11 October 2007

Shiga Prefecture – Makino

On the weekend, I went to Makino.

Makino is a town that is beside Lake Biwa (the largest lake in Japan). It is in the country-side and there are many hills and mountains in the town. I stayed in Satoshi’s holiday home and it was so cool! In the morning, we headed out to hike up the Mt Mikuni. The beginning was really steep and difficult, but once we past the hard bit, the rest wasn’t so bad. It was a beautiful day for hiking as there was a little bit of wind so we were able to keep cool.


On our way up the mountain, I was in the lead and all of a sudden, a really scary looking snake slithered past me. It had its head up and it looked like there was a spiky thing on it. It looked really angry that we had disturbed its slumber. Thank goodness it didn’t try to strike us, but instead, it hid in the bushes until we passed. As soon as everyone saw the snake, they all hid behind me! What was I going to do if it came towards me? Later I found out that the snake we saw was an extremely poisonous snake that can kill small children and elderly people. Pretty scary, huh? Thankfully we were ok!

We continued on our journey when we came to a bush that contained little red berries. I wanted to try one, but I wasn’t sure if they would be safe to eat. Yuki assured us all that they were ok to eat, so we all tasted one. They were really delicious!


The view from the top of the mountain was spectacular. I got a good view of Lake Biwa from the top and it was really beautiful. I am really glad I climbed that mountain.




On the way down, we took a different route.

It was so beautiful climbing down the mountain being amongst the greenery of the trees in the forest. I took so many photos because I loved being there. Hiking is so much fun because everywhere you go is different and unusual and beautiful. I love nature!

In Autumn, a plant that commonly grows in the mountains is called susuki.

It is furry up the top and feels nice to touch. There were so many susuki plants in the mountain that we climbed. They looked amazing!

This was my fifth hiking expedition in Japan so far.

My next hiking trip will be in Sepico. Apparently it is a little more challenging as in some parts you have to use a rope and chain to pull yourself up the mountain. It should be fun and I’m really looking forward to it!

2 comments:

Lauren said...

Marie you are so genki! Looks like you had a fantastic time!

Tinz said...

Looks like a pretty cool place!