Today's walk in Japan

[Sangetsu]

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.

[kenmei]

First things first, eww nikon!

after getting that out of the way,

very cool pics. I love shots upward towards the sky with trees like the one you posted. Enjoyed reading your story also Makes me miss Japan...where do yo live again (if you don't mind me asking) ?

also, I've created a thread in the member creativity section dedicated to photography if you want to join in by posting pics and stuff. cya

[LightningSaix73]

What part of japan is that? I really like your story, and hope to hear more.

Your story makes me want to go to Japan even more. I've been wanting to move there for a little over five years, but sadly I have to finish collage before I can move there.

[yuujirou]

Originally Posted by kenmei

First things first, eww nikon!

after getting that out of the way,

very cool pics. I love shots upward towards the sky with trees like the one you posted. Enjoyed reading your story also Makes me miss Japan...where do yo live again (if you don't mind me asking) ?

also, I've created a thread in the member creativity section dedicated to photography if you want to join in by posting pics and stuff. cya

ewww nikon hater >.>''

what are you???
canon? o.o'


oh and that was a very lovely read btw x]
thank you so much for sharing ^^

[allie2590]

Wow! It sounded like a worthwhile adventure! I'd love to hike in Japan. There's some nice scenery there.

[SakanaMidori]

Dying...dying....If you shined a flashlight in my butt you'd see that I'm dying inside.


Grogeous. Simply gorgeous. I can only imagine what it's like IN PERSON!

My, my, I am so jealous. But I know my time will come, and I may just steal those pictures. Lol

[Sangetsu]

This area is in Chiba, about 90 minutes by train from metro Tokyo. It's mostly an agricultural area, and there are farms pretty much everywhere. It's increasingly becoming suburban, as some people seem to have tired of the crowding and high cost of living in Tokyo.

I've been looking for the site of an old castle which used to exist here. It was dismantled after the Tokugawa shogunate came into power, and was supposed to have stood near the Honzenji temple. As I was posting the pictures, I noticed that there was a marker in the picture of the small shrine, and it indicated that the shrine was built on the site of Tama-jo, or Tama castle. I had been walking on the castle grounds without even realizing it.

Later in his life, Tokugawa Ieyasu used to come to this are to go hawking. The lake by the Honzenji temple is man made, and was enlarged for his enjoyment. I'm still learning more about the history of the area, but what I've found out so far has been pretty interesting.

On a recent walk, I found a cave in the nearby mountains. It's the place I want to explore next. I found it by accident after nearly falling into it. The entrance is well hidden by weeds and tree roots, I'll see if I can get a better look at it soon. I'll probably set the timer on my camera and drop it in on a rope and get some pics of what it looks like inside before I try to go in.

As for Nikon, I've owned lots of Nikon stuff over the years, and have never had a single item break. I won't buy or use anything else.

[DomesticatedWolf]

Lovely pics. just perfect to start my day. Thanks.

[Sangetsu]

I took a second hike today, once again in the mountains. The scenery was more or less the same as it was yesterday, so I didn't bother with pictures.

Today's walk took me to a mountaintop cemetery. I had planned on walking through the cemetery to the far side of the mountain, and then taking the road back to the city. But while in the cemetery, I found another trail, and decided to follow it instead.

The trail was paved, but heavily covered with leaves and fallen branches. The going was steep, and thankfully the ground was dry and not slippery. The trail led in the general direction of a nearby shrine, so I was surprised that it seemed to be unused. Once again I had to find a stick to keep sweep the spider webs out of my way as I walked.

As I was walking, I noticed some broken bits of pottery and shells on the left side of the trail. The slope on that side of the trail rose very steeply upward, and was heavily overgrown with brush. Curious, I climbed up the slope and came to what might have been a burial place, or simply a hiding place.

Erosion from the rain had eaten away the slope, and exposed a large amount of old, broken pottery and ceramics. Some were simple fired clay items, others were very fine porcelain, in blue and white. Only a couple of pieces were undamaged. I examined them carefully, but not being an expert on ceramics, I had no idea what they were. One of the unbroken pieces was a beautifully made small bowl, decorated with a typical Japanese family crest. There were other things with similar markings, but only on the larger shattered pieces that I could find. I carefully put the items back in the exact places I found them, and continued with my walk.

The trail continued downward, switching back and forth several times. The earthen slopes became stone, and a natural spring flowed from a large crack in one of the stone walls. There were clouds of mosquitoes flying around the spring and the stream it ran into, so I didn't linger.

Several minutes later I reached the bottom of the trail. It ended behind a very old and traditional style Japanese house which appeared to be abandoned. A couple of the other nearby homes were also old and appeared to be unlived in. Once I passed these homes, the area became more modern and more busy. I found my way to the main road, which ran past the large nearby shrine and temple.

I'll return next week and take some pictures, maybe someone will be interested or know something about the artifacts. I know that the area here has been inhabited for a very long time. Children at the nearby elementary school found a few bits and pieces of Jomon era pottery when digging in the school yard one afternoon.