Shosenkyo - rock formations

We followed the track that runs along side the gorge past bridges, a vegetable patch, shrines, a temple and soba shops.  There were a few cars around, the track will be closed to cars on weekends in a couple of weeks until the end of autumn, and a few other walkers.   Inexplicably, most people walking were opting to go uphill.... unsurprisingly perhaps, they seemed oblivious to the beauty as they pushed upwards.  Towards the end of the path, when the battery and memory card were low, the river was full of intriguing rock formations.   I remember being in Yixing in China and the guide was pointing out 'rabbit rock',  'dragon rock' , 'bear rock' and I could't make out any of them.  Japan too has a tendency to find similarities between the form of rocks and other objects, and there were signs marking 'big budha rock', 'cat rock', among others.

Hiro could see the similarities  immedicately. But for the first time I remember, I could make out most of them too.  There is a rock quiz following, of the non musical variety.

 :) A is tricky.  D requires Japanese cultural knowledge.

Rocks in the gorge

Rocks in the gorge

What is it A?

Hint - it's an animal

What is it B?

Hint - it's food.

What is it C?

Hint - it is neither an animal nor food.

What is it D?

Answers

1. Camel rock (the head is the LHS rock - with the humps on the RHS)

2. Tofu rock

3. Canon rock

4. Eboshi rock  (a traditional Japanese hat)

Shosenkyo Gorge

Back down the ropeway, which looks down on the Arakawa dam, to the town at the bottom, aptly named Shosenkyo taki ue. (above the waterfalls of Shosenkyo). The town seems to owes its existence to the ropeway;  the shops mostly sell locally mined crystals to tourists.   As we weren't looking to buy crystals, we made our way to the walking track that runs beside the river through Shosenkyo Gorge. Despite being early spring, and lacking in foliage, it was quite beautiful; there was an elegant pink blossom, that I have on good authority is a type of bauhinia, which added colour to the path.

 

                                

Crystals
  (which I suspect is really quartz. They did have clear crystal too.)

A crystal shrine

Behind the waterfall

People often leave small coins in mountain

crevices  or other places that are

deemed spiritual.

Shosenkyo Gorge

Rocks in Shosenkyo Gorge.

Bauhinia blossoms

 

          In a small clearing by the river, a high fence has been put

around a vegetable patch to keep out wild pigs.

Pink bauhinia blossoms by the river

Shosenkyo foliage

A trip to Kofu: the end of seishun 18 kippu season. p.1

Tokyo's cherry blosssoms have mostly blown away, the seishun 18 kippu sesason has finished and classes for the new academic year have just begun.
With two uses left on the seishun juu hachi (18) kippu,  we decided on a Saturday trip to Kofu in Yamanshi prefecture, just west of Tokyo.  Sleep deprivation accumulated through the week meant a 7 am start was definitely preferable to a catching the first train of the day around 5am.
A train to Shinjuku, a rapid to Takao, and then a local train to Kofu had us there in about 3 hours.  I'd expected that an early morning trip out of Tokyo would have meant few passengers; between private school students who still have Saturday classes and retirees dressed in hiking gear, the train was more crowded than I imagined and we stood part of the way between Takao and Kofu. At Kofu station it was apparent that many passengers, including a group of Chinese students, were using seishun 18 kippu.
Kofu isn't really on the foreigners tourist circuit, though  with stunning views of Mt Fuji and Shosenkyo Gorge,  I'm surprised it's not better known. Hiro had already checked the bus times to Shosenkyo  and we had enough time to supplement the  ume boshi  onigiri I had made in the morning.

The bus went through Kofu and up a narrow winding mountain road and we got off at the terminal station where there was a ropeway.  I suspect Asia contains the vast majority of the world's ropeways... where there is a mountain there shalt be a ropeway. It puzzles me that Mt Fuji has remained ropway free - I guess it's too high and would only be accessible a couple of months of the year.   Against our better judgement we decided to see what there was to see at the top.  The view was pretty, though we couldn't see Mt Fuji.  The shrine and the like on top were a bit tired and tacky - toss some money into a collection box, beat the two sticks of the taiko drum at the same time and good luck would be yours for a long time.... A short wander from the ropeway up was a car road up to the summit... hmmmm...(something that always leave one feeling a bit duped) 

But the view from up top was pretty, and we didn't feel it a waste of time;  on a clearer day I imagine it would be spectacular.

View from the top

Looking down on the Arakawa dam

The shrine to the Taiko drum

The top of the ropeway

Bus times from Kofu to Shosengyo http://yamanashikotsu.co.jp/noriai/timetable01.htm