Hikes around Sakurae

Tanijyugo to Ganrinji
July 30th, 2004

Starting out just before 8 from my village, Tanijyugo, I start up the road for the mountain hamlet of Nagatoro. Like all of the old roads around here, it follows a stream, the mountains being too steep . There is a little rain, which should help keep the day a little cooler. A couple of minutes into the hike I have my first wildlife sighting,... a Tanuki (racoon dog) bounds into the undergfrowth after taking a drink from the stream. Other than the burbling of the stream and the birds in the forest, it is silent. There are swarms of small lilac-colored butterflies flitting over the surface of the road, and every now and then small crabs skitter across the road.
After a few kilometres the valley opens up enough to allow a few small rice paddies. A half dozen house are scattered on the hillsides. This is Nagatoro. On the other side of the stream stands a derelict altar of some kind, right next to a huge boulder. After Nagatoro the road continues to climb and becomes narrower. The asphalt is half-covered with moss, rocks litter the road, and the road is buckled and split by tree roots. It is darker, and I pass through thickets of bamboo. It has stopped raining, but no sunlight penetrates the thick forest cover. Somewhere around here I cross the boundary of Sakurae and am heading for the village of Ida. A few more kilometres of climbing and I reach the pass. There are a couple of small farms, with old people working in the garden. I bow. Its always best to bow when encountering strangers. The chances are these people have never even seen a foreigner, let alone have a strange-looking one wander through their property.
The road descends steeply now, and after passing a few terraced paddies I suddenly come upon Ganrinji Temple. Its quite incongrous, here in the middle of nowhere, to see a large well-kept temple. The gate and bell tower is a National Treasure. Originally a Zen Temple, the current building were constructed by the local lord in the sixteenth century. The gateway has wonderfully ornate carving around it. There is a legend in my village that the bell here originally came from a temple in my village. Supposedly there was a flood and the temple was destroyed, but the bell survived. A Kappa ( a kind of mythological water imp) put the bell on his back and carried it up the mountain to Ganrinji. If this is true, then I must have been following the same route the Kappa took.
Down the valley to the north in the distance are some higher mountains. This is the site of Iwami Ginzan, once the site of a huge silver mine. But that must be for another hike. I head back up the road to the pass and take a road off to the left. There are no road signs, but the map assures me it will take me home. Its downhill all the way, which is good as it is warming up. Every kilometer or so I pass an old farmhouse. Sometimes lived in, sometimes empty, sometimes derelict. Where the stream joins another there is usually asmall flatter area that can support a rice paddy or two. Other than the chirping of the cicadas, the only sound is the water falling over rocks and my own footsteps until suddenly there is a commotion in the trees ahead of me. A monkey hears my footsteps and rushes away. A few more kilometers I reach the main road in the valley below. Now its a straight shot along the valley to my home. Actually "main road" is a bit of a misnomer. Maybe one car an hour passes along. There are rice paddies continuosly now, and the houses increase in number until I reach the village center and avail myself of the vending machines iced coffee. Its now close to three, and hot. My clothes are soaked in sweat. I guess Ive coverd somewhere around 20-30 kilometres, and have been on roads the whole way, yet have been passed by only 6 vehicles. There are countless kilometres of such roads around here, and I start to plan my next exploration.