I asked Harada san if he wanted to come for another walk and he said
‘Is it an easy walk?’.
‘Yes. Just up the road behind the temple’.
I put the nata around my shoulder and he looked at me, ‘Really?!’.
I said it’s always good to carry this knife around when you go walking.  It’s not something you can do in the city and it makes you feel alive like you are in charge of your own destiny.  ‘Really?!’

As it turned out the walk quickly became more than a walk in the park.  Snakes are always a danger so I made this long bamboo pole to hit the ground in front of me.  Harada san filmed all this of course.  The path didn’t seem to match the map.  Ahead the way was very overgrown – dangerously overgrown.  To our right, accross the river another path in better condition.  We took that, me walking ahead thwacking the ground and Harada san behind, filming.  The path was well defined and strange.  I should have known but it eventually led us to a mountain graveyard.  Only a few of the graves had been tended, the rest, lost in the undergrowth.

Harada san later gave me a handwritten google-translated note about how the spirits of dead people were belived to become Gods, and this was one of the reasons why graveyards are on mountainsides.  There may be no-one left in the family to tend to these graves: perhaps the whole family is dead or perhaps the only people still alive are too old to climb this mountain.  It was sombre.

We returned back the way we came and decided (I decided, Harada san was non-commital) to take a tiny path round the side of the hill.  Eventually this path joined the main overgrown path and it became walkable.  It was quite beautiful deep in the forest.  We didn’t talk much, just grunted occasionally when we saw something interesting.  The river was exceptional, the vegetation was lush and the air was calm.  Dappled light.

We had to pass this dangerous vine.  What is it?

I don’t usually take pictures of flowers but here you go.

After this flower, the path was so overgrown and impossible to walk through so I decided we should walk up the river.  It was lovely.

The path was very well defined and well built in places.  I could feel that it was taking us towards a village or hamlet.  The river had little bits of junk in it and this spurred me on.  Eventually though it became a little ridiculous.  We had no idea how far the path continued and up ahead trees had fallen and it was a mess.  I’ll come back here in winter.  Anyone want to come with me?

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LATER, back at home Harada san got cramp.

I enjoyed filming him for a change.

It was his last day and he said he wanted to visit the waterfall.  His bus was leaving in an hour…  Anyway, I got to the carpark underneath the waterfalls in about 5 minutes and then I set off up the track at a TREMENDOUS pace.  I shocked myself.  I was utterly wrecked not 5 minutes into the walk.  My lungs were dry and my skin was slimy.  I was glad that Harada san had put the video down – in fact, he was feeling the same way as me.  When we arrived at the top we both had mini waterfalls on our foreheads.

We managed to walk up and down in 15 minutes (including 6 minutes or so staring at the waterfall).  Amazingly we were so early for the bus…we visited Inoue san in Yoriiza and tried to recover from the hike-trauma.

Inoue san was quietly making objects in the huge space.  I liked one of the indigo textile prints very much.  I am not sure how she will use them.  I think she too, is unsure.  We chatted for a while until it was time for the bus.

Sayonara.  Still filming.  Don’t catch a cold..

He won’t forget these walks I’m sure: after each one his body just self-destructed!  I think he was a bit byoujaku (sickly).  He needs to learn to cook for himself and learn to blow his nose using tissues rather than hawking hana misu out of one nostril into the sink.  Anyway, I enjoyed having him around and I am looking forward to seeing what he does with the ridiculous amount of footage he shot here.  Will he return to Kamibun?  I’m not sure, I think I scared him (well, hopefully I did!!).