The Japanese word satoyama describes the border between farm land and the foothills of the mountains. We’re lucky to live in a satoyama region, full of plants, animals and geography unique to our little area.
The diversity of the geography makes for some truly amazing hikes. We’ve done some great ones in the last year and a half, but we’re still finding beautiful new land to conquer.
This past week we were fortunate to find a hike in nearby Ogawa that took us through the farms, mountains and shopping streets of this little town in the foothills of the Okuchichibu Mountains. Special thanks to a detailed post at Chaobang’s Travelsfor providing excellent directions on the five-mile trek.
We were amazed by some of the fruits we came across on the hike. Persimmons are a popular fruit tree in our area. Many homes in our neighborhood have them growing in their yards and it is definitely persimmon season right now. But we also came across some unexpected fruit (pineapples and kiwi!?) as well as some mystery fruits, including akebe—a pod-like fruit that only has a two-week growing season.
Click any photo in the gallery to see a larger version and start a slideshow view.
One of a hundred persimmon trees we saw during our hike.
A pomegranate tree. We may or may not have snagged one of these.
Pineapple? Seriously? The owner came out of his house to see what we were up to.
Eating Japanese pears is one of the reasons we were put on this Earth.
A mikan (mandarin oranges) tree is getting ready to produce its winter harvest. All of the mikans were still green.
This one was a mystery. It appears to be an akebi tree, which only has a two-week fruiting season in early fall. The pods were already dried out in the first week of October.
Kiwis. We’d never seen a kiwi tree before.
The figs weren’t quite ripe yet either. They’ll be delicious!
It was a quiet day on the trail despite the perfect weather. We’ve reached the time of year where it’s hot in the sun, but the chill of autumn greets you in the shade. We had plenty of both along the way.
Click any photo in the gallery to see a larger version and start a slideshow view.
The lonely train track near Tōbu Takezawa Station was a hint of the peaceful, quiet day ahead of us.
Fall flowers are in full bloom right now, balancing the changing colors of the season with pops of color. These were growing near one of the Ogawa (小川) city markers.
The glorious colors of the fall flowers on our walk through the neighborhood leading to the hiking course.
First stop was for lunch at Sanno Shrine. A pretty good view.
Ten’ō-ike (天王池), or the “pond of the heavenly king” greeted us at the beginning of the hiking trail.
A crystal clear day coupled with perfectly still water created amazing reflections in Ten’ō-ike.
Hiking through the forest on Kannokura Mountain.
The summit of Kannokura Mountain. We met three Japanese hikers up here who chatted with us and gave us directions to the next peak.
Looking out over Ogawa from the summit of Sekison-san, a smaller mountain just a short walk from Kannokura.
Descending from Sekison-san was a little bit technical and required a chain guide to traverse the rocky slope. At the bottom, the chain was attached to a tree trunk. Old hiking shoes were used as a buffer to prevent the chain from damaging the tree. Another reason why I love Japan.
This cute Akita—Mimi—was hard at work protecting his chicken buddy.
Several fields had these cool makeshift windmills made from bamboo poles, wire hangers and old water bottles cut into sails.
We walked through a beautiful and mature bamboo forests. Even in Kyoto we’d never seen bamboo this big.
Chōfuku-ji temple was empty except for an electric car charging near the front door. Old meets new once again.
An accidental find. While looking for Hachiman Shrine, we came across Anhachiman, a tomb complex built into a mound under a large tree. An inscription on the tomb shows it was built in 1278. The identity of the tomb’s resident is unknown.
The grounds of Hachiman Shrine which dates back to the Kamakura shogunate of the early 1200s.
The torii (gate) for Hachiman Shrine. This would be a pretty cool lawn decoration.
The old ivy-covered red brick chimney at Harekumo Sake Brewing is an Ogawa landmark.
Three bottles of locally-made sake. Easily the best sake we’ve had in Japan.
For the last week, there’s been a sweet smell in the air reminiscent of apricots. Are there fruit trees in bloom? Is there some sort of autumn perfume that everyone is wearing?
Turns out, the smell comes from the blossoms of the kinmokusei, or the gold osmanthus. The bright orange flowers and their glorious scent mark the unofficial beginning of fall in Japan.
The blossoms of the kinmokusei. We’ve passed this ordinary green shrub a hundred times, but only now is it demanding attention
The flower is used in various fragrances, including deodorizers and perfumes. They’re so prevalent in our neighborhood that you rarely turn a corner without encountering the olfactory candy known as kinmokusei.
