So we woke up super early Saturday, went to Tokyo, traveled like five hours by bus to Yamagata where the sun was shining, and began to hike up the mountain. The temple is famous for it's 1000 stairs, what is considered to be the oldest structure in Japan and a flame that was lit 1,200 years ago when the temple was founded in the frontier wilderness of Japan. I admittedly was dreading the 1000 stairs but they weren't so bad as it was cooler up north and we hiked in the shade most of the way up among the lushest of forests, mossy stone lanterns and little statues where people had left offerings of everything thing from paper cranes to the temple ticket stubs. With so much to look at it was easy to forget the steps. We stopped about half way up under these sheer cliffs with beautiful carvings and vines hanging over like something from a movie, it was all just so breathtaking before Kevin and I jogged the rest of the way up and well, hopefully the pictures speak for themselves. It was like a little village of temples in this crest of the mountains overlooking an extremely picturesque valley. One little temple hung nearly over the cliff and a pavilion platform was actually built into the cliff so it was like we were hanging over the mountain. The weather was so perfect with a warm breeze and so much to look at and when no one was looking Kevin and I snaked further up a stone cliff to where no one else was and stood on top of it all. I felt so alive and privileged! From up that high we could see all these shallow caves dotting the cliffs and a little wood temple that looked impossible to get to but we could both picture meditating there. It was... euphoric! Bathed in serenity, breathless joy and incense, I could have stayed in that moment forever but we had to leave and soon it clouded over.
Dinner was a difficult Japanese set of lovely foods I don't enjoy but I picked out the hotpot goodies from my little clay dish over a flame and the salmon sashimi was delicious! We onsened in a beautiful little wooden bath looking on to the forest in cloudy sulfuric water that made my skin feel so soft, and slept by nine. Waking up to another bath, a beautiful breakfast spread and then we were on our way again. We climbed up the mountain in the bus looping through impossible hairpin turns to the alpine where lava rocks mixed with fragile greenery and left over snow. The crater lake was a gorgeous green and was especially pretty with the red rocks, white snow and blue sky and after admiring it a bit Kevin and I hiked up to a little shrine on the top of the mountain. it was quite chilly but wonderfully refreshing!
Back in the warm valley we were led out through an orchard to a little patch of cherry trees where we were given thirty minutes of 'all-you-can-eat sakuranbo' it was perfect! The sun streamed through the green trees and I just dance about snapping shots and stuffing myself with super yummy cherries! I can't say much more than I just remember being warm and tasting sweets and feeling the gently breeze and the soft grass around my feet as I hunted for cherries that hung in delicious bunches. So lovely~
The afternoon was a series of omiyage shops and a winery (which offered very delicious cherry wine) and the long bus ride home, followed by a train and then a walk home in the rain, which had returned, but it was worth it for such a wonderful weekend!
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