Maybe it was ambitious for my first real day in Murakami, but since Mt. Gyagyuzan is practically in my backyard, I decided to climb it to see the castle ruins.
In reality, the path entrance to the top of the mountain is about a 3 - 4 minute bike ride away. Before starting up the mountain, I said a little prayer to the huge Buddha statue that protects the mountain and its visitors, and then it was up, up, up, up, up, and up the mountain. The path itself consists of dirt, rocks, and stairs - not a fun combination. I could have done without the stairs entirely, a nice slope would be much better! Anyway, you zigzag your way up to the top, and there are benches to rest at every zag or so.
At one bench, there was an opening in the trees and I could see a glimpse of Murakami city all the way to the ocean. Even though it was hot outside, the sky was clear and beautiful!
A thousand or so steps later, I was finally at the top of the mountain, and could see a bit of the ruins - a real sight for sore legs! As I wondered through the castle, I couldn't help trying to picture what it must've looked like when complete. Unfortunately, most of the castle ruins at this point are being repaired, so there was a lot of the castle I couldn't see. However, I found another look-out point, and was able to see the other side of Murakami (the side I spend most of my time in)!
There was also this peculiar field, but there was nothing in it. So sad ...
And that's all there really was to this trip. There is more of the castle to explore, but I thought that I would save that half for another trip up. It was a lovely walk, so it's no wonder why people of all ages climb it daily. All of the bugs are really cool looking (and BIG), and I even got to see a lizard or two!
Here is the photo account of my trip!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment