Japan photos: Utsukushigahara, Nagano Prefecture
Another photo post! Please be warned, this one is long... See my note at the very end. :)
As a follow-up to my previous post about Nishizawa Gorge, the next day we went to Utsukushigahara Highlands in Nagano prefecture. Utsukushigahara literally means "the beautiful highland", and here's a satellite view of it, with Matsumoto City on the left:
We drove down from the gorge in complete darkness that Saturday evening, and after eating a so-so meal in RED LOBSTER, of all places (pretty much any American reading this should know this restaurant), we went to a.. um, rather skeevy-looking 'business hotel' that my husband had made reservations at. I say that because I was not impressed with what I saw, and the 3-inch slab of asphalt mattress on the bed and bean-husk pillow did not help matters at all. HOWEVER... I will have to take some of that back, because the bed had an electric heating pad, and a nice hottub for the ladiez on the first floor, and their breakfast was absolutely delightful. So I will forgive them for their asphalt-for-a-bed and crackling pillows. ;) Oddly enough, my husband's legs hurt more than mine. My calves were slightly sore, but my knees were fine, and boy did I feel good after having the hottub all to myself!
After the excellent Japanese breakfast, one final soak, and coffee at Denny's, we head off. We promptly get snarled up in traffic around Matsumoto castle, and it takes us 45 minutes to figure out a way around the damned place! I am surprised to realize I have a better sense of direction than either my husband or the ancient navigation system... This, I realize later looking back, is an omen of what is going to happen the rest of the day...
The road up to the starting point was a gorgeous, winding drive through the valleys. The light was so clear, and the terraced fields of yellow, ripening rice just shone in the sun. I wish I could have gotten pictures, but there was no time, due to the road constantly winding. MORE ABOUT THAT DAMN WINDING ROAD LATER. We stop off to buy rice balls, drinks and snacks for the hike, as there is no place to eat up there.
We get to the starting point - a very innocuous, small parking lot next to a white building that functioned as the campground office. The lady there was selling wild-gathered shiitake and nameko mushroom, which looked scrumptious. This is where the day takes the second of several significant wrong turns...
My husband asks the lady where the trail begins. There is a HUGE BILLBOARD in front of the office proclaiming the beginning of the trail. The problem is, the trail is NOT marked, and there are several paths leading around. She asks which trail we are wanting to take, since there are several that start in different places. We want to take the "Path with 100 Twists", because it has the easiest slope (due, obviously, to the fact it turns back on itself a hundred times going up the mountain...) After some though, she says the trail is the steep stairway leading into the trees just across from the parking. She is indeed correct - it is the trail, with the signs indicating it facing AWAY from the road. Like who the hell has x-ray vision and can see through a wooden sign? And her final admonition - "And when the path reaches the road, be sure to follow the signs for Forest Square!" Gotcha, let's go!
The trail begins:
The color is just starting, and I love birches, of which there are plenty! :D I love looking at plants and such, and find a berry that intrigues me (playswithworms, if you're reading, maybe you can identify this?)
Click for larger, then click again for largest!
As the lady at the camp office said, the path does indeed intersect a road. I see a signpost. This is where JK's navigational system tries to warn us that we're heading the wrong way, but trusting my husband, I follow HIS lead, and we wander through a gorgeous campground for 45 minutes before... coming across a sign that indicates we're heading back to the main road... I am not the kind to spit expletives, because right now I am not feeling that way, since the campground was quite lovely and all. Husband claims he didn't see a sign to "Forest Square." My ears prick up, because up to this point I wasn't quite clear on what the first checkpoint was. I duly tell him, laughing of course, that I saw just such a sign about, oh, where the original path met the road. So back we walk, downhill this time, back to the intersection.
So off we go, in the right direction this time. We're in the forest proper now, with much thicker trees, abundant ferns, and moss all over. The path isn't always obvious, but fortunately there are pink markers tied to the trees. The river is fast and clear, and cold! Some pics!
Eventually, the path leads us across a log bridge, and into even deeper forest. Husband has the hiking map. He goes on ahead to scout, and I enjoy the sunlight, cool shadows, and the scent..! Apparently I have a sensitive nose, which is normally a good thing, because lord does the forest smell delightful!
So, after about 40 minutes or so of hiking, hubby is about 40 feet ahead, stopped at another log bridge. He is looking mighty concerned, because the other side of the bridge appears to end with a great big mound of moss-covered dirt at the other end, and no trail in sight after that. "This trail is too dangerous, we've got to go back and find the other route." I protest now, because the pink markers have been seen the whole way. I am definitely weaker than he is now, and we haven't even started the Hundred-twisting path yet. "No, honey, we have to go back. Sorry." I don't spit expletives, because that is not my style. But my mood plunges about this time, because going back means we will have put ourselves nearly two hours behind. Sure, going down is only half the time, but damn, we gotta go back UP again.
So we go down...
and go back up again...
And when we reached "Forest Square", what did I see just behind a big mound of moss-covered dirt right by the clearing...? The bridge my husband had stood on over an hour earlier, proclaiming the way 'too dangerous'. God. Damn. My mood is now becoming a dark gray shade, and I feel like I'm in Buddhist Hell, trying to find the Blessed Hundred-Twisting Path out of the darkness onto the Beautiful Highlands of Enlightenment. I mildly point out this navigational mistake to my husband, who at least had the good grace to be embarrassed... };) But several bites of chocolate later, and I decide the road to salvation is worth it. In order for us both to enjoy the hike as much as we can, I tell hubby to go ahead at his own pace, and I will see him on top. He is soon speeding far ahead of me towards Enlightenment, and I, being both slow and a shutterbug, stop to enjoy Purgatory the sights along the way.
So, enough of the chatting, since there is pretty much none after this, being alone and all, and more pics!
Obviously, click on them to see them larger, then click again for the fairly big versions.
Fall color.
Daddy-longlegs fighting each other. There was an irridescent blue-black one and a brown one, I think the blue one was trying to pull the other one under the leaf, but for what nefarious purpose I don't know...
One of the innumerable little springs along the way. Water was always trickling down all over the place, but this was one of the places where you could actually see the source. The taste was clear, slightly mineral, but so fresh!
...and the path to Enlightenment does indeed live up to its name. There are so many twists in the road it is unbelievable, and little cairns built up at every turn to guide the way, since there are also paths meant for rangers, not regular visitors. I see so many daddy-longlegs, I'm afraid to step on the little critters. Lots of spiders, actually, for such a high altitude. Saw a woodpecker, too, and the occasional hawk. Crows, and tits (the birds, folks!) Did hear a really odd sound, don't know what it was. But I am completely alone on this path. For three hours, only 6 people passed me, 4 of them a family. So even in daylight, the forest is an odd place if you're alone. Finally, the forest starts to thin out, and my god, what a view!
Just a little peek-
Then it really opens up:
Hubby finds me, and we eat our rice balls and chocolate, a veritable feast. And off he goes for Enlightenment while I still trod through Purgatory, when at last, I see the end in sight...
Those are some pretty tall cliffs, don't let the picture fool you! And a video I took from the top:
Also, I found this flower, which I discovered later is rather rare, and reintroduced:
It was much more blue than you see here, and if you click it larger, you will see it is covered in tiny, tiny bees! Or at least, I think it was bees, could have been flies. Every flower I saw of this type was covered in these bee-like insects. I wonder what the nectar tastes like? Editing to add that it is a Scabiosa japonica alpina, a Blue Pincushion.
And yours truly, with the pink pack again, coming up the trail!
The wind is picking up, now that we have reached Enlightenment the top, and it is getting colder. Some photos from the top: click, then click again for the largest version:
View from the trailhead.
Silvery shifting light on the ridge.
Cows!! This area produces a lot of milk, actually.
a typical Japanese eyesore in an otherwise gorgeous place. I swear, the Japanese have no sense of style sometimes. Of course, it is abandoned.
view looking south.
And the ultimate goal: the Tower of the Highlands...
This is where hubby and I part ways - the way down is much steeper, since it is by a different route, and harder on the knees. The plan is for me to go to the art museum and wait for him to pick me up a couple of hours later. So a few pics from his point of view:
The summit: and the path down...
Notice the sudden fog that has enveloped the place. It gets much, much thicker, and soon you can't see more than a couple of dozen yards or so. This really starts to make me think I am no longer in Enlightenment and have entered the Baskerville Moor. Turns out the museum is NOT the building we saw not far from the Tower. It is, in fact, over the forsaken mountain. I am alone. There is no taxi. I cannot hitchhike. The temperature is dropping rapidly. So I am left with no other choice than to climb even MORE. Through creepy fog, wondering what apparition is going to appear. In fact, I see this creepy thing on the way to the museum. It is actually a lot larger than it looks:
And there are cairns all OVER the place... wtf? I realize the path skirts the walls of the museum, because I run across this misplaced piece of Soviet art:
I finally make it to the museum grounds after feeling I have wandered onto the lot of Tarkovsky's "The Stalker" - a very disorienting experience, with these odd pieces of modern sculpture wrapped in weeds and mist. So I settle down with a hot cup of caramel tea in front of the furnace, read my book and wait for hubby. And no, I didn't take any pics of what bits of the museum I did see, because it was crap modern sculpture. Also, I was tired as hell and colder than that, and all I wanted was to be warm... But if anybody is interested, check this page.
Hubby does make it to get me, and we hurry to catch the spectacular view over the east ridge. The fog has cleared and twilight has set in, and these are the pictures:
And holy jeezus it was freezing! But despite the setbacks and serious lack of good mood on my part, I am glad I did it, because the views were so marvelous, not to be believed. And the twilight, oh the twilight! XD
One final pic, the map, which shows the 'Hundred Turns', the Tower, and the Museum (in the upper right).
It's only slightly larger if you click it.
So, about that last wrong turn... Just to point out that the ancient navigation system is only concerned with what is the - technically - SHORTEST route, not which is SAFEST. So my little sense tingles when we pass by the sign that indicates the road we came by, but we opt - stupidly - to go with the route the navi shows us. Simply put, aside from the wonder of seeing a wild deer suddenly loom out of the blackness by the side of the road, its eyes greenly glowing, it was a terrifying, twisting road in complete blackness that wound its way over the crowns of the mountains, up down up down, endlessly looping back on itself, with sheer dropoffs on one side or the other, and scared us both half to death. In daytime, I'm sure it would have been spectacular. At night? Um, not so much...
If this post is too long, tell me, and I will break it down into separate posts. But otherwise, I hope anybody reading it enjoys it!
As a follow-up to my previous post about Nishizawa Gorge, the next day we went to Utsukushigahara Highlands in Nagano prefecture. Utsukushigahara literally means "the beautiful highland", and here's a satellite view of it, with Matsumoto City on the left:
We drove down from the gorge in complete darkness that Saturday evening, and after eating a so-so meal in RED LOBSTER, of all places (pretty much any American reading this should know this restaurant), we went to a.. um, rather skeevy-looking 'business hotel' that my husband had made reservations at. I say that because I was not impressed with what I saw, and the 3-inch slab of asphalt mattress on the bed and bean-husk pillow did not help matters at all. HOWEVER... I will have to take some of that back, because the bed had an electric heating pad, and a nice hottub for the ladiez on the first floor, and their breakfast was absolutely delightful. So I will forgive them for their asphalt-for-a-bed and crackling pillows. ;) Oddly enough, my husband's legs hurt more than mine. My calves were slightly sore, but my knees were fine, and boy did I feel good after having the hottub all to myself!
After the excellent Japanese breakfast, one final soak, and coffee at Denny's, we head off. We promptly get snarled up in traffic around Matsumoto castle, and it takes us 45 minutes to figure out a way around the damned place! I am surprised to realize I have a better sense of direction than either my husband or the ancient navigation system... This, I realize later looking back, is an omen of what is going to happen the rest of the day...
The road up to the starting point was a gorgeous, winding drive through the valleys. The light was so clear, and the terraced fields of yellow, ripening rice just shone in the sun. I wish I could have gotten pictures, but there was no time, due to the road constantly winding. MORE ABOUT THAT DAMN WINDING ROAD LATER. We stop off to buy rice balls, drinks and snacks for the hike, as there is no place to eat up there.
We get to the starting point - a very innocuous, small parking lot next to a white building that functioned as the campground office. The lady there was selling wild-gathered shiitake and nameko mushroom, which looked scrumptious. This is where the day takes the second of several significant wrong turns...
My husband asks the lady where the trail begins. There is a HUGE BILLBOARD in front of the office proclaiming the beginning of the trail. The problem is, the trail is NOT marked, and there are several paths leading around. She asks which trail we are wanting to take, since there are several that start in different places. We want to take the "Path with 100 Twists", because it has the easiest slope (due, obviously, to the fact it turns back on itself a hundred times going up the mountain...) After some though, she says the trail is the steep stairway leading into the trees just across from the parking. She is indeed correct - it is the trail, with the signs indicating it facing AWAY from the road. Like who the hell has x-ray vision and can see through a wooden sign? And her final admonition - "And when the path reaches the road, be sure to follow the signs for Forest Square!" Gotcha, let's go!
The trail begins:
The color is just starting, and I love birches, of which there are plenty! :D I love looking at plants and such, and find a berry that intrigues me (playswithworms, if you're reading, maybe you can identify this?)
Click for larger, then click again for largest!
As the lady at the camp office said, the path does indeed intersect a road. I see a signpost. This is where JK's navigational system tries to warn us that we're heading the wrong way, but trusting my husband, I follow HIS lead, and we wander through a gorgeous campground for 45 minutes before... coming across a sign that indicates we're heading back to the main road... I am not the kind to spit expletives, because right now I am not feeling that way, since the campground was quite lovely and all. Husband claims he didn't see a sign to "Forest Square." My ears prick up, because up to this point I wasn't quite clear on what the first checkpoint was. I duly tell him, laughing of course, that I saw just such a sign about, oh, where the original path met the road. So back we walk, downhill this time, back to the intersection.
So off we go, in the right direction this time. We're in the forest proper now, with much thicker trees, abundant ferns, and moss all over. The path isn't always obvious, but fortunately there are pink markers tied to the trees. The river is fast and clear, and cold! Some pics!
Eventually, the path leads us across a log bridge, and into even deeper forest. Husband has the hiking map. He goes on ahead to scout, and I enjoy the sunlight, cool shadows, and the scent..! Apparently I have a sensitive nose, which is normally a good thing, because lord does the forest smell delightful!
So, after about 40 minutes or so of hiking, hubby is about 40 feet ahead, stopped at another log bridge. He is looking mighty concerned, because the other side of the bridge appears to end with a great big mound of moss-covered dirt at the other end, and no trail in sight after that. "This trail is too dangerous, we've got to go back and find the other route." I protest now, because the pink markers have been seen the whole way. I am definitely weaker than he is now, and we haven't even started the Hundred-twisting path yet. "No, honey, we have to go back. Sorry." I don't spit expletives, because that is not my style. But my mood plunges about this time, because going back means we will have put ourselves nearly two hours behind. Sure, going down is only half the time, but damn, we gotta go back UP again.
So we go down...
and go back up again...
And when we reached "Forest Square", what did I see just behind a big mound of moss-covered dirt right by the clearing...? The bridge my husband had stood on over an hour earlier, proclaiming the way 'too dangerous'. God. Damn. My mood is now becoming a dark gray shade, and I feel like I'm in Buddhist Hell, trying to find the Blessed Hundred-Twisting Path out of the darkness onto the Beautiful Highlands of Enlightenment. I mildly point out this navigational mistake to my husband, who at least had the good grace to be embarrassed... };) But several bites of chocolate later, and I decide the road to salvation is worth it. In order for us both to enjoy the hike as much as we can, I tell hubby to go ahead at his own pace, and I will see him on top. He is soon speeding far ahead of me towards Enlightenment, and I, being both slow and a shutterbug, stop to enjoy Purgatory the sights along the way.
So, enough of the chatting, since there is pretty much none after this, being alone and all, and more pics!
Obviously, click on them to see them larger, then click again for the fairly big versions.
Fall color.
Daddy-longlegs fighting each other. There was an irridescent blue-black one and a brown one, I think the blue one was trying to pull the other one under the leaf, but for what nefarious purpose I don't know...
One of the innumerable little springs along the way. Water was always trickling down all over the place, but this was one of the places where you could actually see the source. The taste was clear, slightly mineral, but so fresh!
...and the path to Enlightenment does indeed live up to its name. There are so many twists in the road it is unbelievable, and little cairns built up at every turn to guide the way, since there are also paths meant for rangers, not regular visitors. I see so many daddy-longlegs, I'm afraid to step on the little critters. Lots of spiders, actually, for such a high altitude. Saw a woodpecker, too, and the occasional hawk. Crows, and tits (the birds, folks!) Did hear a really odd sound, don't know what it was. But I am completely alone on this path. For three hours, only 6 people passed me, 4 of them a family. So even in daylight, the forest is an odd place if you're alone. Finally, the forest starts to thin out, and my god, what a view!
Just a little peek-
Then it really opens up:
Hubby finds me, and we eat our rice balls and chocolate, a veritable feast. And off he goes for Enlightenment while I still trod through Purgatory, when at last, I see the end in sight...
Those are some pretty tall cliffs, don't let the picture fool you! And a video I took from the top:
Click to viewAlso, I found this flower, which I discovered later is rather rare, and reintroduced:
It was much more blue than you see here, and if you click it larger, you will see it is covered in tiny, tiny bees! Or at least, I think it was bees, could have been flies. Every flower I saw of this type was covered in these bee-like insects. I wonder what the nectar tastes like? Editing to add that it is a Scabiosa japonica alpina, a Blue Pincushion.
And yours truly, with the pink pack again, coming up the trail!
The wind is picking up, now that we have reached Enlightenment the top, and it is getting colder. Some photos from the top: click, then click again for the largest version:
View from the trailhead.
Silvery shifting light on the ridge.
Cows!! This area produces a lot of milk, actually.
a typical Japanese eyesore in an otherwise gorgeous place. I swear, the Japanese have no sense of style sometimes. Of course, it is abandoned.
view looking south.
And the ultimate goal: the Tower of the Highlands...
This is where hubby and I part ways - the way down is much steeper, since it is by a different route, and harder on the knees. The plan is for me to go to the art museum and wait for him to pick me up a couple of hours later. So a few pics from his point of view:
The summit: and the path down...
Notice the sudden fog that has enveloped the place. It gets much, much thicker, and soon you can't see more than a couple of dozen yards or so. This really starts to make me think I am no longer in Enlightenment and have entered the Baskerville Moor. Turns out the museum is NOT the building we saw not far from the Tower. It is, in fact, over the forsaken mountain. I am alone. There is no taxi. I cannot hitchhike. The temperature is dropping rapidly. So I am left with no other choice than to climb even MORE. Through creepy fog, wondering what apparition is going to appear. In fact, I see this creepy thing on the way to the museum. It is actually a lot larger than it looks:
And there are cairns all OVER the place... wtf? I realize the path skirts the walls of the museum, because I run across this misplaced piece of Soviet art:
I finally make it to the museum grounds after feeling I have wandered onto the lot of Tarkovsky's "The Stalker" - a very disorienting experience, with these odd pieces of modern sculpture wrapped in weeds and mist. So I settle down with a hot cup of caramel tea in front of the furnace, read my book and wait for hubby. And no, I didn't take any pics of what bits of the museum I did see, because it was crap modern sculpture. Also, I was tired as hell and colder than that, and all I wanted was to be warm... But if anybody is interested, check this page.
Hubby does make it to get me, and we hurry to catch the spectacular view over the east ridge. The fog has cleared and twilight has set in, and these are the pictures:
And holy jeezus it was freezing! But despite the setbacks and serious lack of good mood on my part, I am glad I did it, because the views were so marvelous, not to be believed. And the twilight, oh the twilight! XD
One final pic, the map, which shows the 'Hundred Turns', the Tower, and the Museum (in the upper right).
It's only slightly larger if you click it.
So, about that last wrong turn... Just to point out that the ancient navigation system is only concerned with what is the - technically - SHORTEST route, not which is SAFEST. So my little sense tingles when we pass by the sign that indicates the road we came by, but we opt - stupidly - to go with the route the navi shows us. Simply put, aside from the wonder of seeing a wild deer suddenly loom out of the blackness by the side of the road, its eyes greenly glowing, it was a terrifying, twisting road in complete blackness that wound its way over the crowns of the mountains, up down up down, endlessly looping back on itself, with sheer dropoffs on one side or the other, and scared us both half to death. In daytime, I'm sure it would have been spectacular. At night? Um, not so much...
If this post is too long, tell me, and I will break it down into separate posts. But otherwise, I hope anybody reading it enjoys it!