Kaida Plateau

A tad cool early this morning: 12 deg C.

Nice view down the Kiso river.

Western-style breakfast was requested for this morning - yay! A change from fish again. But nevertheless a tad underwhelming.

We walked up to the Fukushima Sekeisho (barrier) checkpoint which used to be one of the four major checkpoints in Japan. 

Kiso-Fukushima was a key traffic hub, located at the halfway point of the Nakasendō Road. The checkpoint played an important role in cracking down on the ‘guns in and women out’ stance for 270 years. Interesting Sekisho Museum there.

We just had time to walk across the river to the Kozen-ji, the Kiso Valley’s most famous temple. We didn’t go in; not enough time and it seemed closed anyway but the gardens were very pretty.

We hurried back to retrieve beanie and gloves from our luggage to put in our backpacks. The taxis arrived promptly for 9:45 and we were off with all our luggage: for a 20-min. drive to Karasawanotaki Waterfall (100 m high!). 

(We had to remind ourselves not to open the taxi doors: they are opened by the driver!)

The taxi will take the luggage to our next accommodation.

Spent half an hour here taking waterfall photos before starting our walk for the day.

The climbing started here but overall was not too arduous. One section was quite overgrown and it was quite wet in parts (glad I bought the gaiters!).

This is what is known as the Hida Highway: the route once frequented by merchants, horse traders, wandering monks and pilgrims on their way to Mt Ontake.

A beautiful walk: we followed a series of switchbacks past streams, waterfalls AND lots of autumn colours!!

We reached the top of the Jizo Pass (1335m) and then descended 1.3 kms.

Arrived Cafe Poppoya at the edge of the forest on schedule about midday after 6.5 kms. Shared a beer and the most delicious pizza (!!). Going Western today!

The cafe is run by Mr and Mrs Ando - in their eighties! They really are a couple of ‘cards’. She plays the accordion and they get us all to sing; and afterwards, he starts up his train set that runs around the garden.

Walked then to Kiso horse village (Kiso Uma No Sato Irguchi) past the horse stables and blueberry shrubs and fields of soba buckwheat.

Enjoyed a really yummy icecream at Kaida Icecream while we waited for the local bus to take us to Kaida Shisho for the next stage of our walk. It was to be only 4 kms but there is a big climb to 1429 m up and over the Nishino-toge pass.

From here we set off along the Old Hida Highway through fields then forest picking our way through an electric fence across the track to keep animals out of the adjoining farmland and started climbing in earnest.

The sun came out teasingly towards the top and we had the most glorious 360 degree views from the Shiroyama Observatory at the top which was a really steep climb at the end!

Glorious!

A very tricky and tiring walk down. Pretty - but we had to focus on the path.  The trail is carpeted with red pine needles and leaves of all different shades of brown, grey, green, yellow and red.

We arrived into Nishino about 4:30,  the sun not far off setting; the top of Mt Ontake wreathed in mist.

Our ryokan inn is run by the 7th generation of the Chimura family.

We were issued with pretty yukata kimono nightwear before going up to our room. I tell you: those slippers are deadly - falling off your feet as you slide along and almost slide up and down stairs. I have taken to ‘cheating’ and removing them when I use stairs. 

Yuki helped me fill out the takkyuubin (transfer) form for our luggage to be forwarded to Tokyo in the morning.

I slipped down to the supermarket and we shared a can of Suntory Highball before an onsen and dinner. Kanpai (Cheers!)

The onsen was hot🔥!

Dinner was another great treat: plum wine (liquor); fried crickets; pickled wasabi leaf; basachi (raw horse😢) which is a delicacy of the area; tofu with fukinoto butterbur-bud miso paste; warabi fern-shoots with katsuobushi bonito flakes: Shibshu beef with shimeji mushrooms and shiro-miso white miso paste grilled on top of houba magnolia leaf, etc., etc.

I had a buckwheat shochu with soda to drink.

Dessert was a roasted green tea jelly, houji-cha.

Walked 17.3 kms.