Wabisabi - Blog -

Irimizu Caves are about 15 minutes from Abukuma.  There are three trails at the Irimizu Caves, A,B and C. Trail A is relatively easy allowing visitors to take their time and enjoy the sights. Trail B is a little more treacherous. Water flows down the trail like a river and visitors would need to wear boots and waterproof clothing as well as carry a flashlight-preferably a headlamp. Cell phones and cameras should be left behind too. Trail C is even more treacherous. We didn’t go on this trail since you can only go with a guide.

We set our sights on the moderately treacherous trail, B. At the entrance we stopped and took a picture and got ready to start our adventure. As we were entered the cave a bat flew out and suddenly the excitement turned to terror. It took some time to get the kids calm again.

My wife and the youngest boy took the easy trail, Trail A. That was smart. I took my two older children down Trail B. Even with all our waterproof gear we all got pretty wet since you are in the water the whole time. On top of that the water was extremely cold and along the way your feet start to hurt and get numb. Some parts of the trail were very narrow with low ceilings and you had to crawl on your hands and knees. This made everything really wet. After that part everyone started walking fast to get to the exit-we just wanted to see the sun and get warm! My reward of the day was a nice big welt I acquired in the low ceiling section. We really didn’t get to enjoy the beautiful scenery but next time we definitely want to try Trail C.

B

While searching for places to take my family I came across a site talking about winter cherry blossoms.. I was utterly taken back-winter cherry blossoms??? -cherry blossoms are normally bloom during spring. The more I read about them the more I had to go and see what they were all about.

Located between Saitama and Gunma prefecture, the park with the winter cherry blossoms is called Zyou Park. The road to the park was extremely narrow and windy. When we finally reached our destination I couldn’t believe we were still in Saitama prefecture-the waterfalls, rivers and mountains full of fall colors….really impressive.

Unexpectedly the park was really crowded. Tour buses and people were scattered everywhere-really was hard to find parking. When we finally got to the park we were surprised to see that the cherry blossoms were not as colorful as we had hoped. I guess you can describe it as a more subtle beauty. (Evidently we missed the peak bloom and the flowers were more white than pink). Still with the autumn colors it was impressive-truly wabi sabi. I was also told that this type of cherry blossom blooms again in the spring. B

During the weekend I had a chance to visit the Oya Cavern in Tochigi prefecture. I’ve been looking forward to visiting this spot ever since I heard about them.

After paying the entrance fee (always a fee) you follow a narrow path that seems to take you far, far underground. At the bottom the path suddenly dumps you into an enormous space about the size of a baseball stadium.

This cavern was created through years of mining with 50 other locations, similar size, in the area. The total amount of excavated minerals is estimated to be about 10 billion tons. These enormous caverns were also used as secret ammunition dumps and underground factories during World War II.

While standing inside this enormous cavern you can’t help but feel overwhelmed-like you are in an illusion. It is a really strange feeling and probably similar to being inside the pyramids. Inside the caverns the temperature averages a cool 10 degrees Celsius. Even during the height of summer the caverns stay nice and cool. In fact, it is so cold inside you start seeing your breathe (eventually you need a jacket). But it was definitely a nice change from the stifling summer heat we were enduring above ground. It takes about 20 minutes to loop around the cavern at which time you start longing for the warmth above.

Enormous rock cliffs still remain around the caverns (picture).  Some have been carved into enormous Kanon statues.

（2009.10.13）

For some reason I really have been wanting to explore caves. With my children being of the right age, I decided to take my family to visit some caves in Japan.

The closest caves from Tokyo are the Abukuma limestone caves in Fukushima prefecture. It is a little misleading when I say “close” since the caves are still a couple hundred miles away.

The Abukuma limestone caves were estimated to have formed over a period of 8,000 million years-that’s a time frame that is hard to wrap your head around… But what a sight! The cave is roughly 2,000 feet wide. Large stalactites hang from the ceiling with others seemingly springing up from the ground like bamboo shoots-all in mysterious shapes, colors, and forms…..

While walking through the cave the path divides into two. One path is considered the “easy” route while the other one offers the visitor a more adventurous path. My wife and I decided to split up. I took my youngest son down the “easy” path while my wife took the two older children down the “adventure” path. The kids were scared at first but in the end really enjoyed the exploring.  There is another cave nearby called Irizuma Shonyudoh, which I will introduce, in my next entry. B