Monthly Archives: November 2019

Izu weekend

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It’s November. Three lovely ladies invite you to go along on a weekend trip to Izu. The fall colors are bound to be beautiful. What do you do?

You go.

On the expressway. Heading for Izu. No, I’m not driving.
Maples at Okunoin Temple.
Kukai (Kobo Daishi) came to what’s now Okunoin Temple in 791 A.D, to meditate by this little waterfall. If he looks a little stiff, well, it’s been well over a thousand years.
The signboard didn’t say so, but I imagine old Kukai was mesmerized by the water ringlets, too.
Persimmons growing near Okunoin Temple.
In the center of Shuzenji.
Person to person, just the way I like it.
The river in Shuzenji.
Shuzenji Temple.
Jizo statues in Shuzenji Temple.
Shuzenji Temple
Shuzenji Temple
Rainbow. From the Toi Ferry Terminal.
Toi, on the coast. Evening sky.
Sunset in Toi.
Rainbow morning in Toi.
Joren Falls.
Rooftop of fish hut near Joren Falls.
Sky.
Near Joren Falls. Excellent Persimmon Dreams.
The Odoriko “Izu Dancer” Trail . . . near the location of the opening scene of Kawabata’s “The Izu Dancer”

Thank you, ladies!

(from Persimmon Dreams: When you’ve got a spare moment, check out our music/nature videos on our “Persimmon Dreams” YouTube channel, or Steve’s books, When a Sissy Climbs a Mountain in May and Along the Same Street, available on Amazon, or directly from us. And if you enjoyed this post, consider sharing with others. Thank you!)

Aozasa color

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November 4.

We drove up through Utogi, enjoying some persimmon dreams, and headed for the Aozasa trailhead. Typhoon # 19 had broken up the road a bit in a few stretches, but we proceeded slowly and had no major problems getting through. For the next couple of weeks, though, expect that there may be some construction work in progress up on the road.

The Aozasa ridge from the road.

One of our team members was overcoming a bit of an illness, so we planned to take it easy, and not necessarily go all the way to the top of Aozasa.

A view of Mt. Shimojumaisan

If you start from below the Jizo Pass, as we did, it usually takes about two hours to reach the top of Aozasa, but we ended up going only about halfway.

In that hour, though, we came across lots of beautiful color.

our bud Fuji

When the colors are bright and the sky is sunshiny blue, you feel you are being radiated with all the energy of the universe. You just throw your arms back and bathe in it.

So you hope for a blue sky, especially in autumn. At least we usually do.

But when the blue weakens—or vanishes, you don’t feel disappointed. At least, we don’t.

When the light becomes subdued, your eyes “reach” a little more—and the effort makes up for the diminished shine.

And you have a tendency to see small things very close to you that you probably wouldn’t have seen under an azure sky.

But we do like the blue.

And if we can’t get three primary colors, we’ll be satisfied with two.

And we’ll be grateful driving back the mountain for the opportunity to have more persimmon dreams.

To feel again, the love coming through the blue, and the warm glow of the orange.

Persimmon tree near the soba restaurant/wasabi shop “Utsurogi”