Dakigaeri Valley and Dakigaeri Jinja Shrine

Hubby and I visited Dakigaeri Valley on October 11th. Dakigaeri Valley is one of the most scenic valleys situated along Tamagawa River, a tributary of Omonogawa River, in Semboku City of Akita prefecture. The valley is situated at the midpoint of Tamagawa River and runs for roughly 10 kilometers in total. The valley gets its name from two words namely ‘Daki’ which means ‘to hold or to hug’ and ‘Kaeri’ which means ‘turn around’. Before it was paved as it is today, the pathway along the valley used to be extremely narrow. So when two people, walking in opposite directions, met each other along the narrow path, it was necessary for one to embrace the other and turn around, in order to pass and move to the other side of the path. Dakigaeri Valley is also known as the Yabakei of Tohoku region. Along with Lake Tazawako and its surroundings, Dakigaeri Valley is a part of Tazawako Dakigaeri Prefectural Natural Park.

The average altitude of Dakigaeri Valley is not so high. There are virgin forests and waterfalls on the rocks on both sides of the valley. The unique shades of blue color of the waterfalls and Tamagawa River are a beautiful sight to behold. Due to rockslides, the last 7 kilometers of the 10-kilometer path along the valley has been closed off. The accessible sections of the valley has easy-to-walk paved pathway to view odd-shaped rocks, rapids, as well as large and small waterfalls. Near the entrance area of the valley, there is a red-colored suspension bridge named Kami-no-Iwahashi. It is an 80 meters long bridge that was built in 1926, and is the oldest suspension bridge in Akita prefecture. Near the end of the accessible path, about 2 kilometers into the valley, there is a stunning waterfall named Mikaeri-no-taki. From spring to summer, people visit the valley to view the fresh green virgin forests and the beautiful waterfalls of the valley. And in autumn, people visit the valley to view colorful autumn foliage.

Next, I will write about a Shinto shrine named Dakigaeri Jinja located at the entrance area of Dakigaeri Valley. It is a small shrine with an old history. Minamoto clan fought many battles with Abe clan during Zenkunen War in Heian period. In 1062, a Samurai named Minamoto no Yoshiie of Minamoto clan wanted to fight a battle with Abe no Sadato of Abe clan of Kuriyagawa no Saku of Morioka. Yoshiie had to cross Tamagawa River to reach Kuriyagawa no Saku for fighting the battle with Sadato. So Yoshiie took out his personal statue of Buddha called Nenjibutsu and prayed at the location of the present-day shrine. He prayed for the river to be calm while crossing it and also for a safe return from the battle. After his victorious return from the battle, Yoshiie enshrined his Nenjibutsu and made a temple at the location. Somewhere along the centuries, many Shinto deities also came to be prayed at the temple. For example, Dragon-God named Ryujin, Water-God named Mikumari-no-kami, and sericulture guardian deity named Kaikogami were venerated since ancient times. In 1673, Dakigaeri Village (present day Wakamatsu in Daisen City) faced severe water shortages and the rivers in the area dried up. So in 1675 a branch shrine of Niukawakami Shrine of Yamato province was established at the former location of the temple and a deity of Water-God named Mizuhanome-no-kami was enshrined inside. The shrine has been rebuilt many times since then.

On 11th October, hubby and I left our home at about 10 am. Dakigaeri Valley is located about 85 kilometers east-northeast of our home in Yurihonjo City and it took us 1.5 hours of car ride to reach the valley area. We parked our car at a parking lot and walked for about 350 meters to reach the entrance area of Dakigaeri Valley. While walking, we loved viewing the mountains with green vegetation surrounding the valley. We noted at least three places on the mountains where mudslides had occurred in a distant or not so distant past.

I am standing next to the map of Dakigaeri Valley area

I am walking along a road leading to the entrance area of the valley

I am standing next to a stone monument with ‘Tazawako Dakigaeri Prefectural Natural Park: Dakigaeri Valley’ inscribed on it

Distant view of the valley along with the red colored Kami-no-Iwahashi Bridge

A mudslide area (indicated with red arrow) on one of the surrounding mountains

Near the entrance area of Dakigaeri Valley, we started walking along a paved pathway. Dakigaeri Jinja Shrine is located just at the entrance area of the valley. We saw the first Torii Gate of the shrine near this entrance area. After passing through the gate, we saw a small stream flowing by. We crossed a simple wooden bridge over the stream, and walked along the pathway for about 10 meters to reach the second Torii Gate located to our right side. We walked past this second gate and entered the sacred area of the shrine premises. Inside the premises to our right side, we saw a Temizuya which is a hand washing basin with a roof supported by four pillars. We washed our hands with water at the basin and purified ourselves. It is a symbolic act to clean the mind and body of impurity.

I am standing in front of the first Torii Gate of Dakigaeri Jinja Shrine located near the entrance area of Dakigaeri Valley

A small stream flowing by

I am standing in front of the second Torii Gate of the shrine

Temizuya

I am washing my hands with water at Temizuya

Next, we walked up to the main prayer hall named Shaden located right across the second Torii Gate in the shrine premises. Shaden Hall is a small wooden building with intricately carved front area and the ceiling. Thin Shimenawa straw rope hung at the entrance of the hall. A deity of Water-God named Mizuhanome-no-kami is enshrined inside the hall. On reaching the front of the hall, I rang the bell located just outside the hall. Then I offered some coins into the offertory box located in front of the hall, clapped my hands twice, and prayed. I prayed for a safe environment as well as physical well being of my family and friends. I loved the serene atmosphere of the shrine premises. After finishing praying, I noted a pair of stone lanterns located on either side of the pathway in front of the hall, which further added to the tranquility of the shrine.

I am standing in front of Shaden Main Prayer Hall. A pair of stone lanterns are seen on either side of the pathway leading to the hall.

Hubby standing in front of Shaden Hall

Intricately carved wooden front area of the hall and thin Shimenawa straw rope hanging at the entrance of the hall

Inside the main hall

I am ringing the bell located in front of the hall

In front of Shaden Prayer Hall, towards its right side (orientation with respect to the prayer hall), we saw an elongated building named Nagadoko Hall inside the shrine premises. Nagadoko Hall is a wooden building with a roof and has only two walls. It is an open stage building with two walls absent, and is used as a meeting place for various ceremonies by the shrine staff. Several huge wooden Ema votive tablets with paintings of dragons and horses hang on the two walls of this hall. Some of the exhibited paintings are really very old. We loved viewing these Ema paintings.

Nagadoko Hall

A very old painting of a dragon hanging on the wall of Nagadoko Hall

A relatively new painting of a dragon

A painting of a dragon and a horse

An old painting of a dragon

Three paintings of horses

After visiting Dakigaeri Jinja Shrine, we continued walking along the paved pathway located adjacent to the shrine. This section of the pathway is rather narrow and is located on the side of a mountain along with Tamagawa River flowing in the valley below. The pathway has wooden railings on one side to prevent visitors from accidentally falling into the river. The pathway was surrounded by lush green all around those days. From the pathway, we looked down into the valley and saw that the river looked stunningly beautiful with emerald colored water.

Hubby walking along the narrow paved pathway

Hubby clicking photos of the river below

Emerald colored Tamagawa River

Emerald colored river and fresh green leaves of the valley

After about 10 minutes of leisurely walking along the pathway, we reached Kami-no-Iwahashi Bridge located over Tamagawa River. As mentioned earlier, it is an 80 meters long red-colored suspension bridge that was built in 1926. It is the oldest suspension bridge in Akita prefecture. We loved viewing the spectacular sceneries of the valley while standing on either side of the bridge. The blue sky, the fresh green virgin forests, and the emerald colored river looked amazing. The view of the valley from this bridge is really magnificent.

Kami-no-Iwahashi Bridge as viewed from one end

I am standing on the bridge and enjoying the beautiful views to the east side of the bridge

Hubby standing on the bridge along with the valley in the background

View of the magnificent valley and Tamagawa River to the east side of the bridge

I am standing on the bridge and enjoying the beautiful views to the west side of the bridge

View of the magnificent valley and Tamagawa River to the west side of the bridge

View of emerald colored Tamagawa River running though the valley

A beautiful small islet located to the west side of the bridge

We walked across Kami-no-Iwahashi Bridge and reached the other side of Tamagawa River. Then we went down a few stone steps and reached the bank of the river. We walked along the bank and enjoyed the scenic views all around us. We saw that there were too many rocks and pebbles along the bank and realized that it was probably the dried-up portion of the riverbed. I touched the river water which was very cold but the clear emerald color of the water was a mesmerizing sight to behold. We stayed at the bank of the river for about 15 minutes and enjoyed the views.

I am walking down the stone steps that lead to the bank of Tamagawa River. Kami-no-Iwahashi Bridge can be partly seen on the left side of the photo.

I am walking along the bank of the river. Red colored bridge is seen on the left side of the photo.

I am walking along the bank of the river. Many rocks and pebbles are seen.

The water of the river was very cold

Hubby clicking photos of the beautiful sceneries

Hubby clicking more photos

View of the valley and the river to the west side as seen from the bank of the river

View of the valley to the east side as seen from the bank of the river

After crossing the bridge, there is a paved narrow path along the river in the valley that leads to Mikaeri-no-taki Waterfall and a few caves. But we skipped going to the waterfall this time. We returned back to the entrance area of the valley and had softcream at a shop located near the car parking area.

I am having softcream

Hubby relaxing and having softcream

Afterwards we walked back to the car parking area and returned home. We loved visiting Dakigaeri Valley and Dakigaeri Jinja Shrine.

The past couple of months

Life has been rather quite over the past couple of months. Hubby had been very busy with his office work and brought home a lot of work. But on weekends, hubby and I visited a few sightseeing places in nearby prefectures, and ate at a few restaurants in Akita City. We enjoyed the autumn season immensely, and now it has already started snowing in Akita prefecture. In this post, I will chronicle our everyday life for the months of October and November.

On 4th October, hubby and I had lunch at a restaurant named Kathmandu Kitchen. It is a Nepalese restaurant located in Omachi area of Akita City. First we had Samosa snacks. Then we ordered set-menu lunch consisting of a curry dish, saffron rice, and salad. Hubby’s lunch set had Keema curry and mine had spinach-chicken curry. Both the curries were mild, had rich flavor, and were delicious. We also ordered Coca-Cola soft drink and Mango Lassi to go with lunch. It was nice to have Nepalese food though I found the taste similar to north Indian food but fortunately (for me) less spicy.

Samosa snacks

Hubby having Samosa

Keema curry and salad

Spinach-chicken curry and salad

Hubby having lunch

Mango Lassi (left) and Coca Cola (right)

I had a few errands to run on the evening of 8th October. So I took a local train from Ugo Honjo Railway Station near our home to go up to a station named Nikaho. Ugo Honjo Station is a very small station and serves the local people well. A huge Gotenmari ball hangs from the ceiling at the entrance area inside the station, and really brightens up the place. Gotenmari balls are typical traditional handicraft of Honjo region, and are made of vivid colors and have sophisticated creative designs. While standing at the platform of Ugo Honjo Station, I saw a few scarecrow puppets put up near the back side of the railway station for Kokumin Bunkasai National Cultural Festival (English webpage and a more detailed Japanese webpage) that was going on those days (4th October to 3rd November). In fact, Akita was the host prefecture for the festival this year. The colorful scarecrows looked awesome. Akita is basically an agriculture based prefecture and such scarecrows are an important part of the lifestyle of the farmers here. In fact during the rice harvesting season, I have seen many such scarecrows all around the place where we live. Oh the tranquility and happiness of village life! Anyway I got off the train at Nikaho Station which is just two stops from Ugo Honjo Station. Nikaho Station is even smaller than Ugo Honjo, and is unmanned after 5 pm. At the waiting room of Nikaho Station I saw a huge display of a fictional local hero character named Dewa warrior Ga Saan. This character was also displayed for Kokumin Bunkasai National Cultural Festival. I realized that although Akita prefecture is sparsely populated and does not have much entertainment facilities, people like to celebrate little things in life. After returning home, I saw news on television about the lunar eclipse going on at that time. I opened the window and looked towards the sky, and saw that the moon was in total lunar eclipse and its color was a deep copper red. The moon looked so beautiful.

Huge Gotenmari ball hanging from the ceiling at the entrance area inside Ugo Honjo Railway Station

A few scarecrow puppets put up near the back side of Ugo Honjo station for Kokumin Bunkasai National Cultural Festival

Enlarged view of some of the scarecrows

Enlarged view of the other scarecrows

Fictional local hero named Dewa warrior Ga Saan displayed inside Nikaho Station for Kokumin Bunkasai National Cultural Festival

Moon during the total lunar eclipse as viewed from the window of our home at 19:21 pm

Moon during the partial eclipse phase as viewed at 21:16 pm

On 11th October, hubby and I visited Lake Tazawako Dakikaeri Prefectural Natural Park and Dakikaeri Shrine about which I will write in a later blog post.

13th October was our 9th marriage anniversary day. We just relaxed at home. Hubby modified our home mini-library in the morning. In the afternoon, he cooked our lunch consisting of two kinds of spaghetti dishes. He cooked Spaghetti Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino for me and Spaghetti Carbonara for himself. Of course we tasted each others dishes, and both the dishes were delicious. Then we watched a couple of English movies on cable television. Later in the evening, we bought a Sushi Bento from a nearby supermarket. I also cooked Kitsune Soba noodles from scratch. Our dinner of Soba noodles and Sushi was nice. We spent a nice relaxed day at home on our marriage anniversary.

Hubby modifying our home mini-library

Hubby cooking lunch

Our lunch of Spaghetti Carbonara (left) and Spaghetti Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino (right)

Hubby having lunch

Our dinner of Sushi and Kitsune Soba noodles

Hubby having dinner

On 18th October, hubby and I went to see a Bollywood movie named ‘English Vinglish’ at a theater in Akita City. The movie was renamed as ‘Madam in New York’ for its release in Japan. Although the dialogues of the movie were in Hindi language, there were Japanese subtitles so it was easier for hubby to understand the storyline. It was a comedy drama movie and we enjoyed it immensely. I should mention here that only a few selected Bollywood movies have so far been screened at theaters in Japan, and that too mostly in Tokyo area. So it was really a pleasant surprise that ‘English Vinglish’ was shown at a remote theater in Akita prefecture where comparatively very few foreigners (Indians) live. Also I watched a Bollywood movie at a theater after almost two decades, and it was really a nice experience. On our way back home, we saw beautiful autumn colors right in the heart of Akita City.

I am standing next to the poster of the movie ‘Madam in New York’ located in front of the theater

Autumn colors in Akita City

On 25th October, hubby and I visited Yamadera Temple in Yamagata City of Yamagata prefecture. We went there by our car, and were surrounded by colorful autumn foliage all the way up to the temple. We had to drive for about 3 hours on an expressway and a national highway to reach the temple. The expressway and the national highway were so scenic and beautiful due to the fabulous autumn colors all around. We stopped at a couple of parking areas along the way to click photos of the autumn foliage. I will write about our visit to Yamadera Temple in a later blog post.

Autumn colors near our home in Yurihonjo City

Autumn foliage on our way to Yamadera Temple as viewed from moving car

Autumn foliage as viewed from a parking area along the expressway leading to the temple

Our car and autumn foliage at yet another parking area

Autumn colors near this second parking area

On 2nd November, hubby and I went to see an English movie at a theater in Akita City. We saw that a temporary stage was set up at the first floor of the building where the movie theater hall is located. And Taiko drum performance was held by four performers in Namahage costume and ogre masks. It was an enchanting performance, and was held as an event to mark the closing of Kokumin Bunkasai National Cultural Festival.

A temporary stage along with many Taiko drums

Taiko drum performance by Namahage costume-wearing performers

On 22nd November, hubby and I had been to Mitsui Outlet Park Sendai Port located in Sendai City. It is the largest outlet mall in Tohoku region and has nearly 120 domestic and foreign brand stores, as well as restaurants and amusement facilities. It took us almost 4 hours of car ride to reach the outlet mall. In between we stopped at a service area along the expressway and had lunch at a restaurant. On reaching the mall, we saw that an entertainment show was going on. A juggler performed many funny tricks with balls, juggling clubs, and knives. We enjoyed the show for about 20 minutes. Later we bought winter jackets and a few other clothes at the mall. That night we stayed at a hotel in a neighboring city. We noted that the Christmas decorations and illuminations were already up everywhere we had been that day, that is, the service area along the expressway, the entrance area of the outlet mall, various shops at the mall, and even the hotel we stayed that night. Everywhere there was Christmas mood. The next day we visited the historical site of Tagajo Fort located in the present day Tagajo City of Miyagi prefecture. I will write about our visit to the site of Tagajo Fort in a later blog post.

Hubby is having lunch at a service area along the expressway. We can see Christmas decorations behind him.

Christmas decorations at Mitsui Outlet Park Sendai Port

The Christmas trees are so beautiful

A juggler performing funny tricks with knives at the mall

Hubby standing at the mall along with several shops in the background

On 29th November, hubby and I had lunch at a restaurant named Big Boy in Akita City. We ordered set-menu lunch consisting of a main dish, salad, hot soup, dessert, and cold drinks. Hubby’s main dish consisted of stewed hamburger patty, and my main dish consisted of hamburger patty, fried fish, and fried chicken. The food was delicious. Afterwards we had lychee fruit for dessert. I love lychee very much and had them after almost 3 decades. It was a sumptuous lunch and we enjoyed the food very much. In the evening, we drove up to Autobacs store in Akita City itself, and changed the tires of our car to studless snow tires in preparation for the long hard snowy winter of Akita prefecture (it is already snowing heavily now). It was fun to watch the store staffs remove the usual tires of our car and replace them with the studless snow tires. We had to wait for about an hour to get the tires changed as there were many customers that day. We read Doraemon comic book while waiting. Afterwards we bought a few groceries in the city and then returned home. That night hubby made popcorn in a frying-pan. It was the first experience for him to make popcorn and he was very excited and happy to see the corn kernels popping. I compiled a video of the corn kernels popping in the frying-pan.

Hubby’s lunch of stewed hamburger patty

My lunch consisting of hamburger patty, fried fish, and fried chicken

Lychee fruits for dessert

I am having lychee fruits

Autobacs store staffs changing the tires of our car to studless snow tires

Hubby drinking a cup of coffee while waiting during the changing of tires

And reading Doraemon comic book for passing time at the store

Hubby made popcorn in a frying-pan

A compiled video of the corn kernels popping in the frying-pan

It is now snowing heavily in Akita prefecture and is extremely cold. Hubby and I are eagerly looking forward to the New Year holidays.