Hikes around Sakurae

Omori to Oe
October 17, 2004

Ive been wanting to do this hike for a long time. Omori is the village at the center of Iwami Ginzan (Iwami Silver Mountain) which in the 17th and 18th century was producing fully one third of all the silver in the world. It is estimated that a quarter of a million people were involved in the mine and its supporting economy. Not surprisingly, the Bakufu, the ruling military government of Japan, made this land theirs, and Bakufu land extended south to my own village. The mines have long since closed, and Omoris population is now numbered in the hundreds. I really enjoy visiting Omori. They have spent a lot of money refurbishing the houses and buildings in the village so that, excepting the spaghetti of power poles and lines that cover everywhere in Japan, the village looks a lot like it used to. I start out from the middle of the village, which is basically one long narrow road running up into the mountains. Iwami Ginzan has applied for World Heritage Site status, so there is plenty of information boards and signs explaining everything. I pass the old execution ground. With so many people here, there were a lot of executions. Then on past areas that were used for processing the ore. To serve such a big population, there were many, many shrines and temples. Life in the mines was harsh, and life-expectancy was short, so temples were needed to supply funerals. Many of the temples have long since gone, but many still exist. I pass a well kept-one with a nice bell tower, and then come to a shrine. It has the strangest shrine architecture I have seen.
The two buildings are almost pagoda-style. The grounds are unkempt and overgrown, so I suspect it is no longer in use. Across the stream there are moss-covered steps leading up to an abandoned temple. I venture up and into the dark forest until the first terrace. Graveyards with a bamboo forest growing between the tombstones make for a forboding atmosphere, and paths and more steps lead up and in to further parts of the old temple complex, but I head back down. In general the Japanese will avoid abandoned temples because of ghosts. Cant say I blame them. The valley narrows, and I think I must be out of the village and into the forest proper, but round the bend the valley opens up again and there are a few farms and the nicest public toilets I have ever been privileged to use in Japan. Across the stream is a nice old temple with a big collection of small Buddha sculptures, and behind and above the temple a small shinto shrine. Many buddhist temples have shinto shrines in their grounds. In the latter half of the 19th century the Japanese government suppressed Buddhism as a foreign influence and pushed Shinto as the Japanese religion. Many temples were burned down, but the smart ones simply installed Shinto shrines in their temples and hence were spared.
Carrying on up the valley it once again narrows to the width of the stream plus one-lane road. In the side of the mountain, old shafts covered with iron grills start to appear. Each shaft is numbered, and there are over 700 of them riddling the surrounding mountains. Most of them appear to be only a metre tall. Couldnt have been much fun being a miner. I pass the trail that heads up the mountain to the top where a castle once overlooked the valley, and then arrive at a side road. At the junction is an impressive looking old house. Obviously a well-to-do family as they have their own private Inari shrine in their back garden. I take the side road as the map says there is a temple up there. I dont find the temple but I do find a huge abandoned shrine. The biggest abandoned shrine I have ever seen. Around it is the ruins of a hamlet. This is where the miners lived. Another hundred metres and there is a mine shaft that is large and well lit. It passes through the mountain to the other side, but there is an entrance fee so I forego the pleasure. Back to the main road and on up I am getting close to where the paved road ends and the mountain trail begins, so I avail myself of a hot coffee from what I presume to be the last vending machine I will pass till at least the other side of the mountain. Japan has more vending machines than any other country, and its not unusual to find them in the tiniest of villages. The distance between vending machines is one measure of how inhabited an area is. I reach the end of the road, and a sign by the solitary farmhouse tells me this was the site of the guardhouse. From here, over the mountain and on to Yunotsu is the Ginzan Kaido, the route the silver travelled on its way to Edo. Entering into the forest on a trail, its a relief to be away from civilization, though I have thoroughly enjoyed exploring Omori.
The higher I climb, the wind picks up and its quite cool in the shade. The trail is good. Its part of the West Japan Nature Trail which actually passes through Sakurae on its way west. At one point there are a bunch of fallen trees and it takes a few minutes to re-find the trail. It becomes steeper and steeper and then starts to switchback. I feel sure the view must be good, but its too heavily wooded to see. Finally, near the top there is a break in the trees and I can see back down where I have come from and beyond to the sea. Izumo is just visible in the distance. At the pass I take a lunch break at one of the picnic tables provided. I find it strange that on a beautiful early Fall sunday there are no people out hiking. On the rare occasions I have ever met another hiker it has usually been an old person. Young Japanese people seem to have no interest in the natural world. The trail down is steep, and straight, following the stream. About halfway down I hear a noise ahead of me. There are only 2 things big enough to make that much noise, a bear or a wild boar. A wild boar tends to make more noise, as when it is startled it charges away in a straight line right through any bushes in its way, so Im hoping its a bear. Shimane has had more bear sighting this year than any other Prefecture, and even though I enter into bear territory often I have yet to see one. I quietly take off my pack, take out my camera and move forwards slowly, but ... nothing.

Another 20 minutes of descent and the trail passes a patch of rice paddies wedged into the valley. There is very little flat land in Japan, consequentally they have managed to make rice-paddies in the narrowest of spaces. A couple of hundred metres and the trail meets a paved road. I have 2 choices, both will take me where I want to go. According to my map, the left will take me along the mountains with no habitations marked, and the road becomes a trail. The right will take me through several settlements. The left route will mean a greater possibility of meeting bears, the right will pass by several shrines and temples. I take the right and descend into a sunny valley with a sleepy village. It is silent, which is unusual as most villages and farms are accompanied by the incessant whine of gasoline-powered weed cutters. Wandering down the only road I see the usual combination of abandoned, deserted, and inhabited houses. I stop at the vending machine and sip iced-coffee while I study the map. An old gentleman comes down the road pushing a wheelbarrow. I ask him the name of the village (Nishida) and explain that I can hardly read Japanese. Like everyone else I have encountered on my walks, he is cheerful and friendly and we chat for a while. The village and road suddenly rounds a hairpin bend and in front of me I see what look like huge straw figures in the fields. Have I stumbled on some ancient pagan harvest ritual? Nope. Its just the rice hanging to dry. Every other place just makes racks out of lengfths of bamboo and hang the rice on them, ending up with a "wall" of drying rice. In Nishida they form a pyramid structure from 4 pieces of bamboo to hang the rice. It is obviously unusual as there are several groups of people photographing them.
Across a little bridge is a big temple. It has an impressive gate, and a large main hall, and standing in front of it is the tallest stone lantern I have ever seen. Its at least 4 metres tall. Pleased with myself that I chose the route that has revealed a couple of interesting sights I head out the village on the road that climbs over the mountains. Ive been walking about 5 hours now, and as I afraid it would, my knee starts to ache, so I slow my pace and as I trudge on, ever upwards, pass the occasional farm house, sometimes deserted sometimes not. The road tops out and passes right through the middle of some kind of quarry. As far as I can tell, they seem to be mining sand. The road now descends into a small settlement that has, according to my map, a couple of temples and a shrine. I find them, but all three are abandoned and derelict. Just one more rise to climb and then a long valley leads me to my destination, Oe. I had worried that by taking the paved road I would have to deal with traffic, but for the whole length so far, about 5k i figure, not a single vehicle has passed me. I round a bend, and spread over 2wo thirds of the width of the one-lane road is a big blue tarp covered with rice grains drying in the sun. They are obviously not expecting any traffic. The road drops down into a long straight valley, and about 3k ahead I can see the village. I have wanted to visit Oe ever since I discovered on the map that within the space of one kilometere there are eight temples. I am intrigued why such a tiny village has so many temples. I enter the village and immediately pass the first temple. Nothing special there. Another 100 meteres and Im in the centre of the village. I dump my pack and wander round the 2 streets looking at the temples. Nothing special, though one has a nice gate. I find the local shrine more interesting, it has 4 huge giant cedars lining the steps up to the shrine. About the only place in Japan you can find any ancient treesd are at shrines, where they are venerated. In the rest of Japan they have long since been cut down. My knee is excruciating, and I can barely hobble, so I head back to the middle of the village and sit down in front of the little general store to weait for my wife to come and pick me up. A couple of old ladies with a young child come by. "Have you been in the mountains?". "Yes, Ive walked from Omori." "Where are you from?" "I live in Tanijyugo. My wife is Japanese, she is coming to fetch me". For about 5 minutes they ask questions, then go into the store and repeat verbatim to the shopkeeper the content of our conversation. When they leave, I hear the shopkeeper repeat the information, not missing a word, to her husband. Over the next half an hour three customers enter the shop, and they are all given every scrap of information about me. Wouldnt surprise me if everyone in the village knows the full story by tomorrow.