Japan

Chokkai san

(Chokkai seems to be more commonly spelt as Chokai but the kk like the ss of Gassan indicates that there is a kind of glottal stop in the middle of the word so it sounds like Chaw//kai not Chaaawkaaiii and Gu//san not Gusaaan).

From Kisakata we climbed up the road that winds up Chokkai san from the Yamagata side. Despite the haze, the view was spectacular. Government efforts to have people spending money by lowering road tolls and having a five day holiday were working well if the cars in the carpark there were any guide. There were cars from literally all over Japan. We saw vehicles from every region (except Okinawa obviously as it is closer to Taiwan and has no bridge joining it to the main islands): neighbouring prefectures, Kanto, Kansai, southern parts of the Japan sea coast, Hiroshima & surrounds, Shikoku, as well as Hokkaido. Hiro had never seen such an array of differently plated cars in Tohoku - even in Tokyo the number of Tokyo plates dilutes the rest considerably.

We started climbing from the Akita side, with no intention to climb the 8 km one way to the summit. Hiro has been here many times, and had memories of a lake part way up - we climbed for a distance but upon being told it was a steep 4km hike from the carpark made a unanimous decision to skip the lake. 8kms isn't so far but becomes a lot further when it's steep and you haven't eaten much.

We went back down and had a late lunch at a michi no eki - kind of travellers rest / farmers market - before setting off into Akita. We spent Tues in Odate before making a gruelling 9 hour trip back to Tokyo! Fortunately we avoided traffic congestion of all description and it wasn't 12 hours :)

Chokkai san

Chokkai san in late March.

Kisakata

From the waterfalls on the way up to Mt Chokkai we made our way to Kisakata, perhaps 20 mins away, in Akita prefecture. On the seashore at Kisakata are a series of carvings made by a Yamagata based Zen Buddhist monk at the beginning of Meiji era (1864-68 they were made). There were 16 carved, I didn't count to see if any have been worn away. They are quite impressive. I'd not heard of them before though; an internet search in English brings up nothing and in Japanese not a whole lot.

It's a pity Tohoku doesn't market itself better. Part of the problem is a distinct snobbery to the region from the major cities. Traditionally Tohoku people are considered backward and dim - American movies that have illbred, illeducated rednecks will have their voice dubbed in a thick Tohoku dialect.

People from Osaka tend to take pride in their regional dialect, whereas Tohoku people, on moving to Tokyo will quickly eliminate any trace of it.

Things may be starting to change though as people Japanese people become nostalgic for old Japan. In Tohoku conspicious foreigners are few in number (there are many arranged marriages of rural Chinese and Filippina to Tohoku farmers but they tend to prioritise assimiliating), there are mountains, onsen, and traditional foods.

It would be nice if Japan could take up the Italian example and have every one embracing their region and speaking their own dialect with pride, as well as speaking the standard language. The difference in different dialects used to be the point where a person with a strong Tohuku dialect and a person with a strong Kyushu dialect (the most southern of the 4 major islands) would be mutually unintelligible. communication between old dialects was almost complete. Hiro 's oldest uncle, who grew up 20 minutes away from Hiro speaks dialect so strongly that Hiro understands at best 80% of what he is saying! Realistically though I don't see any kind of revival of dialects coming - they are becoming less strong and less widespread. Language is one way of enforcing national unity, something the Chinese govt. appreciates.

Waterfalls - ichi no taki, ni no taki

We continued along the road to a place where a walking track to ichi no taki and ni no taki (taki being waterfall) was marked. According to the map it was about a 3 hour hike to the top of Mt Chokkai, though it would be an unorthodox way to get there - most people drive closer to the summit and approaching it from the Akita side. We were satisfied with walking along the walking path that ran along a mountain stream with periodic waterfalls for about 45 mins or so, and opted not to branch of along a much less frequently used track that would have taken us to the summit. It is said that climbing Chokkai san that there is no need to carry a water bottle as water is so abundant on the mountain. After venturing along this path, I have no reason to doubt it.

The water was very cold, good for trout fishing but miserable for swimming. I am a wimp for water that is at sub-tropical temperatures, but even Hiro thinks it would be unsuitable for swimming all year round. (I assume the last of the snow here would melt here in June /July.)

Waterfalls

At the tourist centre in Sakata we saw information about a waterfall where there were separate left and right falls that both originated as springs but the water had different tastes. The cynic in me had visions of someone standing behind it pouring chili into one stream and pepper in the other, but I was genuinely very curious. It turned out to be not far from the place we were staying so after and early breakfast we got on the road to see it.

The sign to the waterfall had a warning about bears next to it and despite briefly regretting not buying a bear warning bell that a hawker tried to sell us in Zao onsen, we followed the track in the waterfall.

As would be expected, a shrine had been built in between the two falls. It was simple and wooden, very much in keeping with the surrounds. I couldn't taste much difference in the water from each side, but they were a different temperature. Hiro could detect a difference, but explaining it was not so simple (he must need to do a wine tasting course to build up his store of adjectives ;) )

For something that is quite a curiousity, it was a surprise that there was no-one else there. It presumably is reasonably popular. If you look at the last picture, you can see piping has been set up to make it easy for people to do a comparison in water tastes. While the practicality is laudable, it really doesn't enhance the beauty of the area. Hiro, with his tongue in his cheek, calls it 'Asian courteousy' - every good mountain deserves a ropeway. ;)