京都から天橋立へ

29. From Kyoto to Amanohashidate.

*Amanohashidate (referred to locally as Hashidate), one of the Sankei, or ‘Three Famous Sights of Japan,’ on the West Coast, facing the Japan Sea, in Tango Province, Kyoto-ken, 75 M. from Kyoto and 125 M. from Osaka, is reached via the Maizuru-Amino branch of the San-in Line (see the Rly. Time Table), and is a favorite resort.

Some travelers proceed by the rly. to Maizuru, thence on foot (in about 4 hrs.) to Amanohashidate. Others take a boat from Maizuru to (1 1/2 hrs.) Miyazu (p. 537) and walk (about 1 hr.) from there. The country is charming, and the walk (superb views) is one of the most delightful imaginable.

Others hire one of the excellent motor cars of the Oriental Hotel garage, in Kobe, and make the trip (easily in one day with ample time for luncheon at a native inn, and sight-seeing) over a fine highroad (about 130 M.) through one of the most picturesque sections of Japan. For costs and other information, consult the manager of the Oriental Hotel (and see p. 621A).

To help him with his plans the traveler is recommended to secure from the Imperial Japanese Government Railways, the Japan Tourist Bureau, or any member of the Japan Hotel

Association, one of the handsomely illustrated (in colors) folders (free) called the Scenic Trio of Japan — which describes in detail (with fine map, etc.) the three Famous Sights, Matsushima, Amanohashidate, and Miyajima.

The region between Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, and Amanohashidate, is Old Japan, in many places unspoiled and in every way delightful to the stranger. The country people are courteous and helpful. Many of them still practice the fast-disappearing customs of feudal times, and in this they differ materially from the Japanese of the Pacific ports.

The Walking Trip from Maizuru to Amanohashidate is described in detail, at pages 535 to 537.

The entire region is becoming increasingly popular with hikers, and one meets them often even in the remotest sections of this unspoiled bit of Old Nippon. The peculiar and abiding charm of the Japan Sea Section (in contradistinction to the region which flanks the Pacific Ocean) is ever present, and it shows itself constantly in the inherent kindness and courtesy of the people and the quaint customs (many of them of the ancient feudal days) still practiced by them. Added to this one has the superb and ever-shifting views of mountains and plains, of rivers, valleys and of the fascinating little villages which nestle in tranquil beauty all along the irregular coast. The inns of these little out-of-the-way places are numerous and sometimes are excellent, with charges so low that usually one is ashamed to pay them, and one feels, in going away, that he has taken advantage of a kind and delightfully hospitable host! The frequent train service is helpful in getting one over tiresome or monotonous sections. There are no drawbacks to the region, which includes that described at p. 539.

From Kyoto the train runs across the valley floor toward the N., then bears round W. to (4 M.) Hanazono with its nursery and the near-by fine old Miyoshin-ji. 6 M. Saga. The Saga-no-Shaka-do is visible at the far right, amid trees. The splendid groves of bamboos at the foot of Arashiyama mark the edge of the plain on which Kyoto stands. The tram-car station is 2 min. walk to the left. The grade slopes gently upward until the first tunnel (the outpost of many on the line) is traversed. The group of picturesque tea-houses on the opposite bank of the Hozu-gawa is very Japanesey in appearance and is the favorite resort of Kyoto folks — who foregather here in throngs during the April cherry-blossom period and when the maples are out in the autumn. The river is narrow and shallow in early spring, but after the June rains it looks formidable enough as it roars and plunges through the rocky defile. The rly. crosses it here on a steel bridge, and beyond the tunnel it is seen on the right side of the line, a graceful, sinuous, jade-green shape flowing downward through a maze of high, rounded hills. In May the slopes flame with azaleas and other wild flowers, which in Nov. are supplemented by scrub maples that for a brief fortnight dominate the land-

scape with a mantle of crimson. Enchanting glimpses of the stream are had from the right side of the train as it winds up the gorge; conspicuous features are the long, flexible rafts fashioned of saplings laid flat and lashed into platforms ten trees wide. At times groups of ten or more segments are tied end on, like freight cars, and they make pretty pictures as they glide down the rapids. Active, semi-nude men stand fore and aft, and with long, supple poles guide them away from the deadly rocks on their downward rush through the narrow defiles. At times the river spreads into quiet pools whose crystal waters mirror the color-blotches on the hill-slopes until they resemble rich silken brocades.

13 M. Kameoka, in Tamba Province, is the starting-point for the near-by village of Hozu, near the head of the rapids of the same name. Considerable tea is cultivated in the neighborhood, and in the winter wheat is planted crosswise on the elevated rows which in summer form the boundaries of rice-fields. The river is glimpsed at the right before we enter the hills near (18 M.) Yagi, a shipping-point for charcoal and firewood destined for the Kyoto market. Many pollarded mulberry trees dot the landscape, and raw silk is manufactured in the farmsteads. The river is crossed and four tunnels threaded beyond (22 M.) Sonobe (a name often applied locally to the rly. line). 27 M. Tonoda; the great piles of fagots which sometimes almost hide the station from view, point to the steady deforestation of the adjacent hills. 30 M. Goma (629 ft.). The scenery becomes wild and picturesque, with bits that recall the Austrian Tyrol; the river tears its impetuous way through a gorge between bulky hills, and on the slopes of these stand many quaint and primitive farmhouses, whose thatched roofs narrow to sharp ridges which are straddled by half a score tightly bound frames of straw or wood like the half of a saw-horse. Strings of drying persimmons and various simples hang beneath the eaves, and in the autumn long trusses of dried rice-straw stretch across the land. Later the tree-trunks serve as cores to primitive haycocks and look like fat gin-bottles standing upright in the fields. — Hills, tunnels, and bridges are features of the line to 37 M. Wachi. The cross-country highroad is excellent for motor-cars. — 43 M. Yamaga. — 48 M. Ayabe Jct. (for Osaka and way stations). The rly. leading W. is the Main Line to Matsue and Izumo-Imaichi (Rte. 30, p. 539). — 53 M. Umezako. The train now runs toward the N.W. and soon enters the province of Tango.

60 M. Maizuru, or Maizuru Minato. (Kaigan) the boat station, is at the water’s edge 2 M. farther.) Inn, Furukane-ya; ¥2.50 to ¥3.50. The town (pop. 8000) is the seat of a maritime province (chinjufu) and is charmingly located on the serpentine shore of a small bay locked fast in the embrace of high and perennially green hills. Certain of these are surmounted by

batteries of wicked-looking guns employed in the national defense. The entire region roundabout, including the Arsenal and Docks of Shin-maizuru (4 M. to the E. on a headland closed to the public), is included in the fortified zone; and sketching, photographing, or the making of notes is attended by serious consequences. Many quaint arched bridges span the multiplicity of converging canals and impart a Venetian aspect to the place. The several Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines call for no special mention. Before the Restoration Maizuru was known as Tanabe, and it was the seat of the rich daimyo, Makino-no-kami, whose ruinous castle surmounts the crest of one of the near-by hills. Coasting-steamers connect the port (frequent service) with Obama, Tsuruga, and other towns on the Japan Sea.

The Highroad to Miyazu trends N.W. (turn left from the rly. station and go through the town to the bay), flanks the sea for a short distance, and affords charming views: then, turning inland, it crosses well-cultivated rice-fields, by native houses in which the whirring of primitive silk-reels is heard frequently. After 1 hr. the road turns abruptly to the right and skirts the base of a hill before bending again to the left to a (10 min,) summit from which a long, winding descent is made into the rich valley of the Yura-gawa; fine views. At the bottom a well-beaten path branches off (left) from the main road and leads (2 min.) to a thick clump of bamboos overshadowing the broad, placid, green Yura River. A loud halloo brings a flat-bottomed boat from the opposite shore, and in 5 min., for 1 sen, the traveler is landed near a smooth pike which flanks the river until it merges into the ocean at Yura village. Hence onward the road is broad and unmistakable. The valley is charming and very productive; green hills flank the islet-dotted river on both sides, and flame with maples, roses, camellias, sazankwas, persimmons, mandarin-oranges, and the crimson leaves of the vegetable-wax tree. Many reed fish-traps stand in the river (400 yds. wide), on the W. side of which Yura-dake rises to a height of 2103 ft. and serves as a landmark to sailors. Boats ascend the river as far as Fukuchiyama. — Yura village (Inn: Yamada-ya, ¥2) on Yura Wan (bay) is a leisurely walk of 2 hrs. from Maizuru and is one of the several birthplaces of Urashima, the fisher-boy referred to at p. cclix. The lovely coast makes a strong appeal to one’s artistic sense, but travelers will act wisely in being satisfied with a visual survey of it, and in heeding the repeated signs of warning posted by the War Department — admonitions which apply also to Amanohashidate and vicinity. The clean little rest-house, at the right of the road just as one enters the village, is a good place to eat luncheon, as this can be pieced out with hot tea and various simple native dishes.

The long street follows the contour of the shore, within sound of the sea at the right. The best scenery begins at the upper end of the village. Here the road winds steadily upward round the sides of a line of bold promontories that come quite down to the surging water. Their rugged, massive bulk imparts a decided impressiveness to the region, and recalls certain superb stretches of the Italian coast. In places a granite balustrade defends the causeway from the sea, and from this high vantage-point the pedestrian looks down on the rock-strewn beach where the surf pounds and breaks with a reverberating roar. Far out at sea are islands, and white-sailed junks, and seabirds that wheel and skirl and fish and flash their broad wings in the sunbeams. The views hereabout are the best; farther along they are tamer, but the restless ocean and the high mts. (some of them 2000 ft. or more) lose none of their grandiose character. At each turn of the winding roadway some new charm or pretty spot comes into the line of vision, a decided element of beauty is added by the graceful and fantastic pine trees which fleck the slopes and form a translucent curtain between the highway and the water. They grow in almost every conceivable shape, and reach out toward every angle, but their gnarled and tortured bodies, like Cocos nucifera

era, incline nearly always toward the calling sea. At certain places on the sanded beach they stretch wild arms out over delightful little coves where men land from boats, build camp-fires, cook freshly caught fish, and unconsciously form piratical pictures that appeal to the imagination. The granitic hills produce quantities of fine felsite-porphyry and siliceous red sandstone, which are quarried in big blocks, moved across the roadway on stout skids, then slid down to waiting junks that carry them to distant places.

The small fishing-village of Kunda-mura, with a straggling main St. a half-mile or so long, is entered 1 hr. out from Yura. A brisk 15 min. walk, past clean little yards embowered in pomegranates, mandarin-oranges, and flowers, brings one to a fork in the road; where, instead of continuing along the shore, one turns up at the left, and in 20 min. reaches a long, stone-lined, tubular tunnel piercing the summit of the ridge. Soon after emerging from this a glorious picture bursts upon the sight; a vast circle of high and splendidly wooded hills cuts the sky-line on every side and enfolds in its green embrace a wide, tree-dotted valley and a broad idyllic bay flecked with fishing-boats and mirroring in its glassy surface all the color of the hills and sky. Straight ahead, at the west, on a narrow little plain sloping to the water's edge, lies a string of sequestered hamlets, prominent among them Miyazu, with a waterfront almost hidden behind a forest of tall masts. At the far right, stretching quite across the bay (Miyazu-wan), covered with a dark mantle of evergreen pines, is the yellow sand-spit of Amanohashidate. In few places is there so much of beauty, tranquillity, and ostensible contentment combined. A 30 min. leisurely and unforgettable walk down the slope, then to the right, brings one to the Seiki-ro, at the water's edge, and another 10 min. to the Araki-ya (called also Araki's Villa).

Miyazu (pop. 9000), a pretty and strikingly picturesque fishing-village in a crescent of the shore backed by lofty hills, came into a sort of prominence in 1584 when Hosokawa Tadaoki built his castle here and dominated the region. The remains of this feudal retreat are still to be seen. Under the Tokugawas it was successively the residence of the Daimyo Kyogoku (1600); Nagai (1669); Abe (1681); Okudaira (1697); Aoyama (1717); and the Honjo (from 1758 to 1868). Its temples and shrines are mere shadows of former greatness and are not worth visiting. The open-air fish-markets held daily in certain of the streets are of unfailing interest in their displays of scores of bizarre forms of marine life, from blanched, repulsive squid to tiny, jewel-like piscine forms. Whales are caught in considerable numbers off the outer coast and are sometimes towed into the bay to be dismembered. Fishermen, who look like Oriental Robinson Crusoes, with their rice-straw skirts and otherwise queer costumes, often spread very long and narrow nets near the shore for the catching of a myriad tiny minnows. The great quadrangular sails of certain of the fishing-boats are made of finely woven matting, and they form beguiling pictures as they drift across the placid waters of the bay, or work out to sea before a gentle land breeze.

Amanohashidate, a tongue of land varying from 150 to 250 ft. wide, about 1 1/2 M. long, and covered with magnificent old pine trees under whose giant branches extends a fine sandy causeway, cuts the Gulf of Miyazu longitudinally and divides it into halves; the sea side retaining the name, the inner section called Iwataki no Minato. This tranquil lake, the winter rendezvous for a host of sleek wild ducks, is about 2 1/2 M. from

E. to W., and 3 M. from N. to S. with a depth varying from 6 to 8 fathoms, and a shallow channel 60 yds. wide connecting it with the outer, and sometimes rougher, bay. A short ferry plies (in 3 min.; fare, 1 sen) to and fro across this break (near the S.W. end). The bay proper is about 5 M. long and from 1600 to 2600 yds. wide, slightly open to the N.E. The entrance is between the points known locally as Kuro Saki (a conical peak 670 ft. high) and Hioki Saki. The encircling range of mts., some upward of a thousand ft. high, protect it from all winds and make of it an ideal harbor with from 10 to 12 fathoms of water. The river which runs through Miyazu town and empties into the bay is the Hachiman-gawa.

To reach Amanohashidate we proceed through the town and follow the trend of the beach to the entrance of the Monju Temple, in Monju village near the ferry (watashi); here the road branches to the right and leads down to the water. At the far end of the pine-clad strip the trees thin out; by following the left branch of the road leading past Ejiri village, one soon reaches a small shrine with a new monument commemorating the soldiers from this district who died in the Russo-Japanese War. Two min. (left) beyond this a broad lane leads to the right to another (3 min.) shrine, from the rear of which the road goes up the hill (10 min.) to Kasamatsu, where there is a platform whence a comprehensive view can be had of the surrounding country. The Japanese, who from time immemorial have greatly admired this place, and who ascribe to it a refinement of beauty which Westerners sometimes fail to detect, love to view it hence by bending down, with head inverted and eyes looking out from between their outspread legs. This crazy and undignified position gives to the scene the appearance of an unstable inferior and superior mirage, and for Occidentals robs it of its charm. The full beauty of the place will be revealed to whosoever proceeds 30 min. farther up the hill to the old temple near the summit of Nariai-yama, near the Ochiki Pass. This once formed the nucleus of a cluster of temples that bore a reputation for sacredness something like that of Koya-san. The view hence is fine and far-reaching; the Japan Sea, the distant islands of Oshima and Kojima, many smaller ones and scores of mts. are visible. From this exalted place, the distance which is supposed to lend enchantment enwraps Amanohashidate, and clothes it with added grace. Its name, Ama-no-hashidate, is said to be derived from the original Chinese Ten-kyo, or ‘Celestial Bridge,’ poetically applied to it because of its fancied similarity to the legendary Ama-no-Uki-hashi, or ‘Floating Bridge of Heaven,’ on which the mythological Izanagi and Izanami stood when they let fall from the tips of their jeweled spears the drops of ocean brine that solidified into the Japanese islands.