Along the River to Tazu

 

The couple of kilometers of road along the bank of the Gonokawa River from Kawado to Tazu has no settlements or houses.

On the opposite bank, there is a main road and plenty of settlements but on this side, the steep mountainside runs straight down to the river.

This bank is usually dark. Even in the summer the sun does not get above the mountain until late in the morning, and in winter the sun doesn't penetrate the tree cover at all. On the opposite bank, the sun continues to burn off the mist that fills the river valley at this time of the year (early October)

The narrow road and abandoned rail line run next to each other on a narrow shelf cut into the mountainside using very little machinery. At times the train line passes through short tunnels.

The Gonokawa is the longest river in the Chugoku region at 194 kilometers, but geologically speaking it is relatively new so the river valley is mostly narrow.

This used to be such a beautiful train ride, but is still a very pleasant walk as there are only 1 or 2 cars a day. Up ahead I catch a glimpse of the Tazu Bridge, a small affair unsuitable for anything bigger than small delivery vans.

The previous post was on the first part of this leg of my walk along the Gonokawa, around Kawado.