Hiking in Takato

At a one night, two day English camp I volunteered at I was able to sneak away in the early morning of the second day to go for a little hike. The camp was held at a lodge-resort in the mountains in the south of the prefecture, maybe 50 kilometers from Iina. I will probably talk about the camp in another post, I had a blast, and those kids were really great.

In this part of Japan, I am told there are a good number of bears, and deer, and mountain goats. Their bears are about half the size of a medium sized adult black bear back home. I saw a couple of deer jumping through the thick brush and up a hill as I made my way up the path. I did not come accross any other animals, but I did happen to see a very strange set of tracks. If you look at it carefuly, you will notice that it looks like a handprint. It is a monkey print! There are monkeys in the forests here in Japan, and this was proof.

As the sun made its way over the surrounding mountains and let some light down through the tops of the trees, I had to take a picture. It was quite beautiful.

In Utah, the quaking aspen grow limbs that twist and curl, but I have never seen a tree like this.