Yuru Camp backpacking: The highlands and the doggy shrine

Mount Jinbagata, a hot day, and the doggy shrine

I knew the hike to the Jinbagata campsite was going to be tough. But I didn’t account for changing weather conditions. The forecast said it would be cloudy and slightly rainy, as it was for the first hike. And because of that, the temperature was pretty mild and the mist in the air helped to keep you cool. But when I got off the train at Ina-Hongo, it was completely different. The sun was shining rather brilliantly. I set off for the first part of the hike which was initially downhill, and it seemed like the gap in the clouds was only getting larger. I was drenched in sweat, and I hadn’t even started the 7 miles of uphill. I checked the forecast. It said 30 degrees, with a UV index of 11. Which in terms of danger is as high as it can possibly get. And I forgot my sunscreen. I was reluctant to turn around after my earlier failure at attempting to reach the Yuru Camp movie location, but I realised it was the smart thing to do.

But not all was lost. On the way back from Jinbagata I had planned to visit a nearby shrine that Rin visits, and on the way there I could pass by a convenience store and grab some sunscreen. So that’s exactly what I did. I cancelled my campsite booking and headed back to the train station.

The nearest station to the shrine was Komagane, not too far back the way I came. When I first got on the train it was pretty much empty.

The walk up to the shrine was a few miles and a little uphill, but nothing too difficult. Walking from the town into the countryside was pretty pleasant.

Eventually I made it to the shrine. I had to sit down to catch my breath and have some food and drink because of the heat. When I was all charged up, I began my pilgrim activities.

Just for some information, this is Hoshakuzan Kozenji Temple, an ancient Temple that dates back (probably) a thousand years, and its structures are at least a couple hundred years old. The temple is also home to the grave of Hayataro, a rather legendary dog with an interesting tale. Rin give’s the brief rundown of the tale in the anime but if you want to read up on it there’s a section on the temple’s wiki page.

On the way to the shrine Rin also visits the Tsuesuki pas observation cafe, and I visited it last time I was in Japan. You can read about that here.

Anyway, at the entrance was my first shot.

And walking along the path through the entrance is the next one.

The difference in seasons is pretty apparent here, and I think all the extra foliage and moss acted as some sort of sound dampening. It was really peaceful and quite relaxing to walk around.

A little further up the same path for the next shot.

And peeping through the structure in the previous pic is the main temple.

There were some people praying and I didn’t want to get all paparazzi in their face with my camera so I settled for this pic.

Bottom right of the frame you can see a couple that had brought their cute corgis along. I’m not sure what for but it’s probably something to do with the Hayataro legend.

Speaking of which, just to the right of the temple is the grave of Hayataro.

I headed back down as Rin did and took another shot of the structure below the main temple. You can see there were some shops or counters of some sort that wern’t there anymore.

There are really nice Japanese gardens surrounding the buildings in the temple and it added a lot to the serenety of the place.

Just before I left, again as Rin did, I passed by the little desk selling mini Hayataro fortunes. I had to.

I took a couple more shots at the temple before I began my walk back down to the station.

On the way I took a couple more pics and spotted mount Jinbagata in the distance.

And that pretty much concludes the Yuru Camping for now. More to come in a couple weeks (Hamamatsu and Izu are on the itinerary). Kath and I relaxed in Matsumoto for a couple more days. There was an open mic night at the guest house and for a couple songs while a band was playing, I decided to contribute with some rusty drumming. It was good fun though. “Nawate Guesthouse” if you want to follow in my footsteps, and it’s another place I’d recommend staying at for sure.. A little on the pricier side but worth it imo.

Rin visits a castle on her way back from Takabocchi and I was quick to assume it was Matsumoto castle. When I had a look around to try and find some photo’s it quickly became apparent that it wasn’t.

The next stop after Mastumoto would be an express train and Shinkansen all the way to Kyoto! See you in the next post 🙂

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