Looking for Leaves and a Real Deep Lake

My friends and I often marvel about our new-found appreciation of nature, which developed after moving to Japan. I always thought I appreciated nature. I always liked flowers and trees, The Lorax was a childhood favorite, I picked up trash whenever I saw it, and I was a founding member of the Freedom Court Earthsavers Club. But it wasn't until we moved to Japan that I learned to travel distances to see nature; to experience nature; to look at nature; to truly appreciate nature. And when I say, "travel distances" I mean sometimes hours. Yes, sometimes we drive hours to look at flowers or leaves or rocks or snow.

Since I last blogged, seasons have passed.  I have gone to bed each night vowing to "catch up on the blog"...yet again. I feel like I am always behind, and sometimes I feel like giving up my attempt to chronicle these chronicles. But I return again and again to try to capture our memories; the sweet moments of this life that I appreciate so deeply.

Since I last blogged, we traveled to another island for a snow festival, spent countless hours admiring the blossoms of spring, and crossed the Pacific to spend some summer days in the salty water of the Atlantic. And now, here we are in the thick of summer, sweating it out day in and day out. It is a welcome escape from the humidity to think about the cooler temperatures of the fall, and to remember our search for the changing autumn foliage. Last autumn, that search lead us southwest of Misawa to a valley called Dakigaeri, a town called Kakunodate, and a lake called Tazawa.

One day last November, Sarah, Keenan, Eric, the Bean, and I piled into a car and made our way to Dakigaeri valley; a valley in the Akita prefecture of the Tohoku region of Japan (same region- different prefecture- as Misawa). The Tama-gawa (Tama river) flows through the valley and along the river there is a footpath, which meanders over bridges, through tunnels & caves, and past waterfalls. The Dakigaeri Shrine (a Shinto shrine) stands at the start of the footpath and enshrines the God of rain. The whole area is serene and a perfect place to admire the fiery colors of fall leaves.

Oh, the mittens!

Keenan & Sarah!

After spending a peaceful hour or so in the gorge, we got back in the car and went to a town called Kakunodate, which is near the Tazawa lake. I actually learned since visiting that Kakunodate officially merged with the town of Tazawa in 2005 to become the city of Semboku. Kakunodate is historically known for its well-preserved Samurai houses and beautiful cherry blossom trees (we may have to revisit to hanami there next spring). It has been referred to as the "little Kyoto of Tohoku." After seeing the town in the fall, I can attest to the fact that they can also boast some pretty jaw-dropping Japanese maple trees, too.

Sarah learned that Kakunodate is renowned for cherry tree woodwork, lacquerware, and a particular style of pottery. We, of course, spent some time (too much if you ask Keenan and Eric) choosing our mementos to take home from this region. After Sarah and I overcame our indecisiveness and picked out our treasures, we left Kakunodate and arrived at Tazawa-ko (lake Tazawa) with sufficient daylight to drive the perimeter of the lake before sunset.

Tatsuko 

 Tazawa-ko is the deepest lake in Japan and the 17th deepest lake in the world at 423ish meters (over 1,000 ft)! Tazawa is associated with the mythological Tatsuko, maiden of beauty, who, after wishing for eternal youth and beauty was turned into a lake goddess. After circling the lake, taking some time to photograph the ever-beautiful Tatsuko, and coming to the conclusion that we need to camp at Tazawa next fall (so pretty!), we happened upon a brewery.

Unable to pass up an opportunity to try some new beer, we stopped to watch the sunset over the lake and try the local brew. The beer was only meh, but the sunset was spectacular and the perfect ending to a beautiful day with friends. Well, the long drive home was the real ending to the day, but it was, as it always is, totally worth it. 

Look how little I was!