I lead the Mountain Spirits tour this September. We had as usual quite an international group. Paul and Kim from the UK, Carlos from Spain, Anne from the US, Caroline from Australia, and Anthony and Ommar also from the UK. Japan had seen one its hottest summers on record, but as the group et at the end of September the temperatures started to fall – thankfully!
One of the highlights for everyone was the walking in Oze, the wetland area high in the mountains north of Tokyo. Our cosy lodge ‘Chozo Goya’ served freshly-ground coffee in the evening, and we sat around the wood-burning stove trading stories. Anthony found the ¥2000 bottle of Italian wine much to his liking, while Carlos enjoyed the ‘Aki-aji’ (autumn flavour) beer more to his taste. The next day we left early and walked around the northern edge of Oze-numa lake, arriving at a small wooden resthouse at 7.30am. It was a surreal moment, drinking fresh coffee and donuts high in the mountains while gazing at the sun reflecting on the lake.
We hiked out of Oze, and took a series of buses, ferries across a dammed lake, and more buses to our hot spring ryokan. Only in Japan could this amazing bus and ferry journey go without a hitch. The bus dropped us at a small lakeside pier, and 5 minutes later a small ‘ferry’ came around the corner to pick us up. It deposited us 50 minutes later at the top of a huge dam, and a bus came to pick us up there 10 minutes later. We arrived at Tochio-mata hot spring 45 minutes later, just in time for dinner. Grilled char, salmon baked in foil, tempura, and an assortment of other dishes made up the evening meal, washed down with beer and sake.
At Mount Gas-san in Yamagata prefecture we climbed to the summit of the mountain in dense cloud. Unluckily for us it was clear the day before and the day after, but that didn’t dampen everyone’s spirits. We enjoyed our lunch during a (quick) stop at the top, an then headed down. The cloud parted at times to give us a tantalizing glimpse of the autumn colours. The heather was a deep red and we could briefly see to the coast.
Another highlight was the Tono Valley, or more specifically the Magariya guest house. Run by a father and his two grown up children, the small guesthouse (5 rooms), had been in their family for generations. The father had found the house, owned by relatives, had been abandoned and asked them whether he could take it over. After they agreed, he took the house apart beam by beam, and brought it to its present location. Magariya are local traditional farm houses in the shape of the letter ‘L’. He serves locally-grown vegetables, fish and tofu, but not red meat. In the evening the ‘master’ made a smal fire in the ‘irori’ (sunken hearth), and we put on our cotton ‘yukata’ robes to enjoy the meal and some local beer.
The next day was perfect, a crisp autumn day, warm in the sun and just perfect for a slow cycle on the country roads of the valley. We passed by farmers out harvesting rice, children walking home from school, and cats sunning themselves. I always enjoy the Tono Valley, because its people have a real pride in their home, and it’s one of those places you feel you yourself have discovered. No tourist buses, no queues, and no hype to live up to!
Our next stop was Nyuto Hot Spring, in neighbouring Akita Prefecture. We spent an evening there enjoying the eight milky-white baths, Carlos taking endless photographs. Nobody quite believe I knew where I was going when we turned off the main road onto the small ‘track’ to get to the hot spring. It was so perfectly hidden deep in the forest.
Our last stop was Kakunodate, former castle town and feudal stronghold. Several of us enjoyed the cherry-blossom flavour soft ice cream, before we head back to the big city. Another enjoyable trip to the wonderful north of Japan.
