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It's so nice to escape the crowds and head into the widerness of Japan. Today I went in search of a lake, lake Tanzawa. It took me a good 3 hrs to reach the lake, but when I did, it was lovely. Today was overcast, which gave the lake a slightly mysterious quality. The rolling hills, reflected in the waters, further added to the mystery. Mystery number 3 was, how the hell do I get down to the lakeside? I could see two people fishing close by the water but there didn't seem to be a way down. Were they born there? Born fishermen? There had to be an answer. I spotted a parked car in a small clearing in the woods and followed the trail. It led me to a 10 foot drop. Resting precariously against the wall was a ladder made of sticks tied together. This had to be it, I rallied to myslef. This HAD to be it, I added. I anxiously stepped down onto the ladder and made my way down. It took me 3 seconds. I'd made it! It was really nice there actually. It wasn't perfect beauty, the kind you find in travel brochures, more a kind of down-to-earth beauty. It did have that silence though. That perfect silence that is the trademark of anywhere but the city. After having a smoke and looking at some jumping fish, I made my way into the forest. With cedar trees on either side of me, I climbed the steep path. I quickly got bored of climbing and decided to do the "Lord Of The Rings" run. This invloves pretending to be on a mission of utmost importance and running as fast as you can without hesitating or slowing. It is best done on the way down, I have found. Anyway, I did that and then sat and did the "pretending to be Buddha" thing too. I would have carried on with that if the mozzies and big flies would've let me be. But they buzzed and sucked me to quit. After that, I thought it time to return home, so I went to have a look at the bus timetable. I'd just missed the bus and would have to wait another hour for the next one. Then, miraculously, the bus arrived. I took the bus back to the station, joyfully passing tea plantations, huge red bridges arched over clear, gushing rivers; densely forested rolling hills, and little old farmers, bent over their crops. As I said, it's nice to escape the crowds.
posted by PA on Saturday, July 19, 2003
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