When I was riding the local train line one day I spotted a pretty large torii gate up on a mountain. For months now I’ve been looking at that same torii every time I pass the mountain riding the train. Despite not being able to see a trail of any sort, I figured one was up there because torii gates are meant to be walked though. So, one day my inquisitiveness and a pair of hiking boots took me up that mountain to meet that torii gate.
It wasn’t a very big mountain at all, and perhaps it’d be better to categorize it as a hill. Nevertheless, this little tori gate led to a beautiful little summit viewing of my hometown, Ibara City. You can see the (overpriced) Ibara train line here, too.
Ibara is home to roughly 40,000 residents. And like nearly every town in Japan, the town nestles itself within the beautiful Japanese countryside. The rear view from the mountain gives a pretty good perspective.
Anastasia wasn’t too keen on hiking, but she seemed to enjoy herself sitting on every big rock we could find.
As always, a nice snap from the top…
After we made our way down, we stopped by a little joint and bought a big, fat, sweet potato. No brown sugar, no cinnamon, no marshmallows… just one, big grilled potato. I admit it was rather delicious after a nice little hike.
"Anastasia wasn’t too keen on hiking, but she seemed to enjoy herself sitting on every big rock we could find."
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