Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Derelict Japanese Cemetery - Kauai

Only a couple more posts from our trip to Kauai. In a couple of hours we'll be hitting the road again. This time not so far. We'll be RV camping (that may be an oxymoron) on top of a mountain about 100 miles from where we live. It's not nearly as scenic as Kauai, but I'm still hoping to get some good photos. I'm not sure if we'll have Internet or not.  In the meantime, here are some photos of an old abandoned Japanese cemetery. We found it off of another old dirt road in the area of the hidden glass beach.  A friend told us about both places. They aren't my best work, but I hope you'll find them interesting.

Looking back down the road that took us up to the cemetery.

Once again, we were reminded of the violent volcanic origins of Kauai.

Some of the grave stones were too buried in brush to get to.


We'll be trying to get some translations from my MIL.



Most of them seem to be from the 1800's

enlarge this one!
This one isn't Japanese, but the heart shaped tomb stone caught my eye.


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48 comments:

  1. Kind of cool. It's a bit like finding a hidden treasure.


    Lee
    Tossing It Out

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  2. That's wild - looks like it's just sitting out in the middle of the wilderness.

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  3. What a restful, beautiful place for a cemetery.

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  4. I love the color of that water! And those old stones are marvelous!!
    Ann Best, Memoir Author

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  5. I'm a sucker for old graveyards. That one looks amazing.

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  6. Oh wow. Now that is a really cool find. Have fun on your trip!!

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  7. Quite the sky in that first one. Did it bring some rain?

    That poor old cemetery looks neglected and overgrown. What a shame.

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  8. Wow, that is one creepy but cool graveyard.

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  9. You certainly do find the interesting things to photograph!

    Have fun on your next adventure. Sounds like you will! ;)

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  10. Great pictures Pat, but it's a shame such history isn't maintained better.

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  11. Yeah, I'm a graveyard lurker myself. This one looks kind of haphazard in its layout unless there are markers under the weeds that give some order to it. Looks really old and would be interested in the translations when you get them.

    Have fun on the RV trip...hopefully it won't be a Griswold Family Vacation! Aloha Pat!

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  12. wow, what an interesting place. thanks again for sharing so many pictures of your vacation. most of us never would have known about these places otherwise. ^_^

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  13. Oh I love graveyards. This looks like a beauty. Thanks for these. I would love it there. IT's sad in a way. They look so good too. They must have had some money to afford gravestones. Alot of Chinese who came to Australia at that time were poor and came to gold dig. They couldn't afford tombstones,. like many others and were buried with wooden crosses or nothing at all. Some near my parents house. Quite creepy.

    Cheers for these.

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  14. Great captures.. I have problems getting shots in cemeteries...
    mostly because they creep me out...

    enjoy your RV camping....

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  15. There is something so fascinating about old grave stones.. that heart-shaped one is exceptionally unusual!

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  16. Great pictures Pat:)
    Have a nice day.
    Greetings from,
    Berit.

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  17. Old cemeteries always intrigue me, there is so much history (I do a lot of genealogy)in those stones.

    Have a great time on the mountain top!

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  18. These are amazing shots.. I have always found cemeteries and such to be quite peaceful, beautiful.. thank you for sharing these.. enjoy your RV'ing....
    (ps-i have moved over to word-press, but if you care to follow my scribbles here is the url and my posts will show in your newsfeed thingy:
    thewordbar.wordpress.com

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  19. Fantastic shots!
    The old cemetary is wonderful! There is an old one in VT that I love to visit. Not overgrown, just very old and peaceful.

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  20. I always love the poignancy of old cemeteries. This must have just gave you pause...you can feel the loss and love in these pictures.

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  21. So cool! Glad you took the trip out there.

    I don't really want to leave the islands. Do we have to?

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  22. The pictures of these graves are so moving. Whatever lives these people had, whatever pain or trouble or joy they went through, they all share this peacefulness in the end.

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  23. Cool!!!! I love this kind of old graveyards. Greetings.

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  24. Id PAY to travel with you!!!!
    Thanks friend--you are the best!!!

    JOhn

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  25. What an amazing find and in such a beautiful place!

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  26. great series of photos!
    i enlarged some of them!

    absolutely amazing graveyard!

    betty

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  27. I like photographing cemetaries too. Yours are great shots. Too bad there is no one to keep this place looking repectful...I guess they are old stones and family is far away in Japan. Still, cemetaries always make me remember my limitations, expectations and promises. A good thing.
    Rosemary

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  28. Oilfield Trash - Thanks so much! It's a pleasure to take them in a place like that.

    Lee - We were excited. Too bad they aren't kept up though.

    Ren - Thanks Ren! They were in a beautiful spot.

    Alex - Pretty close. There were sitting on top of an awesome cliff.

    Talli - I can't imagine how beautiful it would be if they place was maintained. It's totally abandonded.

    Ann - Thanks Ann! The stones certainly aren't standard!

    Tim - Me too! The older the better.

    Baby Sister - Thanks! We are having fun. Much different than Kauai though...

    Ms. A - Thanks! It did rain a bit, but it rains a bit everyday there.

    Chesseboy - I know a lot of folks find them creepy. They fill me up with questions.

    Marlene - Thanks Marlene! We're having a great time, but this one is mostly about relaxing. I don't have a vehicle that can get to where I really want to go here.

    Brian - thanks so much! I agree! If someone would just cut the brush down it would be better.

    Chuck - It's very haphazard. I don't think it was ever an "official" graveyard.

    Ven - Thanks for saying that! I do try to take photos of things that most folks would pass right by.

    Anthony - Me too! Many of the stones look like they simply found a chunck of volcanic rock and started carving. That's an interesting and sad story about the Chinese folks. They say you are never really dead until nobody remembers your name. I'm thinking, these folks (and those chinese) are long forgotten.

    faye - thanks faye. I feel very comfortable in them. I don't want to be buried, but they don't creep me out at all.

    Nat - I agree! The heart shaped one was amazing. For all the thought and love that went in to creating that one, it's a shame it's forgotten.

    Berit - thanks so much! I am having a nice day. Sitting on a mountain in a pretty remote place.

    SQ - Me too! I also do genealogy and many photos of old family stones.

    lynne - Thanks Lynne! I feel the same way about them. I will most certainly follow you over to the new digs. We're loving the spot we're in. I'm mostly relaxing and reading. I'll have some photos ready to post when I have a steady connection (monday).

    Nariane - Thanks! I'd prefer that none of them get overgrown. I'm sure the one in VT has a lot of history associated with it.

    Jenny - I totally agree. I get a lot of feelings in them, but none of them is fear...

    Bossy Betty - Thanks my friend! I may have a couple more Kauai based posts. I'm thinking one for my favorite photos taken there and one of the odd things I saw. Oh yeah, maybe one with just chickens.

    Margaret - Hi there! So true, I just wish I knew some of their stories. Maybe when I get the writing translated, I can do a little digging. No pun intended...

    Japy - Thanks Japy! Nice to see your comment!

    John - Only if you pay for me also! Thanks so much John! I'll be able to view blogs when I get home.

    James - Thanks James! these places are out there if we look hard enough.

    Betty M - Thanks so much! Also, thanks for taking the time to enlarge some of them.

    Rosemary - I have no idea if there is any family still there. If there is, that would be sad. I'd hate to think that they ignore, or have forgetten about these folks, because they were pioneers.

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  29. HI Pat, Haven't talked to you in awhile, so decided to stop by and say HI.. Looks like you all are traveling again... We went on a 3 week trip out west in June... AWESOME!!!!

    Hope you have a marvelous summer.
    Betsy

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  30. Some of those tomb stones were very moving. Stories behind them, you can feel it.

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  31. Some of those tomb stones were very moving. Stories behind them, you can feel it.

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  32. Hi Betsy!
    You are right, long time no see! Yup, we have been gone a great deal. In fact, we're gone again right now. I'll be over to see your travel photos when we get home.

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  33. The souls resting here have a fabulous fengshui spot, overlooking that awesome coastline. I like snooping around cemeteries too, but often don't have the time to do it. That last heart-shaped tomnstone sure is sweet.

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  34. Love the tombstone photographs Pat.

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  35. No matter what language is on a tombstone . . . a cemetery is a place of reflection, sadness, respect, joyful memories and a sense of peace.
    I like to go through old or foriegn cemeteries. It says a lot about history and the people that live there.
    Thank you for sharing with us.

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  36. Complex Post. This enter helped me in my college assignment. Thanks Alot

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  37. These are great shots, Pat. I haven't seen such a grassy cemetery and the last pic was definitely worth enlarging.
    Have a wonderful RV adventure.
    xoRobyn

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  38. That cemetery is so cool. Maybe I'm strange, but I love cemeteries (not at night, though). The heart shaped tomb stone is beautiful but sad. Such excellent photos!

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  39. This is fascinating, as always, Pat. I didn't see much of the island. I spent most of my time in the water with the fish avoiding the heat.

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  40. (catching up on your blog and captivating photos) I'm fascinated by cemetaries. I always wonder about the story behind the deceased, the markers, what they mean, who's there. I've been to an older burial site, the end of a field really, where people were buried who had died at a State mental hospital. Most of the markers had sunk into the ground and you couldn't quite tell where your relative might be.

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  41. So sad the cemetery is in that condition ... some of the Asian cemeteries have some very intricate grave markers.

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  42. My oldest son worked on the ship, and went to Hawaii for a while. He loves it there, and always dreams to move there to live.

    What a beautiful place to be!

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  43. Great pictures, Pat. There is something about a graveyard...but that one is certainly unique.

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  44. Just went there today. Cemetery is fenced off (need to contact a number for access), but is surprisingly well maintained. It also has good overlook views of glass beach.

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