Ujideka Revisited.

     Today's course is made-up of six different tracks, four of which I have explored in recent weeks, the other two unexplored territory.

Map Location.

   After a 7km x 75-min' walk from where I alighted my bus, I reached this small tea-plantation on route-62, on the border seperating Ujitawara & Wazuka Towns. For the next 4-hours my surroundings would consist of trees, trees and more trees, with very few view opportunities. 

The tracks are well marked and defined with an assortment of markers ranging from red-colored pegs, tape, and signs hanging from trees.

Map Location.

   Twenty minutes in and my first junction (actually it would have been 15-minutes, but I overshot the junction and had to backtrack). The last, and first, time I came through here, it was from the other direction and, if my memory served me right, most of this next segment would be undulating, but mostly downhill.

   Ten minutes later and I reached this rocky-outcrop. Although I had only been on the track for little under an hour, it had been in fact 2-hours since alighting the bus, and 5-hours since I last had anything to eat or drink. So, as I wasn't in any great rush, this was an ideal location for a banana and some ice-coffee. 





   Throughout  the day I would pass trees with a varying array of fungi, something I have taken a photographic interest in over recent weeks. In the image on the right, if my research is correct, is a member of the Ganoderma  family. 

Map Location.

   Two hours, two junctions, one descent and one ascent (I'm cutting a long story short here) after my rest-stop, I enter into the first of my unexplored tracks. But, before I do, . . . .

. . . . I manage to take-in a couple of vistas of the surrounding area. In the image on the left, I look back at where I have just come from. The hill, I hazard to guess, is about where I had my rest-stop. On the right is Jubusan (632m), famous for the 13-hundred year-old Kontai-ji Temple that lies a few meters below the summit.
   The next segment passes very quickly and, another power-pylon and two junctions later, I arrive at . . . . 

Map Location.

 . . Gonzan, or Ushitorayama, (443.7m) depending on what map you read - both names use the same Kanji characters. Just as I arrive, I can hear the fire-alarm sirens sounding below, heralding 12pm, and time for a well deserved lunch-break.
   I am back in unexplored territory and, from here, things began to turn to custard. The track, that I assumed would be there, was there and, like up to this point, also well marked.

   My next destination was Takaoyama (433m) and, about 15-minutes after leaving Gonzan, I arrived at, what I thought was, my next summit - if my Japanese language skills were better than what they are, I would have realized that this wasn't Takaoyama.

   Moving on I began to notice the track markings began to change - gone were the red-colored pegs, to be replaced with faded and tatty ribbon. But I wasn't panicking (that was about to come, sooner, more than later) when, just a bit further on . . . .

Map Location.

 . . . . I arrive at this clearing and, guess what, yes, Takaoyama (the Kangi characters concurring with what was on my map). From here any markings became few-and-far-between, and eventually nonexistent. 

   After some bush-bashing, I could hear the faint sound of a running stream below me, and so I decided to head for there. I soon emerged at a track which revealed where exactly I was and, not liking where I was, did a u-turn and headed back up the hill and through the bush in search of my planned track. I soon found that track which eventually led me onto another track that I had biked on a couple-of-weeks prior. Phew. 
   Also at this point I could hear the sounds of civilization, in the form of traffic moving along route-307. I had arrived at Ide Town.

Map Location.

   Four-and-a-half hours after entering the forest at route-62, I emerged from the forest to be greeted by the sound of a motor pump-sprayer and farmers spraying their tea crop. From here it was a leisurely stroll through Ide Town, over the Kizugawa River and onto Kyotanabe Station for my train trip home.
   Since completing this hike, my mind has been working overtime with questions such as - Where did I do wrong? Are there other tracks there that I missed? 
   So, in line with my obsessive nature, I plan to return and, on that occasion, commencing from the Ide Town end.   

         Until next time - Sayonara. 

  


   
Video-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9djFrhhipHI
Course Details - https://ridewithgps.com/trips/8184942