A Day Trip to Iwafune and More (11-20-2023)

Japan Nov 21, 2023

We got up early on our third morning in Japan and walked to meet everybody for breakfast. This time I mean everybody! Stacy and Nando were there, but so too were Kristen and Aaron who were feelin a little bit better after having come down with a cold a few days ago. We met at the bottom of the stairs up to the Denny's in front of Kaminarimon. A Japanese Denny's is a must-try if only because it's such a different experience from an American Denny's. Portion sizes are a lot smaller, and you can't go in expecting to find a Grand Slam. While everyone else chose fairly traditional breakfasts with eggs and pancakes, I had salmon and rice for breakfast, which perfectly hit the spot. I could eat that over and over again, honestly. Meals also came included with trips to their drink bar, which had coffees, juices, and sodas. A lot of us ended up coming back with melon soda. Not sure that actually pairs well with breakfast, but it is what it is.

Breakfast at a Denny's in Asakusa, with salmon, rice, miso soup, and potato salad

After that, much of our group ended up splitting up again. The plan was to head out on a long trip into the mountains outside the city, which would involve climbing more stairs than you can imagine. That wasn't something three members of the party were going to be able to manage, so this part of the trip ended up being just for Josh, Stacy, and myself. And from there, we started a long series of train transfers out to Iwafune Station in Tochigi prefecture.

The exit to Iwafune Station in Tochigi prefecture

The train ride from Tokyo is about two hours if you're just taking the cheap commuter trains like we did. Josh and I have made this trip before. Iwafune is the location where many tokusatsu special effects shows (Power Rangers/Super Sentai) film a bunch of battles with large pyrotechnic fireball explosions. Last time we came out, we were able to walk into the valley under the mountain, but it was a stressful situation because we weren't really supposed to be there. Another event was happening called Burning Japan (yes, it's a sister event to Burning Man), and the event organizers were gracious enough to let us walk around and take pictures before leaving. We really didn't know what the situation was going to be like once we got there.

After extensive train hopping for two hours, we finally arrived at Iwafune Station. If you've ever seen the old Makoto Shinkai movie "5 Centimeters Per Second", that tiny wooden hut of a train station is featured fairly prominently. It makes for interesting tourism.

That having been said, I can't say that I think that a lot of tourism happens out here. It's true that sometimes there are musical events at the mountain, or that photographers take cosplayers out to the mountain to take photographs with big explosions going off behind them. But otherwise, Iwafune is tiny and unimaginably quiet. The population is clearly aging. We saw nobody younger than us, and in fact barely saw anybody in the town at all.

Stacy and Josh begin their walk up the stairs to Kosho-ji shrine at Mt. Iwafune

Before going to look for the valley where explosions happen again, you first pass a large set of stairs leading up to Kosho-ji, a Shinto shrine a the top of Mt. Iwafune. And when I say large set of stairs, I mean the kind you've probably seen in Japanese media that would make you think, "Those stairs are so comically tall, there's no way they actually exist." But they do. They really do. It easily took us about 20 minutes to climb the stairs, taking small breaks in small bursts along the way up. The views of the valley and towns far below were incredible as always.

The view down into the town below Mt. Iwafune

But getting to the shrine itself was the most fascinating part of all. It was crazy, because the last time Josh and I had been here, it was relatively bustling. Not, like, crowded, but definitely alive with both visitors and people working and tending to the shrine. This time, however, was a very different story. Although it had only been eight years since our last visit, the shrine seemed all but abandoned. It's hard to tell exactly how much time had passed since anyone tended to the grounds of the shrine, but it was obvious it had been quite some time since it had been cared for or maintained.

Stairs leading up to a particular part of the shrine, completely overgrown with grass and moss with unswept leaves piled up

As an example, at this location, small statues line the path up the mountain, where people leave items and clothes in remembrance of people they've lost. Usually, these items eventually get picked up by the keepers of the shrine, and more people come along and leave items. However, all the clothes left on the small statues were dirty, tattered, and torn from the wind and other elements. When we got to the various stations at the shrine, the people who usually would work the booths to stamp your stamp books or to lead prayer or even just keep the grounds cleaned simply weren't there. The water spout where you would usually wash your hands to cleanse yourself before approaching and praying at the shrine was barely spitting out water, and the basin was completely empty and overgrown with moss. The grounds last time had been carefully landscaped in such a way that you could see over the ridge of the mountain down to the valley below. Now, however, we found it completely overgrown with grass grown so tall you couldn't even see past it at all. We only ever saw a total of three other visitors quietly walking around the ground, and the experience was almost eerie. Like, actually, it was very cool in its own way, to see a shrine left to deteriorate like this, but it was also kind of concerning.

A basin at the shrine intended for hand washing to purify before praying, unused, unwashed, empty of water, and growing moss

A house sat next to the shrine, where someone clearly lived, with their laundry out to dry and a dog barking. Oftentimes, people who own shrines also live somewhere on or near the vicinity. I wondered if they were the ones that were supposed to be operating it, but it was so hard to tell, since no one way out doing anything. We'd found shells of cicadas that had long since grown out of their own skins and flown off somewhere, and spider webs with enormous spiders, none of it having been cleaned off in who knows how long. What a weird experience!

Stacy stands underneath a lantern at the seemingly abandoned temple atop Mt. Iwafune

After going back down the extremely long flight of stairs, we went looking for the valley where so many famous shows have been filmed. Sadly, this time it was too roped off to be reasonable to walk into. I guess this just means we're going to have to schedule yet another trip out here to be able to schedule one of the open-to-the-public cosplay photo shoots in the valley. Just another future goal, I guess!

Statue placed outside of Sushi Zanmai in Ueno

It took another couple of hours to return to our area by train. By then, the three of us were joined by Kristen, and we went on an outing for dinner at the famous sushi restaurant chain Sushi Zanmai. This was was especially interesting to Josh and me because the restaurant and its proprietor have been heavily featured in many of the installments of the Yakuza franchise. The particular establishment we visited was in Ueno, and a statue of the proprietor stood outside the door, just like in the games. Ordering here, much like at the Denny's, was quite simple, as each table featured a touch screen tablet that could be switched to English. I didn't order much, just three pieces of nigiri: salmon, fatty tuna, and snow crab. They were all so good, but the snow crab was so full of flavor, it was to die for. If I had more money, I really could have just kept eating the snow crab. I finally felt like I could put my Japanese to use while helping Stacy also place a take out order for a meal she could hold onto for the next day. I guess that stint of school didn't totally go to waste!