{"id":1321,"date":"2009-09-28T01:10:05","date_gmt":"2009-09-27T16:10:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2009-09-28\/1321"},"modified":"2009-09-28T01:10:05","modified_gmt":"2009-09-27T16:10:05","slug":"more-discoveries-with-nils-mountain-roads-and-spooky-forests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2009-09-28\/1321","title":{"rendered":"More Discoveries with Nils: Mountain Roads and Spooky Forests"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\nNOTE<\/b>: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Not to become an all-Nils<\/a> blog, but another post about our little scooter ride\ninto Northern Kyoto that yielded the photogenic posts “A Visit<\/span> to\nRengeji Temple<\/a>” and “The Hakuryuuen Gardens<\/a>.” We continued into the mountains north of Kyoto,\npast Kibune<\/a>\nand Kurama, way north past civilization into the deep forest, up the mountain.<\/p>\n\n

I had been on the particular road many times, but never on a scooter<\/span>\n(and was impressed with how it handled the steep road with 450lbs of\npassengers... not bad for a 125cc<\/span> scooter!). Near the summit we thought to\nturn around and head back when I noticed<\/span> a small<\/span> gravel path leading deeper\ninto the mountain. At its entrance<\/span> were small signs about hiking trails,\nand a place<\/span> called “pretty view”, so we decided to check it\nout.<\/p>\n\n

It quickly turned into a rough, narrow, bumpy road that I would<\/span> not want\nto take in a normal<\/span> car (a 4×4 would have had no problem), and I\nwondered<\/span> what on earth it might be for. Japanese mountains are full of\nessentially abandoned roads that were used at one time during dam\nconstruction or the like, so perhaps that's what this was (though on second\nthought, we were so high near the top of the mountain, I don't<\/span> think a dam<\/span>\nwould do much good).<\/p>\n\n

After some time, we came across the most eerie sight: a clearing<\/span> with a\nwell<\/span>-preserved big American-style motor home surrounded by tall weeds, a\nsmall<\/span> well-built shack that looked as if it was made from old railroad\nties, and several house foundations that were bare save a chimney<\/span> jutting\nup....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>100 sec, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 1400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nWhat on Earth?<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

There were well-worn paths leading away from the gravel road even deeper\ninto the woods, and as we ventured in to check it out, Nils was cracking\nlines like “this is where I like<\/span> to dispose of the bodies”. It was sort<\/span> of an odd, creepy place, but its weirdness value skyrocketed when\na hundred<\/span> yards in we came across what appeared to be a turret<\/span> or the top\nof a castle<\/span> tower..<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>100 sec, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 4500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nMega Creepy<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Nils' best guess is that it was a blind<\/span> for hunting, perhaps wild boar. I dunno.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

From there, down the mountain, we noticed trees with white-painted trunks, which has its own oddness...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>100 sec, f<\/span>\/3.2, ISO 560 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nTrees with White Trunks<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

From a distance I thought it might be paint or a wrapping.<\/span>.. something\nto preserve against bugs, along the lines of the tree\nsnuggies<\/a> that I've posted about, but closer inspection showed that they\nwere surrounded with squiggly plastic things, held tight by wrapped\nwire...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 35 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>100 sec, f<\/span>\/3.2, ISO 250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The white plastic things littered the ground, and there were bundles of wire all over...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>100 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 900 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I had absolutely no idea what any of it was for, but Nils suddenly\nrealized: it's a tree<\/span> farm where they prepare ceder trunks to be\ntokobashira<\/i> (\u5e8a\u67f1),<\/span> the main support post in a traditional<\/span> Japanese house's\ntokonoma<\/i> alcove<\/a> \uff08\u5e8a\u306e\u9593). The trees<\/span> continue to grow after\nbeing wrapped, and the wood gets a certain<\/span> kind of prized moulded look.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 48 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>100 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 220 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nPrized<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 44 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nNot Yet Prized<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

In either case the bark will be removed and the wood polished before\nit's used. I was searching<\/span> around the web for a photo<\/span> of a finished<\/span>\ntokobashira<\/i> and all I found<\/span> was a\npicture<\/span> of me<\/a> (Nils' photos from the same trip).<\/p>\n\n

Eventually, we returned to the scooter and continued along in search for\nthe “pretty view” location, but the road became so rutty and bouldered that\nit was impassable on bike. So, we returned to the main road, but along the\nway paused to climb a short<\/span> hill to get a nice<\/span> (but hazy) view East out to\nBiwako....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f<\/span>\/9, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The tower from Kyoto's “I Fall<\/span>” Tower<\/a> is about half way\nbetween here and the lake, and about at half the elevation, but I guess<\/span> is\ntoo low to be seen from this view.<\/p>\n\n

I thought that the ugly tower at this location looked familiar, and\nindeed, I think<\/span> it's because you can see it from Kyoto on a clear<\/span> day. I found<\/span> the following photo from a crisp<\/span> day in February, taken from 10 miles\naway in Kyoto City proper not all that far from my place, near the corner\nof Kawabata and Imadegawa. The bottom<\/span> of the tower peaking out from under\nthe clouds in the upper left of the frame...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 340 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/10, ISO 500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

This was from the same shoot that produced\n“More Thin-Depth-of-Field Fun<\/a>”\nand the humorous ““Untitled 2009”<\/a>.”\nIt's also the same location that produced, on a much<\/span> nicer spring day,\n“A Pleasant<\/span> Day Along the Kamo River<\/a>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not to become an all-Nils blog, but another post about our little scooter ride into Northern Kyoto that yielded the photogenic posts \"A Visit to Rengeji Temple\" and \"The Hakuryuuen Gardens.\" We continued into the mountains north of Kyoto, past Kibune and Kurama, way north past civilization into the deep forest, up the mountain.<\/p>

I had been on the particular road many times, but never on a scooter (and was impressed with how it handled the steep road with 450lbs of passengers... not bad for a 125cc scooter!). Near the summit we thought to turn around and head back when [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1321"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1321\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}