Off the beaten Path

 Hello cave critters.

As it's rainy season and I have had some other things going on in life, my last few hikes have been less exciting than most.  I didn't even take any pictures on the last one before yesterday's.

Even though I haven't been anywhere particularly "exciting", that doesn't mean that it hasn't been worthwhile.  Yesterday I took a walk from Takao Station and went in a big circle to the south of Mt Takao.  Takao is a little mountain, and the hills on this side are even smaller.  There are a few nice viewpoints but that really is of no matter during rainy season!  With not too much change in elevation, it is possible to pack in more miles of distance.   And, even off the beaten path, there is lots of cool stuff to see.  I was particularly surprised that this path is dotted with lots of wood carvings like these.

Yuck

I saw a pretty cool frog too, but I couldn't get him to pose.

Looking down at the Sagami River between Sagamiko and Tsuiko

This place is called Ukai Toriyama.  Pretty snazzy.  This is probably a 15-minute walk from Takaosanguchi Station.  I had seen this on the net once when my wife was looking for a place to watch fireflies.  I was surprised to stumble upon it in person yesterday.  Pretty classy joint.  https://www.ukai.co.jp/toriyama/

Until next time . . .