Yesterday I posted some pictures that I took during a walk at a nearby park. I decided to take another walk today, but this time a little farther from home.
During yesterday's walk, I saw a map at the Honzenji temple which marked a few of the many trails in the area. I picked one of the trails from the map and hiked it today.
I've lived in the area for more than 7 months now, but I haven't actually seen very much of it. I spend my weekends and free time in Tokyo, and I know most of the districts of Tokyo better than I do the neighborhood where I live. I decided that that was kind of stupid, and I realized that I needed to get into the habit of waking up earlier in the mornings and getting some exercise. So, I will take a walk every day, weather allowing, and I will take a few pictures each day as well.
The trail I followed today was a difficult one, and quite long. I didn't have enough time to follow it to the end, as I had to return home and get ready for work. But I still got to enjoy a great amount of scenery.
I left my apartment, passed the local train station, and hiked up the road which passes between the mountains that overlook the town. Passing the cultural hall, I came across a park with a large lake. This is where the trail began.
There were park workers cutting down a summer's worth of weeds and undergrowth from the slopes surrounding the lake. They were dressed in the typical blue-green work outfit which most Japanese laborers wear. They gave me the usual "ohayou gozaimasu" as I walked by, and I returned the greeting.
Leaving the park, I came upon a pleasant valley between the low mountains. The valley floor was covered with farmland, along the edges of which were built the farmer's homes. The trail passed along the right side of the valley, and came to a crossroads. I turned right, as my map indicated, and followed it until I came upon a stream.
The trail left the road and climbed up into the mountains along the right side of the stream. From what I could tell, the trail was seldom used, and it seemed that no one had passed for several weeks. But it was a nice and sunny day, and I hadn't come this far just to turn around and go back. I left the road along the side of the stream, and began to climb.
I immediately entered a rather dark forest, heavily overgrown with large cedar trees, bamboo, and ferns. The ground was very soft, padded by years of fallen leaves and dead plants. The trail below was distinguishable, but only just barely.
The first thing I did was to pick up a stick about one meter long. This was not to help me walk, but to wave in front of me to clear out numerous spider webs as well as the branches and leaves of the plants which grew on either side of the trail. These tend to be wet in the mornings, and when they aren't wet, they are often covered with ants or other insects.
About midway up the side of the mountain, I came upon a carefully made pathway, with bamboo rails on either side. But the path had not been used in many years, the bamboo rails were covered with moss and vines, and were rotted through in many places. I followed between the rails, as the path that they marked led up the mountain.
When I reached the end of the bamboo rails, the trail became very steep and hard to climb. I was glad to be wearing good hiking boots. The soft ground made the way slippery, and the going was a little dangerous. I chose my steps carefully, putting my weight on each foot only when I was sure it would not slip.
After several minutes of climbing this way, the steep slope leveled out somewhat, and the climb became easier. This was fine by me as my legs were starting to get a little numb from the workout. The heavy growth of plants that I had passed through on the climb thinned out somewhat, and I was surrounded mainly by tall cedar trees.
I finally reached the top of the climb. The mountain top was only slightly domed, and completely covered with trees. They obscured any view that I might have of the countryside which surrounded the mountain, but the trees were beautiful enough themselves to look at. To the edge of the mountain top I found a small shrine next to a pair of stone trail markers.
The trail continued down the other side of the mountain. I looked at my watch and realized that I had been walking for more than an hour, so I would have to turn back soon. I decided to walk about halfway down the mountain, and then return.
I was glad that I did. The cedar trees gave way to a vast grove of giant bamboo. The bamboos where as tall as the cedar trees previously were, and many were as big around as my leg. In the distance below I could made out the blue tiled rooftops of a few homes, and I could hear someone chopping wood. I wanted to continue down, but I was out of time, I had to return home.
Here are a few pics.
