It is true, misty mountains, with a thin layer of fog just in the right place, may be a stereotypical image of Japan. Nonetheless, they are real. Images of these serene and somewhat mystical mountains probably come to the mind of many people when I say I’m spending time in a remote mountain area of Japan. They are a constant presence here, and sometimes very dramatic. Yesterday, after the rain stopped, there was a magic feel to the mountains above the Mazegawa; fog surrounded them, raised above the stream and made me feel as if I were in a movie set. I stopped the car and tried getting some good pictures. The fact that in my car I had a cd playing traditional flute music definitely helped set the mood.
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2 Responses to Tenkara in Misty Mountains
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Daniel,
Beautiful countryside! You must be traveling the trails of the ancient mountain samurai and yama-boshi. I can imagine them stopping to drink from those waters. Have you come across any temples or shrines in the mountains? If you do, I hope you’ll make a photo. Thanks for posting regularly. Continued good luck on your great adventure!
-Jack
Hey Jack,
There are some gorgeous shrines in the mountains. Temples, in my opinion, get a bit boring after you’ve seen many of them, but mountain shrines always continue to hold a powerful feeling to them. My favorite has been in the mountains around Itoshiro. I visited it for my 3rd time this year and it’s gorgeous with a beautiful river. I believe its site was selected and a small shrine setup over 800 years ago. The current large shrine has been there for 200+ years. Here are some pictures:
Bridge to the Shrine:
Large Shrine picture 1.
Large Shrine picture 2.
Another nice one was near Nikko, I visited it two years ago. This was a picture next to it: Large Shrine picture 3.