Okuizumo (Part 2)

Hello again!

I won’t waste your time…

Let’s start from where we left…

Tamaki san is gonna get on the train!

As I mentioned in the last part,

there’s a station on JR’s kisuki line which

Tamaki san wanted to visit no matter what…

let’s follow him to his destination!

He will get on the next train at Yakawa station.

as he reaches the platform,

he notices how narrow it is and makes a joke about it!

This railway is one of the most famous ones in Japan,

because of the unique way it goes up to the heart of the mountain!

The train arrives and Tamaki san says that

it’s running faster than what he has imagined.

Not so many people ride on this train these days…

probably most of them are tourists or visitors

or perhaps people who has a deep interest in trains and railways!

Tamaki san finds his seat and sits down next to the other passengers!

But he gets bored and decides to talk

to the person sitting next to him XD

Asks him if they can have a chat and the man agrees

but it’s obvious he feels a little bit shy ^^

Tamaki san asks him if he’s from the area

but it seems like he’s from Shizuoka.

Then asks him if he knew about this train

and he says that he did and he came here

because he wanted to ride on this train!!

And then he starts playing with his cellphone again

as if he wants to end the conversation as fast as possible XD

…

But if Tamaki Hiroshi was a person

who would easily give up with that,

he wouldn’t have been who he is now XD

The train keeps going on the rail surrounded by the trees!

Beautiful!

And they make a stop at

“izumo sakane” station

Tamaki san notices a board outside and reads it word by word:

“The elevation here is 564 meters…

This station is the location for the 3 stage switch back!”

Without a hesitation, he turns back toward the man

sitting next to him and asks “What is a 3 stage switch back?”

The man explains for him that the railway here has a zig-zag shape.

Because it’s difficult for the train to climb up the hill

in one straight line,

they made a zig-zag way to climb it in 3 stages.

I love the fact that he decided to ask him,

not one of the members of their own team…

because it was obvious the man is a pro

and knows better about all this.

And talking to someone about what they like,

is the best way to get close to them XD

They have to wait a few moments before the preparation is done

and they can move again!!

Tamaki san asks someone what time it is…

and finds out that they still

have 7 minutes until the departure…

He looks out the window and says:

“I wanna go buy some yakitori!”

hehehehehe!

And off he goes!!

Getting of the train and heading to the shops in the station…

He looks around wondering if people are waiting in a line or not…

He asks the ladies if he can have some yakitori…

but they say that the are not making any right now!

Tamaki san panics: “No way!”

and laughs while asking:

 “How long will it take to make them?!”

After confirming that he wants the simple type,

the lady says that it will be ready in no time!

Then he asks her how many there are in one package…

5 she answers!

Even during the time when he’s waiting for the yakitori,

he doesn’t stand still…

Eating samples…

checking out a train toy…

and buying more and more stuff!

Finally he gets the yakitori and runs into the train…

Getting back to his seat and opening the yakitori package.

First thing he does is offering it

to the man sitting next to him…

“Would you like one?!”

The man is shocked at first XD

But then he thanks him and takes one!

Then Tamaki san looks toward the person sitting

next to the man and says

“There are 5 sticks of them…!”

and one more is taken!

Then looking at the two passengers sitting in front of him…

“There are 3 of them left, so please take one…!”

Actually it’s not very common to offer food

to people you don’t know in Japan…

that’s why they are all surprised but happy as well!

When there’s only one left…

he looks at the person sitting next to the two men and says:

“Only one is left… I want to offer it to you,

but then there will be nothing left for myself!!”

ahahahahaha  XD

Everyone start laughing!!

But seems like that person has already bought some…

so RELAX! And just enjoy the Yakitori you wanted so bad!

“Tasty… this is what they call buying and eating.

It’s tender and delicious!”

The sparkle in his eyes makes it easy to understand

how tasty it must have been!

After everyone finished eating,

he even collected the sticks

and put them all in the plastic bag!

He definitely made his way to everyone’s heart with this!

Now everyone sitting here feel closer to him…

after the train starts moving again,

Tamaki san realizes something:

“We were moving this way until now, right?”

The train is running in the opposite way now!

You can see in the snapshot

how everyone is trying t explain for him…

Feels like they let him in now XD

I think they simply forget about the fact that he’s a celebrity…

Once again they stop and switch!

The driver comes back to the last wagon

and they start moving…

opposite way again!

They are going higher and higher…

getting far away from the station.

They enter a tunnel…

And one of the passengers tell him that

the view from the window is great

after they get out of the tunnel!

But it’s foggy today and Tamaki san says:

“Probably won’t be able to see anything today!”

And as the landscape shows up…

“Woaaah! Pure white!!” he says!

He can’t see much because of the fog…

but as he keeps staring at the beautiful scenery,

he says that the fog is actually making it look whimsical!

He once gets of the train in “Mii nohara” station

which is known as the station with the

highest location above the level of the sea

on JR west Railways!

He thanks everyone on the train and gets off.

The waiting room in the station is covered with cute dots!!

Tamaki san says that it looks like

he entered a Mushroom house XD

He gets out and starts wondering around again…

There’s really not much to discover here…

All you can see is Vinyl houses,

probably producing vegetables and flowers!

Finally he finds someone to talk to!

He gets close to the Vinyl house and asks the man:

“What are you planting here? Is it Rose?”

“No… these are Eustoma!” the man says.

Then they talk about the temperature and how

it can affect the color of the flowers.

Just like Tamaki san,

I really don’t know much about flowers!

（；^ω^）

So let’s just move on…

Gettig on the train one more time,

Tamaki san moves to the next station…

Finally the station he’s been looking forward to visit!

“kamedake” station!

If you have watched the Special drama “Suna no utsuwa” (2011)

You will remember this station!

It was an important location in the drama…

Right now it’s more like a tourism spot than being a station.

There’s a Soba restaurant right inside the hall!

Right where they placed table sets…

you can see the small window which

Tamaki san suggests

that it must have been used as the place

where tickets were sold to passengers getting on the train.

Then he explains about the station

and the key role it played in “Suna no utuswa”.

He also says that he didn’t actually come over here

to shoot the scenes they had in the station…

And since he came all the way up here,

he really wanted to make a visit

and see the actual place by himself.

But after arriving…

he found out about the special service they have here…

the Station Master is selling soba in the station!! O_O

Here comes the Station master which has switched into

the Soba shop master right now XD

Tamaki san greets him and after

he is asked what he would like to eat…

he takes a look at what the station master is wearing

and asks: “Are you the Station Master?!”

hehehehe!

As he says yes,

he can’t hold it back any more and they both laugh!

Which one is his main job,

he says that he doesn’t know anymore!

Tamaki san orders the famous

“Wariko soba”

And it seems like he’s pretty much enjoying the taste.

Then Tamaki san asks him about the attractions of this place,

but the station master says that

it’s just a silent place with no big change

for people living here…

but for people visiting here,

that is what it can be called the attraction!

Tamaki san says that he thinks

he can understand that very well…

The merit of being in a place

with nothing special or no big change!

As the Train Journey ends for him,

Tamaki san starts wondering around the rice fields in the area.

He finds a man working in the field…

which is a very surprising thing for him since it’s raining heavily!

He gets closer and calls out for him… asking what he’s doing!

The man in the field keeps repeating a word

Tamaki san cannot understand!

But in the end it becomes clear that

he was picking up weeds in his rice field.

The old man (Matsubara san) stops his work

and starts talking to him about the rice and the taste.

Then Tamaki san uses the chance and asks him

if there’s a place in okuizumo

where it can be called an unexplored region.

And Matsubara san recommends a waterfall

and says that they can also find Protected species living there!

Sounds interesting…

After a few seconds of thinking,

Tamaki san says that he would like to see the place

and asks if Matsubara san would take him there.

And of course he agrees

but says that he can’t go with these snickers!

(He uses an old word instead of saying sneakers in Japanese… he says “zook” which is taken from the word “Doek” in Dutch if I’m not mistaken. Tamaki san doesn’t let it show on his face but you can hear the staff laughing secretly behind the camera… and the way Tamaki san repeats the word makes it obvious it’s not a common word XD )

Anyway,

they are  heading to Matsubara san’s house

so that Tamaki san can borrow a pair of rain boots from him.

Tamaki san starts untying his shoelaces

and Matsubara san helps him put on the rain boots.

He also asks if he can keep the “Zook” for him

somewhere here until he comes back XD XD

hahahaha!!!

And here they go,

heading toward the next discovery in okuziumo!

As they arrive,

they walk on top of a tiny cliff

where a river is running underneath…

Matsubara san points to a dark thing in the water…

it’s hard too see what it is…

it takes Tamaki san a few seconds to find it!

Then they go down and get closer…

They put a Bait on the end of a wooden stick

and try to feed the animal…

Matsubara san is much more excited about this,

than Tamaki san is! XD

Finally the bait is eaten!

So we can see what the Protected specie actually is!

“Ōsanshōuo!” says Tamaki san.

Ōsanshōuo -> Japanese giant salamander

Tamaki san seems to have learned the trick!

Before the Ōsanshōuo gets the chance to eat the bait…

he makes him get out of the water a little bit

while trying to eat the whole thing!

 This way we can see it more clearly!

Then he asks Matsubara san:

“Can’t we hold it with our hands?”

“No!! This is a protected specie!!

You can’t touch them!” He answers!

Then after they’re done playing in the water XD

Tamaki san says:

“Otousan was more excited than I was!!!

He was as happy as a child when he found them!!” 

Matsubara san laughs and says “I turned into a child!”

Finally they head toward the waterfall.

“sanjuu no taki”

another beautiful waterfall…

Matsubara san explains for him that he himself didn’t know about this waterfall until 3 years ago. But after finding the place with the other residents in the area, they decided to make it a place where the kids can play and learn more about the nature.

And it’s decided…

Tamaki san picks this waterfall as the

“Kokoro no hikyo” #4

^^

“It’s a precious place

only known by the residents of this area, 

and this beautiful scenery… 

as expected, 

 for the people who work on the fields,

who will always keep the water precious and use it wisely,

this is a place which protects their town in its own way!

So I can understand their desire to keep it dear in heart,

from now on and forever!”

Matsubura san takes him home after that,

and serves him with his own field’s white rice,

“nita mai koshi hikari”

It’s sweet he says!

^^

Another Journey and lots of new memories

and unexpected encounters!

I really envy him for being able to do this…

even though I know it must be tough sometimes!

☆

Thank you so much for reading until the end…

Next is a trip to somewhere not to far from where he lives ^^

Okutama, Tokyo!

Only 2 hours away by train from the center of Tokyo…

It’s another interesting journey…

so please stay tuned XD

until then,

byebye!

『玉木宏の秘境ふれあい紀行』
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