Japan & Jeju Island 2014: Day 6 - Kyoto to the Kiso Valley.

Today we drove from Kyoto to a small village in the Kiso Valley, arriving around lunch time. The Kiso Valley is part of (or close to) what some folks call the "Japanese Alps". It was also recommended by Rough Guides, and the idea is to hike from one cute little village (Magome) to another (Tsumago) via a 4-hour hike and a mountain pass.
Magome Side
We got a close-up look at a bit of rice-growing action on the edge of town. The town itself was very cute, and steep. Almost every building facing the path was a tourist shop or restaurant, although a lot of the tourist wares looked quite artisanal...wood carvings, pottery and the like. So, as touristy as it was, and as crowded with bus-going tourists, it was still pretty interesting, and the setting was very nice.

Actual rice, actually growing.

Harvested rice

Inspirational artwork at the local highschool

A fish ladder on the nearby brook.

Magome

Oh, there was another nice temple close to the town, too. Also, a nice view.

This is another thing found at almost every temple...a huge bell with a log that you can swing into it. I think for believers, you can help yourself to a swing or two before going into the temple.

The Hike
The trail was very pleasant. A bit steep and sun-exposed at the beginning but it got us to the pass before too long and then it was all downhill, and a bit more gentle and shady. It crossed a road at several points but was generally serene and offered a few different foresty environments and sights...

Exotic dragonflies (or maybe damselflies) doing exotic things to each other.

A little water mill.

hmmm...bears in Japan. I was not aware.

Another wee temple, but quite derelict except for the gates.

Wood Buddha

About half way between the pass and Tsumago there was an old farm house turned into a rest stop and manned by a local volunteer who was both super-friendly and served us tea. The stop had some interesting farming gadgets for processing rice, making rope from the fibre, and so on. Also, the kettle set-up with the fish over it was interesting, and apparently a not uncommon motif...

A device for gettin' the grains out (is that threshing?).

A fibre rope maker.

The ol' fish kettle (?)

The rest of the descent towards Tsumago was equally pleasant with new types of forest, waterfalls, flowers and such...

More of those nice red spider lilies

Some canopy action.

Tsumago

Finally. Lookin' out over the Tsumago valley.

Horrors on the edge of town.

More horrors.

It was dusk as we entered town and most places had curled up for the night, but it was still a quaint place and worthy of an afternoon hike, for certain.

Walking through Tsumago we met an older (our age) Japanese Couple that had been hiking on Mt. Ontake that day, the day it erupted, killing more than 30 hikers. It wasn't known that there was a death toll at this point, as it was just an ashy eruption. The two we met were fortunate, and the lady still had ash in her hair. They'd come to Tsumago looking for fall-back accommodation.
Next stop was a Ryokan (traditional Japanese Inn), Sansui Oyada, that we'd booked for the night. This included the full traditional treatment with taking the shoes off, wearing two-toed socks, walking around in our yukata (like a light kimono, for wearing in the evening), bathing in a public pool under the stars (sans yukata, if you know what I mean...), a 6-7 course meal of delicious food, sleeping on futons laid out on tatami mats, and being unable to communicate effectively with all but one of the staff. Again, the hosts were very patient and the dojo shaming on our part was kept to a minimum (as far as we know)...although at one point we realized that Carolyn and I had walked into the dining with our slippers on so we had to spirit them out after we were done.