1:30 pm — TSH, day 10

The morning started with the rain. I’d packed my backpack inside the tent, put on rainwear and waited for about an hour to catch a pause in the rain to pack the tent. The pause was not a real pause, thus both me and my tent got quite wet.

Then the hours of hiking in the rain followed and they were just normal except for the leeches. Because of the rain there were hordes of leeches in the mountains, they literally swarmed on the boots. Yikes. No photos to save your nerve /and to be true, my nerve also/.

It was planned as an easy day and because of all that rain-and-leeches I had almost no stops so around lunchtime I already got to Nishizato. Wet and tired. Just to be told that the planned camping is not working…

Rocky riverbed in mountain valley on cloudy day
Rocky stream with waterfall and misty mountains

3:30 pm — More trail magic

A guy at the closed camping recommended me another camping just two km away and before going there I decided to drop by a “cafe” to eat a gelato. There I started to talk with the people around, telling about me and my experiences at TSH, and suddenly one of the older guys offered me to stay at his “old traditional Japanese house”, as he said that to me “first night for free”. I’m extremely happy to spend a night under a roof instead of a wet tent.

Traditional wooden buckets and farming tools in old house
Traditional Japanese house interior with tatami and backpack
Tatami room with low table and shoji screens

4:00 pm — Old house

The old traditional Japanese house turned out to be a real museum by itself. I’m glad to be staying there.

Antique wooden buckets and tools at house entrance
Traditional irori sunken hearth room with tea kettle
Tokonoma alcove with antique statues and biwa lute

8:30 pm — Onsen

In just a few minutes from the house there is an onsen. While I was unpacking my backpack the house owner came and offered to give a ride to the onsen. This way I’ve got a guide to the Japanese way of visiting onsens as well as a short training in eating Japanese noodles.

Lit onsen building against forested hillside at dusk
Green field with fog-covered mountains at dusk
Empty mountain road at dusk with low clouds