of Japan. It is very popular with manga fans.
Mizuki Shigeru Road. Named after a local “celebrity”, Mr Shigeru was born March 8, 1922 in this town of Sakaiminato. A Japanese manga artist. Manga are Japanese comics featuring a variety of genres. They are typically read from right to left and printed in black and white. Special editions are sometimes printed in color, but it is not common. “Man” translates to whimsical or entertaining and “ga” translates to pictures, images or cartoons.
Having not visited any of these ports before, it is often difficult to determine logistics. In this case, we began to explore and upon turning around realized that our drop off point was the exact place we would have been dropped off had we paid for the ship shuttle. In years past, the shuttle was something provided as a courtesy. More recently, that is just another cost of traveling. The shuttles are usually between $25 and $30 round trip. They drop off in convenient locations to see something of interest, but it just depends on what you’d like to see. This time, I knew we would be dropped off at the train station. This would be a convenient stop for people wanting to train to some of the far-off sights (of which there were many). My canceled excursion was going to venture deeper into the area, but I wasn’t comfortable doing that with our limited time.
As we began our walk, which was filled with pedestrians, I noticed offshoots on both sides of the street. Every few feet, streets branched off into residential areas. We could hear the sounds of school children playing in the yard. Walking down the street, Jo (my new friend) noticed this tree surrounded with giant seashells at the base. From this perspective, you can see how spotless clean the roads are!
This pilgrimage site draws manga fans, folklore enthusiasts and curious travelers like me! Lined with 177 bronze characters from GeGeGe no Kitaro, the popular manga series by Mizuki Shigeru. The artist who created these statues lost his arm in World War II in combat in Papua New Guinea. This profoundly shaped his art. After the war, he returned to his hometown and began creating GeGeGe no Kitaro based on his childhood memories. Elderly storytellers filled his imagination with tales of invisible creatures inhabiting the natural world.
Stopping to pose with Jo, an 80 year old spunky Australian, I learned a bit about these whimsical characters. Mr Shigeru’s series was first published in 1960. It follows a young half-ghost boy named Kitaro and his companions (including his father who lives in an eyeball), as they protect humans from yokai (supernatural creatures and spirits). This series ran for decades.
With so many statues, we were focused on every detail. Every few steps, a new sculpture appeared. Sometimes subtle and small and other times rather grand on a pedestal. Until I did a bit more digging, I did not realize the obsession with the eyeball. Knowing that the main character’s father lived inside and eyeball made it make sense! When you don’t know what you’re walking into, you don’t know what to research.
As we strolled along, Kay looked up and noticed this eyeball. It was part of the sign for a shop or restaurant. Looking back down the street, we realized that we had walked by many eyeballs. From here, we had to pay attention to the sculptures AND look for eyeballs. For such a short street, there was so much to see… it definitely required paying close attention to our surroundings. With my plan of returning and repeating this exact itinerary, this will be one of my stops because I feel like I missed so much! I would have liked to have eaten in a restaurant and walked the other side of the street but the ladies I was with had other ideas.
Even a regular store embraces the eyeball! It became kind of like a scavenger hunt…
As we stopped to admire one of the sculptures, a man asked if we had noticed the plaques embedded in the sidewalk. Oh my! Now I was getting dizzy!!! We had not only missed the eyeballs for the first portion of our walk but now realized we had not looked down. From here, we had to look up, down and for sculptures. Now it all makes sense… there is a book you can collect stamps from the artistry seen on this street. I had noticed the small booths set up but the writing was in Japanese, and it wasn’t until we returned that I learned this was to try and collect all of the stamps. Another thing for “next time”!
This might have been the only shop in town without evidence of Mizuki Shigeru! However, it definitely made up for it in the colorful decor. This popcorn shop caught the attention of everyone walking by.
These were not the first dogs I saw in a stroller, but they were the “best dressed”. So many stopped the owner asking for a photo. She obliged graciously… the two pups were very well behaved. The one on the right posed proudly, often stepping over the one on the left. The lady who owned them had to clear the way so both could be seen. So cute!
The photo on the right gives a little better idea of the marble and/or granite pedestals upon which these sculptures sit. When I asked the value of this collections, I was given a broad amount… anywhere from $650,000USD to $2M. When the project first began, city bought the statues for a minimum of $6,300 each. The larger statues cost about $19,000. During the 2016-17 renewal period, eighteen additional sculptures were added to the collection. Shigeru waived the copyright fees so the cost to the city was for production and installation. For the additional 18, the investment ranged from $6500 to $20,000 per sculpture.
With increased car ownership, this area near the train station became less used. With the disappearance off foot traffic, this once bustling location became known as the “dogs-and-cats street” because the only pedestrians were animals. The urban planning department wanted to make this a fun place to stroll. Initially, the idea was to install sculptures with a sea theme. Someone attended the meeting with a photo of a Shigeru character. The head of the committee said, “That’s it!” He took a chance contacting Mizuki Shigeru to ask what he thought about installing his characters. Mizuki enthusiastically agreed to provide 83 sculptures to be used anyway the committee wanted. As a lifelong resident of Sakaiminato, he wanted to see his town economically healthy.
When presented to the townspeople, the response was that ghosts are not for the streets. There was much pushback. The secondary issue was the cost. Mizuki offered to waive the copyright fees and that took cost off the list of resident complaints. It has proven to be a successful undertaking. Unveiled in 1993, the museum was build in 2003. By 2007, one million visitors came to explore this 800-meter road. The pedestrian area greeted 3.7M visitors in 2013 and it has stayed consistent and even grown in the years since.
Even the potholes in the street were works of art!
Rather than exploring the other side of the street, I continued on with my companions. They were focused on visiting a store to shop. With my trip being so long, I don’t think they understood how serious I was about not buying a single item that would need to be packed. My only purchases were snacks… such great Japanese snacks! Walking down a residential road based on the map Kay was carrying, we ended up on a main street with the store nowhere in sight. Realizing the map was not even close to scale, we ended up ordering a Didi (like Uber) to make it easier on Jo.
The store turned out to be like a glorified dollar store. It truly had an incredible amount of items but the only thing I bought was a charger for $2 and some ear buds for $6. Both ladies filled a bag with fun items. Again, I got a few snacks… considering we had not stopped to eat, I stepped outside and gobbled down a few treats!
Happy with her purchases, I told Kay that we had to take a picture in front of our “excursion” location. Daiso ended up being the second stop on our “tour”. Since returning, I have looked up a couple of Japan cruises and I’ve decided it must include Mizuki Shigeru Road… that way, I can walk the other side. Exploring the museum is also on my list and having a nice meal. So, until I return… Sayonara!
