Amanohashidate
Trip Start
Apr 02, 2006
1
23
49
Trip End
May 17, 2008
Where I stayed
Amanohashidate YHA
Amanohashidate, Kyōto, Japan
Sunday, January 3, 2010
I reached Amanohashidate at 9:11 in the evening by Kitakinki Tango Railway. My hostel, Amanohashidate YHA, is one hour away from the station. Other than a taxi, I had to walk up to the hostel through the pine woods of Amanohashidate, because the bus service had already ended on the day. I expected that a rental bike was available before the woods, but all the rental stores around the station were closed. The lane was dark and quiet, and I imagined how dangerous it had been to walk at night in the old time. Anyway, the hostel was supposed to allow the guests to check in before 10, but I made a call for them to wait for me. So when I arrived at the hostel at 10:15, it was still open. There were two middle-aged guys in my bunk room, but we didn't talk much. I guess that was because all of us were solo travellers and not social....hahaha.
On the next morning, it was raining. I left my umbrella home and I didn't know that until then. However, I didn't want to waste my time in the hostel, so I got out as early as possible. Kasamatsu Park, my first destination and the must-visit spot in Amanohashidate, was close to my hostel. It took only 10 minutes to reach the cable car station. Lifts were also available, but as a matter of course, I took a cable car, paying 640 JPY for a return trip. The driver told me to sit in the opposite way to see the view of Amanohashidate, but the windows of the cable car were filled with raindrops. After 4 minutes, I arrived at the park. All I had to do was to see the beautiful view, which means the view cost 640 yen. There was another tourist attraction called "clay disc throw" for 100 JPY, but I thought it was a cheesy game which has nothing to do with the great view. It says, "If you succeed in getting a disc through the ring, it brings you a good luck". It seems that the game was invented, because only the view might not be able to satisfy tourists after paying hefty 640 yen. I spent as much time as possible by seeing the view several times in the rain, but 10 minutes was the limit of my patience. I headed down to the foot.
Then I walked in the pine woods along the sand bar, taking plenty of pictures. The distance was 3.6 km from the start to end of the sand bar, but I didn't mind walking, because I thought of the walk as a part of pleasure. Because I took the same route the night before, I enjoyed strolling along the pine-tree-arranged lane. Around the end of the lane, the rain turned heavy, but there was one of the attractions in Amanohashidate, the revolving bridge. Draw bridges are comparatively commonplace, but revolving bridges are rarer. When I reached the bridge, it just returned to the original position and I missed out on the revolving scene. However, I found a schedule on the operating room to revolve the bridge not to get the boats to pass, but just to show it to tourists. So I head for the next destination, Amanohashidate View Park.
The park was very close to the bridge, but I had to take a cable car or lift to the park, paying hefty 850 yen. I thought it was ridiculous to pay much money just for a view, but I couldn't resist the temptation of the great view from up there called "Rising Drangon View". This time, I took a lift to the park, although there were few taking a lift in the rain. The view was great and I took the same posture I took in Kasamatsu park to make sure of the meaning of "Amanohashidate". Then I went back to the revolving bridge. The revolving bridge was a small attraction, but still there were some tourists in the heavy rain, waiting for the bridge to revolve. I had some time left after that, but there was nothing else to see there, so I just waited for my bus for Osaka at the station.
P.S. Now I visited the best 3 Japanese scenic spots chosen by Hayashi Shunsai, a Japanologist of Edo Period. Honestly, the three spots were beautiful, but I can't say they are the top 3. So I would like to pick out the best 3 scenic spots for me. One is Mihoro Path of Hokkaido. The view of Lake Kusharo was superb from up there. Another is Tottori Sand Dunes. You can get great views in all directions. The other is Shirakawago of Gifu. The view from the observation deck is unforgettable with the traditional houses in the snowy area.
