October 14, 2000: White Water Dam |
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Even a piece of cloud is not in the sky.
On a beautiful day in crispy October, I drove
out to Deep Bungo county. A modern designed
building, a railroad station, stands in the
plateau of Ogi town. A female guide in the
station kindly taught us how to get to the
dam. |
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| Next to the station is a small but unusual monument like this. The design is of a beetle with the sightseeing map on it. | On the arm of the monument is such a huge metallic beetle. Are there many beetles in this area? |
 A grand view of Mt. Sobo in the distance. |
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Rice paddies in the small valley are ready for cropping. |
| Passing through a trail in the ever-green bush, I found today's destination, a dam. |  |
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Here we are. Yes, this is a hidden dam called Hakusui or "White Water." The design is said to be No. 1 in Japan's architecture field. It is really beautiful and lovely. The dam was designated as a national important cultural property in 1999. |
The formal name of the dam is "White Water Reservoir Dam for water supply." The design of the dam was 1931 and the construction started in 1934. The completion was, what was odd, March 1938, exactly same as my husband's birth year and month. The curvature of the stone wall is very beautiful beyond my expression. |
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Falling water makes a beautiful pattern of white lace curtain. |
| An overlook view of the dam. The blue surface
of the reservoir and white falling water
make a good contrast. Gazing the water, I
feel just as if I were sucked down into the
scene. The dam supplies abundant water to rice paddies around Ogi town. Click the right picture and you can see overall picture of the dam. |
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