It was a spooky five minute walk through this tunnel, fortunately closed to traffic (see video). A few minutes later, I reached the start of Meoto Tunnel (夫婦トンネル). The road sloped down, and looking east through the trees, I could see the fiery red summit of today’s mountain. On the west side, I could see the long ridge leading from Kirifuri Highland to the summit of Mt Nyoho. It was a short and easy climb up this mountain, but it would have to be for another time, since I was on a tight schedule. Looking up, I could see see see thin white strips of clouds spreading across the blue sky.Īround 12h30, I reached a flat area with a view to the south and some more pastures: this was Hikage Farm (日蔭牧場 hikage-bokujo), just below Mt Meoto (夫婦山). I soon passed a cow barn with a bright red roof surrounded by pastures, both deserted at this time of the year. Looking west, I could see what I thought was Kinu-Numa Swamp at the end of the river valley. I was stunned by the reds and oranges covering the mountain side directly opposite. I soon reached a deforested area and after a series of switchbacks, I had my first views. I got off the bus just past 11am and quickly set off up a small road through the forest and alongside a river. V iew from the road leading to the entrance of the hiking trail Although today’s mountain was only six kilometers away, the bus traveled three times that distance as the road curved around to the back of the mountain. It was an exciting ride following the Kinugawa river valley and past Kawaji dam. I hadn’t been there for nearly ten years and I soaked up the atmosphere of this popular hot spring resort while waiting for my bus to leave. It was a beautiful autumn day as I rode the comfortable Nikko line to Shimo-Imaichi station, where I transferred to the local train for the short trip to Kinugawa-Onsen. I was looking forward to getting some new views and seeing the first autumn colours of the season. On the other hand, the weather was supposed to be a perfect with warmer temperatures and almost no wind. I also wondered whether the autumn leaves would finally be at their peak, since it had been so cold a week earlier. I was worried about missing the last bus back, since it would be a long walk to the station. Although it was a short hike and required some road walking to get to the start of the trail and back, I had never been to that area nor ridden that bus line before. Looking through my guidebook, I found a mountain I could reach by taking a bus from Kinugawa-Onsen and along a river valley hidden behind the sprawling mass of Mt Nyoho. I thought I should really do one more hike from the Aizu-Kinugawa train line before it got too cold and started to snow.
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