Stone and I went out seeking a few hilltop views today. In my previous experience when going up to hilltop shrines (which admittedly is only one thus far) the path was steep and a bit overgrown. So, this goal had minor adventure written all over it.
The first hill was in a nearby town, and I had ridden past the entrance on a bike ride some weeks ago. I had been told that there is a backside descent that was less strenuous, then a walk around the base of the hill back to the starting point. So, I get everything loaded into the pack (including Stone of course) and we head off. As we were leaving the truck a couple of folks were passing by and I got the usual triple take of head turning and eyes wide open ... then smiling as they see the little human.
There were a few large torii gates indicating the correct path and at first it was wide and well worn, a positive sign. As we progressed through the oak canopy or green gold and brown the path narrowed and the incline steadily increased. Enough foliage was on the ground that you simply smushed and crunched through layers of leaves before getting to anything solid. I was noticing that there were lots of smallish rocks underfoot - we call them baby-heads in cycling as they are roughly the size and shape of baby-heads - and these were posing an issue as my feet kept sliding this way and the other until landing on solid ground. I kept moving forward and took my time planting each foot. With each turn the incline increased, such that by the time we were about 1/3 of the way up a rope line appeared beside the trail. This was a nice and convenient assistant to maintain balance when maneuvering over and around rocks and roots; however, it was designed for the average sized inhabitant of the area. Every now and then there was a support line coming across the trail to maintain the height of the guideline. These were a bit below my eye line, and the canopy of the back is about six inches above my head ... while crossing under one of the lines I lost my footing and slid onto my side dropping the camera to make sure I did not tumble any further. I got a chuckle out of the commander of the ship and we arose, dusted off and carried on. Again, after a few hundred feet the path would turn and the grade increased to the point that near the top I was stopping ever ten to fifteen feet to breathe and seek out the best footing spots. As we made it to the top, the view was of course worth it, and there were lots of stumps and benches to sit and rest and observe the planet below.
After taking the requisite shots, we proceeded down - the very wide and gradual descent previously mentioned. It is effectively and access road for servicing the shrine. The views on the backside were mainly of the valley below, now a mixture of gold and black as the rice has been harvested and the farmers are turning the earth preparing for the winter. In addition you had a birds eye view of the wind farm that resides in the area. The trip down was had no drama, simply a larger time commitment. As the temperatures have dropped there is minimal activity in the brush, the occasional lizard and or insect, but mainly the fluttering of small birds. Otherwise you are only hearing the wind and the effect it has on the falling leaves. About two hours has passed from start to finish. I unloaded, packed Stone into the car seat and headed off to the second spot I wanted to get to in the day.
The second spot was as far up the coastline that one could travel by car (on this side of the pass and the bay we live near). The road stops in a fishing village, and there is a large gate stopping you from taking the road further. A few months ago a group of us had ridden bikes to this spot, and we were told the sign said "landslide" "closed road". So we had a snack of graham crackers, got loaded up and headed around the gate and up the hill. All I knew was there was a closed road, so I figured it went somewhere ...
Quickly we get to the area that was most severely affected, and not only was there a landslide, during some earthquake from some time ago you got to see the planetary shift. Within about a two foot distance side A had shifted about 6 feet West of side B. The images in the photo album will tell the story a bit more adequately. We carried on, rounding the bend to find an abandoned welcome center. This was the end of the road as from here to go further one travelled on foot to trails that lead into the hillside overlooking the sea. So, we proceeded to the trailhead and up into the hills. Sections of the trail were still clearly visible and easy to follow. Other sections had been "moved" and or overgrown; however, this path is still being used by someone as there were clear options to avoid the fallen areas of the trail. About 2/3 of the way up I noticed that there were power-lines, and the path from line to line was still being maintained; which was curious as if the welcome center was closed, I would not know why they need to maintain power to whatever is at the top of the climb. Once at the top, you could see a small radar station on a nearby hill, which explains the maintenance of the power and data lines.
The shrine at the top has been closed for a while, but you could see that someone has been up there, keeping the growth away from the structure so that nature does not reclaim the building anytime soon. I also noticed that there was a sign indicating a path down to the coast, a mere 1.7k to the bottom. Unfortunately, we were loosing daylight, Stone was not interested in taking the bottle I had with me and I was out of water ... oh and there were showers approaching ... so we headed back to the truck. Thus, I now have plans to head back one day and see where along the coastline you pop out. A couple of maps still standing near the welcome center seemed to indicate that one could hike around the cape to the town on the other side ... but I want to do a bit more research before such an attempt.
All in all, it was a few thousand feet of up and down and about 10k in distance. I got home and stretched out, really feeling the day's movement in the achilles and ankles ... next time I'll wear the boots that support the ankles.
Images in the new Japan album.
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