Tag: canyon

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Hugging Gorge that means you cannot pass without really hugging people you pass by, true or not ?

Hugging valley8

I tried translating the name of this gorge into English without permission, so it became like this title.   So, please do not search seriously with this name.  Anyway in the old days, you couldn’t pass each other without hugging each other.
River Tamagawa flowing through this gorge is cobalt blue.   It flows from Tamagawa Hot Spring* around Mt.Hachimantai, but since the strongly acidic water contains aluminum as a basic ion, the light with a short wavelength is scattered by its particles and the surface of water appears blue.   For the same reason, the water in Lake Tazawa looks blue due to injection of water of River Tamagawa long ago.
If you go sightseeing near here, you will definitely go to the famous Kakunodate with old samurai residence, but as a countryside lover, you should definitely visit the gorge that makes you feel the traces of a volcano.

*)A hot spring that warms your body with geothermal heat while wearing clothes in a sulfur-rich crater is worth a try.  Simply lay a straw rug on the ground and lie on your back.  You can also enjoy a bathing style where you just put your head out of a box filled with steam.

Gallery (click photos)

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Hugging valley6 waterfall
Hugging valley7 waterfall

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Deep Matsushima Sea Canyon, Sagakei, a little different from typical Matsushima

sagakei25 camel

Matsushima, ah! / Ah ah! Matsushima, ah! / Matsushima, ah!

The haiku poet Basho wrote the above in Matsushima and I was taught so in childhood, but it seems different.   I certainly thought that anyone could write this, but Basho himself said that he could not write words in the superb view of Matsushima and did not write haiku.

soukanzan
soukanzan

A typical Matsushima sightseeing starts from JR Matsushima Kaigan Station, and Fuku-ura island to pray for getting partner (famous for the combined hike of male and female students; it’s an old story), Godaido temple, a sightseeing boat in the bay inside, and Zuiganji Temple, national treasure, are the golden routes, but those who love the countryside avoid famous tourist spots and crowd.

It is said that the magnificent view of Matsushima Bay was created by rising water levels in the eroded mountains, but erosion due to waves is still progressing outside Matsushima Bay.   “Matsushima” is the pine tree on the island when the characters are translated into English.   The green of the pine against the yellow of the eroded rock surface could make us feel the bonsai flavor.  Anyway, we enjoyed the beauty of nature in the sea canyon “Sagakei” and there were many rocks that remind us of various creatures.  The boat is small and very homey, and if there are no waves, you can see the blue cave.

Gallery (click photos)

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sagakei1 net crane
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sagakei5 frog rock
sagakei6 muroto port and boys
sagakei7 floding rock
sagakei8 man and woman rocks
sagakei9 sea cat
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sagakei11 sea cat
sagakei13 elephant nose
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sagakei14 sea lion like oboshi rock
sagakei15 ｂridge collapse
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sagakei19 long root of pine
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sagakei21 blue cave
sagakei22 kanozaki
sagakei23 frog rock
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sagakei25 camel
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Geibikei  Canyon, Boat excursion that invites us to ‘Another World isolated’.  Fun at the end !

geibikei senryutan
geibikei boatman
geibikei boatman

The Kitakami Mountains have been land for a long time since the Japanese Islands were torn off from Russia by the plate movement.  They are older than the volcanic belt that runs through the Japanese archipelago.  Therefore, Geibikei was exposed to long erosion and a deep canyon was completed.

Until Edo period the villagers did not list the canyon on the map, fearing that many officials would visit it for sightseeing.  Recently, tourism development was carried out as a boat excursion.  Autumn leaves and snow boat excursions are also good, but the excursions in the calm atmosphere of the fresh green were exceptional.
In the canyon surrounded by cliffs,  I could hear only the voices of birds other than the sound of the water flowing by pointing the river bottom with a rod, and the song of the boatman quietly soaked into the canyon.

Gallery (click photos)

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geibikei approach to the end
geibikei named from nose
geibikei senryutan
geibikei stones
geibikei throwqing stones for lucky
geibikei boat
geibikei bird
geibikei boatman

Fun at the end !

geibikei stones
geibikei stones

At the turning point of excursion, once get off the boat and enjoy the spectacular view for a while.  At the end of walk, throw a stone toward the hole in the cliff and wish yourself good luck, or just try your own pitching control.  The things written on the stone that became a strike will be fulfilled, so it is necessary to check the things before throwing !