Akigawa Valley

I was invited by Chinatsu, whom I met during the Koboyama sakura hike, for a walk in nature through Akigawa Valley. There I met Teep again and two new friends, Ruru from China and Eva from Taiwan.

I remember that I wanted to the Akigawa hiking course before so I searched up the map that showed the route and I was designated as the guide for the day.

Our walk took us to a bridge and below for a peaceful walk by the river. It was a bright and sunny day, flowers were blooming and butterflies were flying around. There were farm fields here and there and people and dogs playing by the river. The path was generally flat and this continued on for a bit with plenty of jolly conversation.

The route took us to Kotoku Temple, an ancient giant temple with much growth on its roofs, we were getting some Mononoke Hime vibes from this place. The main temple was humongous and it made us look like tiny people as we stood in awe in front of it. From there, we walked further towards a bridge where Ruru said that there was an awesome cafe with a terrace view of the river. We went there and she was right, the place had the best view in the house but they only served drinks and we were hungry. We went up some stairs to look for a restaurant that served actual food but we ended up in some sort of traditional mountain village that was a bit on the higher end.

The main highlight of the village was the water wheel, deeper inside there was a ryokan and a restaurant at the end. We ordered some bentos and went back to the terrace cafe and with our tummies full, it was time to carry on.

There were plenty more temples to see, Kogon-ji where was saw some Jizo statues and an idol of Hotei by the entrance. We also passed by Mishima Shrine, a Shinto temple tucked away deep inside a forest. Being there felt like a page out of a fairy tale with the sunlight peeking through the tall trees and causing a shimmering atmosphere.

From there, after another 20-minute walk, we finally made it to Akigawa Valley. We saw the famous bridge and saw some crazy guys jumping into the water for the rocky cliffs. We took a break by the foot baths and I had some ice cream before we went on the search on how to get down to the river. After a long journey, at last we got to rest our weary feet in the cool waters of the river. We were under the bridge so we had ample shade and the breeze was cool and refreshing. It felt like all the fatigue of the day disappeared. On our way back, we took the bus back to the station and went on our separate ways.Read more