(Subtitle: That Time I Almost Rekt Myself Again )
If you're a longtime reader, you may remember that two years ago I tried to hike up to a waterfall. Emphasis on tried, because some dumbass went up the wrong trail. Originally I didn't plan to rectify that this go-round because I've become fairly lazy and also, I'm pink-blooded, which I'll probably explain some other time. Then I started looking around the Arashiyama area, and realized I actually did want to hike that mother, particularly when I realized that I could take a single bus all the way to Kiyotaki. That was my early roll-out I was trying to manage Tuesday - which probably I shouldn't have been quite so cloak-and-daggers about, I had a couple of worst-case scenario moments when I realized nobody would have a clue where to find my body - but believe it or not, I made it.
I had Google maps plot out the bus route and watched my phone as I got closer and closer. Finally we pulled into the last bus stop and as I hopped off the bus I clicked on the x that marked the spot (or, you know, the star, because Google Maps doesn't have an x), and hit the directions button. And waited. AND waited. And looked up at the mountains surrounding me on all sides. This was when I realized that I didn't have service, and would have to rely on my wits. Which admittedly are not what they used to be.
That said, I have a damn good memory, and I'd looked at the course relatively recently, so I figured I might actually be okay. I'd just stick beside the river until I got to a trail that seemed to go toward the star that I could at least see on Maps. It didn't take long, though, to realize my lack of directions might not be my only problem. Remember the other day how I said the typhoon had done enough damage to call off the Kurama Hi Matsuri? Well, they didn't make that shit up. Trees were down all over the place. The first time the trail split, there was caution tape (aka, keep out if you know what's good for you), and although I was afraid that was the trail I needed, I took my chances on the main trail, marveling at the amount of work it must have taken to clear it. Of course, it was too good to last, and I eventually came to a couple of trees leaning against power lines.
All those deeply ingrained childhood warnings about falling trees and power lines were yelling at me to turn around. You'll be glad to know I ignored them. Unless, of course, you're one of my parents, in which case, hell, you've had plenty of time to get used to my dumbassery.
I finally got to a turning I could take, and referred to Google Maps to see roughly which direction the star was. It seemed pretty close and to the west. If that hadn't been my clue, there was a stream trickling down from that direction, and a family of tanuki was watching me from the side of the trail. I was pretty sure I was going to make my mark.
Up to this point the hike had been - as Shaggy and I (on separate occasions) had proclaimed to our sainted mother about other hikes - "not that bad." It was vaguely uphill, but paved the whole way. I hadn't stopped to rest at all, and I'm not really in good shape. As I branched off from the main path...well, it still wasn't that bad, but it was definitely uphill. And the further along I got, the more trees were fallen all over the place. Probably they hadn't gotten around to putting the caution tape up. Maybe they didn't think they needed to, that nobody would be dumb enough to go trekking up to the waterfall given the condition of the rest of the forest. Isn't it nice to surpass people's expectations???
Eventually I came to a stone torii and a couple of buildings that looked like they'd been abandoned long before the typhoon hit. A bit beyond that I crested the top of the final staircase and found what I'd come looking for - Kuuya-no-taki, a mystical place where a waterfall rushes over the edge of a cliff behind a little shrine. Standing in front of the gate, I felt a breeze coming from the force of the water, cooling me off from my hike. It seemed like the kind of waterfall my master would tell me to stand under as I trained to awaken my yokai powers. (No, I didn't try it. There was a rope at the bottom of the torii barring the way, and since I hadn't mentioned to anyone that I was planning to go there I figured I'd pushed my luck enough).
I did, on the other hand, drag Yato out of my backpack for a quick photoshoot. I'm not 100% happy with him - the clothes are fine but the fleece I had when I started him wasn't very good and I didn't really like the way his hair turned out. That said, the damage he and Yukine did in some of their battles provided a much more satisfying explanation for all the downed trees.
I made my way back down the hill, which is scarier than going up, by the way. The trees are a lot closer to you and you're not working as hard to breathe. Also, I stopped to dip my hand in the stream at one point and got the shit scared out of my by a crab. Admittedly it was a very small one, but what the hell was a crab doing up beside a mountain stream? I got back to the bus stop with plenty of time to massage my feet while waiting for the hourly bus back to Arashiyama. I got off early so I could revisit the bamboo grove, which was sadly annihilated compared to two years ago. Life lesson of the week: typhoons suck. Luckily bamboo grows quickly and I had a different forest I wanted to check out: the kimono forest, a series of illuminated pillars set up in the train station.
Why is there a kimono forest at the train station? Damned if I know. I may have read somewhere that silk for kimonos was once dyed in Arashiyama, but my mind may also be making that up. What I can tell you is that I would totally buy a kimono made in that skeleton fabric. It was totally lit (pun totally intended. Because. You know. The pillars are lit up from inside.)
I had Google maps plot out the bus route and watched my phone as I got closer and closer. Finally we pulled into the last bus stop and as I hopped off the bus I clicked on the x that marked the spot (or, you know, the star, because Google Maps doesn't have an x), and hit the directions button. And waited. AND waited. And looked up at the mountains surrounding me on all sides. This was when I realized that I didn't have service, and would have to rely on my wits. Which admittedly are not what they used to be.
That said, I have a damn good memory, and I'd looked at the course relatively recently, so I figured I might actually be okay. I'd just stick beside the river until I got to a trail that seemed to go toward the star that I could at least see on Maps. It didn't take long, though, to realize my lack of directions might not be my only problem. Remember the other day how I said the typhoon had done enough damage to call off the Kurama Hi Matsuri? Well, they didn't make that shit up. Trees were down all over the place. The first time the trail split, there was caution tape (aka, keep out if you know what's good for you), and although I was afraid that was the trail I needed, I took my chances on the main trail, marveling at the amount of work it must have taken to clear it. Of course, it was too good to last, and I eventually came to a couple of trees leaning against power lines.
All those deeply ingrained childhood warnings about falling trees and power lines were yelling at me to turn around. You'll be glad to know I ignored them. Unless, of course, you're one of my parents, in which case, hell, you've had plenty of time to get used to my dumbassery.
Eventually I came to a stone torii and a couple of buildings that looked like they'd been abandoned long before the typhoon hit. A bit beyond that I crested the top of the final staircase and found what I'd come looking for - Kuuya-no-taki, a mystical place where a waterfall rushes over the edge of a cliff behind a little shrine. Standing in front of the gate, I felt a breeze coming from the force of the water, cooling me off from my hike. It seemed like the kind of waterfall my master would tell me to stand under as I trained to awaken my yokai powers. (No, I didn't try it. There was a rope at the bottom of the torii barring the way, and since I hadn't mentioned to anyone that I was planning to go there I figured I'd pushed my luck enough).
I made my way back down the hill, which is scarier than going up, by the way. The trees are a lot closer to you and you're not working as hard to breathe. Also, I stopped to dip my hand in the stream at one point and got the shit scared out of my by a crab. Admittedly it was a very small one, but what the hell was a crab doing up beside a mountain stream? I got back to the bus stop with plenty of time to massage my feet while waiting for the hourly bus back to Arashiyama. I got off early so I could revisit the bamboo grove, which was sadly annihilated compared to two years ago. Life lesson of the week: typhoons suck. Luckily bamboo grows quickly and I had a different forest I wanted to check out: the kimono forest, a series of illuminated pillars set up in the train station.
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