Jakujikyo

A few weeks away, I joined my Greek friend Giannis and my Polish friend Richard for a trip out to Jakujikyo in Yamaguchi Prefecture. It was quite a long drive out, but well worth it. Once you get out of Hiroshima city, the landscape really opens up and you can see the beauty of Japan that is so often mired by skyscrapers and telephone wires. Richard insisted that I sit in the front seat the whole time, even though I insisted that I felt bad taking the front seat away from someone 25 years older than me. I soon found out why he was so eager for me to sit up there.
Giannis is quite the talker. For me to call someone talkitive is something, considering how much I talk when around other people. Giannis is one of only 2 people in the world that makes me feel like a quiet person. And he seems to have some kind of blinders on because the whole 12 hour round-trip, he barely ever engaged Richard directly in conversation. Richard chuckled on the return trip when I offered him the front seat again.


Anyway, the gorge was absolutely beautiful, like Sandankyo which I talked about earlier. There were sequoias and other evergreens, making the landscape seem thoroughly un-Japanese. Jakujikyo is a much shorter gorge than Sandankyo, but its a much more steep climb. The rewards for the climb however, are six lovely waterfalls that cascade into one another. Climbing to the top took only about 30 minutes or so, but it was quite refreshing.
After Jakujikyo, we swung over to Iwakuni to see the famed arched bridge and the dozens of blossoming cherry trees. Apparently half of Yamaguchi prefecture also had the same idea and the road was jammed with cars. We were stuck in the car for nearly an hour once we got within a mile of the bridge. The bridge was lovely, though, and the cherry trees on the opposite bank of the river were in full bloom.
After a brief stay, we hopped back in the car and began the long haul back to Kure.