I went out on another excursion with the ladies I inherited from Rob last Friday; this time we went hiking in Nara. I men Tanikawa, Zeze, and Takahashi in Tennoji Station at 9:15 — which was not all that bad, but considering it was my dy off ’twas a grumbly time to me. But I’d managed to get someone to substitute my private lessons that night and I really do like hiking.
I got to the meeting place a bit early, if anything because I don’t know Tennoji very well and I knew that the train we needed to catch wasn’t very frequent so I wanted to make doubly sure I was on time. Zeze and Takahashi were already there when i arrived and Tanikawa was not long after me. Yay for being early!
Just like last time, Zeze pressed a Kansai Card into my hand to use — this type was good for all transportation in Osaka except the JR, which was pretty five-by-five with me ‘cuz i don’t really used the JR that much. We had some time to kill before our train arrived so the ladies used this time to give me peach juice, two snack bags filled with rice cracker type goodies, and my lunch bento.
The train ride to Nijozan was only about half an hour on the Kintetsu. I think that is definitely something I love about Japan, I’m never very far away from a hiking course. I contented myself with looking out the window while the ladies chatted around me. Every once in a while, Tanikawa would tell me about various station name origins. One place was known for its grape crop, as evident by the vineyards we passed; and “Komagatani” was once famouse for its horses. It was with this station that I learned that tani means valley (”Komagatani” means “Horse Valley”). I was pretty excited about this because I was able to translate things like “Tanimachi” (as in “Tanimachi 9-chome) into “Valley Town” and “Tanikawa” as “Valley River”. I was also really glad to take this train ride with the ladies because we had to do this weird transfer thing at Furuichi Station where half the train (the half we were on) was left behind but the other part continued on. I’ll have to remember that when I go back.
When we got to our destination, we were about the only people to get off. The place was similar to Akameguchi in that it was a quiet little station in the “country side”. The ladies took a bathroom break and then we acquired maps of the course. We had to pass through the little town before reaching the beginning of the trail.
It was a fine day for hiking, it was a bit warm but not intolerable. The start of the hike took us through a lovely bit of forest with a babbling stream cascading beside it. When I saw that I knew I made a mistake not taking my camera with me. (I’ll definitely remedy that the next time.)
It didn’t seem like too strenuous of a hike. There were some bits that had steps, but they were natural-looking, not quite so obviously man-made as Fushimi Inari. We took a few breaks here and there, but it wasn’t too taxing. The ladies took to the trail a bit slowly so they told me to go on ahead as I pleased. I happily bounded up the trail, as VoW and Yoss can attest to, I am quite the bounder. “Hayai!” they all exclaimed. (”Fast”)
At one of the “viewing points” we were able to look out into the valley. It was pretty cool, and again, I kicked myself for not taking me Da’s camera. I don’t get views like that very often. Tanikawa pulled out a map and she and Takahashi tried to suss out which city we were looking at while Zeze tried to tell me about the local plants. We still hadn’t made it to the first peak, so we continued on our merry way. I think one of the greatest parts of the whole thing were all the signs along the way that read “Gambaru”, something like “Good luck” or “chin up”.
Nijozan consists of two peaks; the taller translates to something like “male peak” and the other is the “female peak”. The “male peak” has a shrine dedicated to a “tragic monk” who apparently got caught up in some political coup involving the emperor and was hence killed for it. We visited his tomb and paid our respects at the nearby shrine. It was here that we saw the another hiker for the first time. During the majority of the ascent, we seemed to be the only ones on the course.
It was decided that it was time to eat, so as we started our way down, we kept a look out for a suitable picnic spot. The way down involved more stairs, only these were a bit more deliberate in that they were planks of wood to make the steep decline more manageable instead of the natural looking ones we took on the way up. At the base of the peak there were several stone benches that we claimed as our tables.
The bentos were wrapped up in newspaper and plastic which turned out to be our picnic blankets. I actually thought that was pretty ingenious — I’d have never thought of such a thing. Tanikawa had been kind enough to make mine for me (I was seriously just gonna eat the granola bars I’d brought) which included four onigiri, cod roe, green beans and some type of white fish. The first of the onigiri I had was all right, it didn’t really have a particularly strong taste of anything; I think Tanikawa said it was “katsu bonita”, bonita is apparently a type of fish. The other was umeboshi, which is a type of pickled plum and Hellooooo flavor! It was a bit assaulting to the palate, but I’m glad I got to try it ‘cuz it’s a really popular type of food in Japan. (I can’t say I’ll ever go out of my way to eat it again…) Zeze came by and gave me two mandarin oranges and Takahashi brought over some “young bamboo”.
While we ate, another hiker (possibly the same guy we saw at the top of the peak) started coming down the path. He had a long walking stick with him and just like the Akameguchi course, he cheerfully called out a greeting. The ladies took this opportunity to chat with the fellow and suss out which was the best way to get to the second peak…at least, I guessed that was what they were talking about. I wasn’t really listening…that and my Japanese ain’t so good. As their conversation continued, it became pretty clear that there was more to it than directions. At least, I kinda guessed as much when the gestures became more elaborate. Tanikawa interpreted some of this to me and explained that mijozan was once a volcano and that the rocks were unique. They were actually more like the rocks found on Mount Fuji. (I made a mental note to mention this to Kat since she’s got a thing for volcanoes.) The fellow went on his merry way shortly thereafter.
We finished up our lunch and happened to be by the only toilet on the course. The ladies took advantage of this opportunity and again urged me to do the same. Again, I declined. Mostly ‘cuz I didn’t have to use it and also because I’m not one for public bathrooms let alone squatters.
The ascent to the second peak was actually much shorter than I anticipated. In fact, from our position, it was just a little further up and took us maybe fifteen minutes. On the trail up, we were overlooking Osaka City. I’d never seen Osaka City from such a vantage point and I’m not gonna lie, I was impressed by the site. It was no Chicago Skyline, but it was definitely something to see. (I must admit, I was amused by the fact that I could hear construction in the distance.)
At the top of the second peak, we saw two more hikers. There was also a giant sundial constructed (or was it donate) by the International Rotary Club. We ended up taking a picture by the sign. The fellow who took the picture was something of a veteran hiker. I guess he takes the course frequently from what Tanikawa had told me. He took us back to the other side of the peak closer to the view of the city and pointed out some things to use. I guess on a clearer day, you can see Kansai International Airport and Awaji Island (sadly, it had rained the night before and some clouds and mist still lingered over the bay). Like with the walking-stick fellow, they engaged in conversation about the area and the like and once again, I was content to just chill and take in the sights.
After a bit, we decided to begin our descent. The picture taking chap bid us good-bye and then seemed to just tear down the trail. I was impressed. The ladies said I probably could have kept up with him, but I had my doubts. Maybe if I had proper shoes… (I made the hike in my Sketchers since my runners got trashed on Fujisan and I have yet to buy new ones.)
Part of the way down, we were able to check out another shrine type thing. It was tucked away in this kind of recessed cave and fenced off. I guess it was a shrine to a local god.
We had to go back up the way we came from after seeing this shrine in order to take the proper trail down. This was probably the most interesting part of the whole course. It was a really smooth-rock type trail, narrow, and nestled in the rocks themselves. Just by looking at it, I’d figure it to be an off-trail. Lucky for me, I was with Japanese reading people. Again, I kicked myself for the whole lack of camera.
When we reached the bottom of this narrow and forested trail, we came upon one of the other temples that was outlined on the map. Much like the monk’s tomb, it was kind of quiet. Tanikawa explained that this temple often has purple flowers blooming in Spring. We took another picture by the stone torii gate and went on our way.
Much like the misadventures in Fushimi Inari, the end of this trail brought us to a paved road. It kind of brought me out of the whole hiking mentality, but there were still more trees than where I live. While we followed the road, we passed a bit of a bend and heard a noise; it startled us. Turns out, we inadvertently interrupted a cat’s nap. It was a gray kitty and it didn’t seem overly disgruntled or vicious and it let us pass without incident. It just meowed at us as we passed. Me being me, I naturally meowed back.
We seemed to be nearing civilization ‘cuz we saw a fishing area populated with some folk — and the vending machine on the dock was also a dead giveaway. ‘Twas as we were coming upon the fishing hole that we heard a meowing behind us. I turend to find gray kitty trotting down the street behind us! I paused and meowed back, but then I noticed another person coming down the street. Gray kitty must have also realized this and dashed back into the woods.
I thought that was the last we would see of gray kitty, but not long after passing the fishing hole, I heard meowing again. Gray kitty was once again trotting down the street after us. This time I stopped, and so did gray kitty. I walked a little bit and gray kitty followed. I gestured for gray kitty to hurry up and meowed, but I don’t think I was speaking the right dialect of kitty. I was sad to have to catch up to the others and once again leave gray kitty behind. Tanikawa said I was very good at mimicking a cat’s voice. (Personally, I think anyone can do it.) I won’t lie, I held out hope that I’d see gray kitty again, but we were coming to another populated area and this one had cars and barking dogs. I had resolved, however, that if gray kitty called out again, I would wait or go back. I couldn’t help but smile at the old saying “It followed me home.”
I did not see gray kitty a third time.
We passed another small body of water; this one reminded me of the small pond near one of my university chum’s place in Downs, near Bloomington-Normal. It looked more like a swimming hole or something. We could see a town just a bit aways in the distance. We took a short break by the crossroads; I kept watching the street for gray kitty.
We picked up walking again after the brief rest and came upon a wooden structure. The ladies had a hard time explaining what it was and its significance. I guess it was designed during the Edo Period by a fellow whose emblem was represented by “hon” — the kanji that often means “book”. In Japanese, they referred to the structure as “kasa” which means “umbrella”, but it was “obviously not umbrella” as Tanikawa put it.
After looking at the umbrella that was not an umbrella, we moved on to Taimadera Temple. It wasn’t like right there and did involve going through a parking lot. Tanikawa explained that this temple is a very popular place to visit in Spring and is famous for its peonies. We ended up entering the grounds the back way and had to walk through it to the front. Again, we were pretty much the only people there. I figured we probably could have walked around without anyone noticing — I later discovered this would not have been possible because when we passed the ticket booth on the way out, I noticed the surveillance equipment. The temple grounds were actually quite expansive, unfortunately, we did not have time to explore it all.
We headed to the station not long after looking around. It was pretty much a straight shot down the street from the temple’s entrance.
It was a really good hike and I was glad to have spent it with the ladies. I plan on going back some time soon, this time, with me Da’s camera. Who knows, maybe on my next trip there I’ll find a gray kitty, too.
