Kamiyama to Naka, Day 4 of 8

Today I thought I was going to die. Not literally, and not in a heat stress kind-of-way. I was under tree-cover almost the entire walk which made the temperature somewhat bearable, though no less humid.

No, today I thought my legs would give out on the 900+ meter1 ascent, which in reality was 450 up one mountain, down the other side, and another 450 up the next mountain. Granted, I will admit that I am not in the best shape of my life, but by the end I was taking baby steps up the mountain, wondering if this would be my new home. Generations of pilgrims would tell tales of the bearded white guy roaming the forest, urging them to turn back lest they succumb to his fate.

But I did make it though. But barely. My apologies to the god of temple 21 for not visiting properly. I hope to some day make it up to you.

Yes, I was exhausted by the time I climbed the final stair. But more importantly, I had a bus to catch and if I missed it, I would be sitting on the side of the road for two hours, a fate I would not allow myself.

Stamp figuratively in hand, I made my way to the other side of the mountain and took the cable car down (this was not an option on the ascent from the direction I came via the previous temple), and from there walked the 15 minutes to the bus stop with plenty of time to spare.

I’m not sure if it works like this all over Japan, but at least in this area, you board the bus in the back and grab a numbered ticket. When you alight at your stop you match the number on your ticket to the number on the display at the front of the bus, and the amount underneath is how much you pay. The further you travel, the higher than number grows.

Once again, I would like to thank the Japanese for being ever so helpful to the clueless foreigner trying to navigate their transit system.

The last stop for the bus was a transfer to a minibus that took me a few minutes down the road to my accommodations for the evening, Momijigawa Onsen, which is a hot spring on the confluence of the Naka and Momiji (maple)-gawa rivers. It is well known for the autumn colors of the maple trees that line the river and grow throughout the countryside here. I think it was the heat and early enough in the year, but the foliage hadn’t yet started to turn. Still, it was a gorgeous place to spend the evening!

The onsen are usually situated in a way to increase one’s tranquility, and tonight’s was set against a large picture window of the river. If only it weren’t so hot out, I would generally love to soak longer. Even if just to stare out the window.

900 meters is equivalent to just under 3,000 feet. Or roughly 1,500 feet up to the first temple, back down 1,500 feet to lunch, and then another 1,500 feet up to the last temple before descending on the cable car. Or put another way, I walked up more than the height of the Burj Khalifa.