Sunday, December 7, 2014

2014 Autumn Colors Walk Day 6 Ogori to Ubeshinkawa


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There is a main road that goes the whole way to where I am heading to today but instead I choose to take the old Sanyo-do. Even though it is windy and therefore longer it is far more preferable as the road has little traffic and plenty of older houses and shrines etc. There were a lot of previously thatched houses and shrines in the area, though they all had the thatch covered up with tin. I stopped at a big Hachimangu and took a break and eat brunch.

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A little later I joined up with a main road and a couple of kilometers along I was stopped by two plain clothes cops!!!! Some old biddy in one of the villages I passed through must have phoned them about my suspicious activity:- walking while foreign. At least they did not give me the third degree like I have had before. It starts to rain so I stop to put on my waterproof and while checking my map and gps realize I am on the wrong road. Not to worry, Googlemaps has this marked as a secondary route so its quicker to go on rather than backtrack. After climbing I take a side road that is quiet and forested. Apparently I am passing through one of the numerous golf courses that dot the country.

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And then another disconcerting experience...... the road ceases to exist. This is something that has happened to me many times. At some point there was a road but no more. Its raining more heavily now so I retire to a farm outbuilding to ponder my options. As the rain eases I decide to backtrack and dejectedly trudge uphill to the main road. As I come down the slope and take a left on a busier road the rain stops.

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Once I get into Ubeshinkawa I cut across to the pilgrimage temple Sorin-ji. I am not expecting much so I am really surprised to discover it has a wonderful garden. It is almost dusk and in sunlight it would have been more impressive, but it ends up being the silver lining on a cloudy day.

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2 comments:

  1. Jake, I've been following your blog now for the best part of a year and your images never fail to amaze me. You have the knack of capturing the right moment and this is evident in this post. Keep up the great work.

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