Friday, January 8, 2016

Clouds and Birds

Kumano Kodo - start of Day 3

The Takahara area is known for the low hanging clouds and this is what I saw out my window in the morning.

Breakfast was another feast. All this plus rice and miso soup. I don't know what this red fish was, but it was wonderful.



I took a few pictures in the lodge, then headed for the trail.  



The clouds were still hanging low as I headed out through the bamboo.


Near this little shrine, I saw an odd sign.  Is this an animal warning?


There were so many interesting things to see along the way, although sometimes the trail was so steep and uneven, I felt like I was only seeing the ground in front of my feet. 





The Daimon-oji remains were next. I'm amazed that records from this long ago time period remain.



As I reached the ridge, I could see that I was rising above the clouds.  It was breath taking to look out from the trees.




Near the Jyuten Oji shrine, I saw these little quail like birds, that almost blend in with the brown ground. (Look above the sign that says Kumano Kodo, below the green leaves.)



I was glad to see this solar powered toilet and surprised that it was so clean.  That's one advantage to hiking in the winter, I guess.



It's very interesting to see how these shrines are taken care of.  Who comes out to do this? Jizo has fascinated me since I came to Japan.






I saw many birds but wasn't fast enough to get pictures most of the time.  This isn't a good picture, but I did get one of this bright bird.



Come back tomorrow for the rest of Day 3's report.

4 comments:

kiwikid said...

Such a beautiful place to be walking....thanks for sharing your photos.

Janie said...

What an adventure! Good food too.....

Margaret said...

Thank you for taking me along with you by showing all these photos. But my it does look strenuous. That "animal sign" is actually explaining about the cedar trees which because they are tall and strait grained have been used from ages past for building. Many shrines and temples are made of this wood. You must have slept well each night?

Brigitte said...

Another highly interesting hike with lots of information on the signs. Great pictures!