The Sakura Trail

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With the cherry blossoms in bloom and the weather warm and sunny, we decided to take the coastal road south to the small historical city of Hagi in the neighbouring prefecture of Yamaguchi. There was much civil unrest back in the 1850s - possibly on account of barking dogs and directionally-impaired taxi drivers - and the samurai, along with peasants and ill-tempered koi fish, overthrew the ruling local government and ushered in an era of heated toilet seats and vending machines.

I quite like Hagi. The surrounding mountainscape is wonderful, it's full of historical sites covering several eras, and the coastal views are better than in Masuda.

Just outside of town is a not-so-imposing dormant volcano, Kasa-yama, named so because it's shaped like an umbrella. At the summit there are plenty of cherry trees and lots of picnickers, not to mention several hawks riding thermals overhead just waiting for the right opportunity to snatch up a small child. Also up top was this extremely ugly, square, concrete, 3 level observation tower hardly fitting for such a scenic area, and I only hope the volcano hands this building a fiery death and is blown to sea when it erupts.

Halfway down the mountain is a local brewery and, according to the guidebook, offers informative tours of the facility as well as taste-testing of their fine product. Much to my dismay there was no staff present - "Another beer? No, really, I couldn't. Well, if you insist..." - and wandering unescorted through a beer factory, sadly, isn't nearly as much fun as it sounds. I was hoping to swim in a vat of suds and get absolutley hammered, all on their dime, but no such event happened. *sniffle* We (me, really) left feeling thirsty and ripped-off despite it not costing us a penny. May the brewery suffer the same fate as the viewing tower further up the road.

Following a very un-Japanese lunch, we made our way to the Daisho-in Mori funerary temple located on the southern outskirts of the city. From the outside it's very unassuming, but once you step through the gates it's like Hagi is miles away, and you've just entered into this wonderfully peaceful sanctuary. It's a very serene place with lots of trees and pathways and a pond, a small garden, and myriad stone laterns. It's overgrown and under-maintained just the right amount to preserve that historic feel, but kept enough so as not to appear neglected and decrepit. We played hide-and-seek among the trees and lanterns for a while before heading out to explore the rest of the city.

The remaining sights of the city were of little interest so we decided to cap off our day with a quick hike up Shizuki-yama mountain. At 143m, it's not so much a mountain, but rather a steep hill. The path to the top is a 1km long trail, mostly switchbacks near the summit, and is easy enough for a 5 year-old. Although, with no railings and many exposed tree roots, a sure foot is required to make the ascent.

Remnants of an old watchtower snake their way along the perimeter of the peak, sans vending machines and cement structures thankfully. I wish I could tell you the view was breathtaking on this clear, cloudless day, but all I could see were tree trunks. In fact, there were only 2 clearings with any view whatsoever - one of rooftops of the city, the other of the sewage treatment plant. I'm assuming that back in the days when this was an active watchtower the excess foliage would've been removed so that it actually was a watchtower, and not some secret base (shhhhh!) hidden by bushes on the top of a big hill. On the contrary, that might explain why the castle ruins at the base are in such bad shape. Ooooohhh...I bet someone got sacked for that little oversight!

With a quick descent to the parking lot, we chose to end our day on a high note and made the picturesque drive back to Masuda.

Camille & Denise

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Photos

Daisho-in
Mori Lord burial marker.

Caldera
Looking into the belly of the beast, "Feed me small children" cries the volcano!

Ready, aim...
From the top of Kasa-yama, you can see the launch target of ugly cement observation towers and beer factories.

Sakura
Cherry blossoms trees at the summit. They only last for about a week each year.

R.I.P.
Gates and stone lanterns galore, all honouring the Mori clan, one of the early samurai clans.

Principle Retainer
As a way of honouring their lords death, they committed seppuku - ritual suicide by slicing open your guts, then having your head chopped off by the highest bidder.

Up, up, up...
The path to the secret samurai base, you need a password to enter. Pssst...it's 'nantoka'.