When I visited Yokokawa for the second time in May, I was told that trekking to Ichinokurasawa of Mt. Tanigawa in that week was impossible due to road closure, yet I had already taken Friday off. I considered just going to the Tanigawa Ropeway, but I felt it would be somewhat unsatisfactory as a one-day trip. Besides, upon checking the online live camera, I found that there was a little late-lying snow on Mt. Tanigawa at the end of May. It was quite different from what I had imagined. I probably did not make enough research last year when I thought of seeing the late-lying snow on Mt. Tanigawa.
I could cancel my company leave, but I was already in a three-day weekend mood and had lost all motivation going to work on Friday. While I looked at maps thinking about where to go, I remembered that I thought of visiting Kiyotsu Gorge Tunnel in Niigata Prefecture.
The foothills around Joetsu area, where the Tunnel located, would be in their fresh green season. It was still before the peak summertime, it probably would not be too crowded on a weekday.
I took Joetsu Shinkansen from Tokyo Station bound for Echigo-Yuzawa. I hoped to arrive right after the Tunnel opening time, when it would likely be the least crowded, so I took a taxi from Echigo-Yuzawa Station. The first northbound Shinkansen and the local bus, which only run a few times a day, did not connect well by missing almost ten minutes gap. Kiyotsu Gorge Tunnel is a difficult spot for one-day trip using public transportation from the Kanto region.
Under the blue sky, the fresh greenery was dazzling. Wildflowers bloomed along the river in the valley. Water was filled in the pool at the deepest part of the Tunnel, reflecting the blue sky and valley on its surface. There were few visitors as expected, allowing me to take photos at a leisurely pace.
However, there were some snow residuals remained in the valley, slightly blocking the view in the shadier corner. Perhaps I came just a bit too early in the season. My first visit to Yokokawa in May failed due to insufficient research, but even crossing the Joetsu border into Niigata Prefecture, I wondered if I did not make enough research.
Although they were snows, because of branches and leaves had fallen, they looked like some brown masses. At first, I did not mind too much, but after taking several shots, they started bothering me. I would have to rely on AI correction when processing the RAW files in Adobe Lightroom.
I could not take a taxi back considering costs, so I adjusted my schedule and took the local bus to Echigo-Yuzawa. Only three other passengers were on board. They all boarded at the bus stop nearest the Kiyotsu Gorge Tunnel, so they must have had the same fate as me on the way there.
I could have just going straight back to home. However, I had heard there were large colonies of dogtooth violets in the nearby town of Muikamachi, so I went to see the flowers. I thought I had read mid-May was the peak time, but there was no trace of dogtooth violets at all. In fact, locals were removing the restricted access ropes on that day. I walked quite a distance from Muikamachi Station, only to end up wasting my time. Ultimately, it was due to another poor research, and it was obvious that I had not learned from mistakes made several times.
There is a Japanese saying that even monkeys fall from trees. A monkey who falls from a tree must surely learn something afterwards. Otherwise, he cannot survive in the harsh wild.
As a human, I should be intellectually more evolved than a monkey. Indeed, I can write and maintain a blog site, I can handle some mathematics as well. None of such can be done by monkeys for sure.
That said, even after falling from a tree, it seems I do not actually learn much. I have to wonder if I am really fundamentally smarter than monkeys.
Questioning my dignity as a member of humanity, I ate bamboo leaf dumplings, which are famous in Joetsu, on the Shinkansen ride home. Whatever the answer to that question may be, both riding the Shinkansen and eating bamboo leaf dumplings are privileges of being human.
I am glad that I am human.
COLO’s Traveller Guide: Echigo-Yuzawa
Times listed are from the schedule at the time of visit.
Tokyo 0608 (Toki 310) > Echigo-Yuzawa 0722
Echigo-Yuzawa Station (Taxi) > Kiyotsu Gorge Tunnel
Kiyotsu Gorge Entrance 1212 (Bus) > Echigo-Yuzawa Station 1240
Echigo-Yuzawa 1314 (JR) > Muikamachi 1336
Muikamachi Station Front (Bus) > Shiozawa Post Office
Shiozawa 1631 (JR) > Echigo-Yuzawa 1649
Echigo-Yuzawa 1708 (Tanigawa 86) > Ueno 1814