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Day trip to Ichinoseki - Geibi Gorge
Since I had a JR nori-houdai for one day... hehe.... I was thinking of where to go by myself during one of the free Sundays...
 Until this poster caught my attention...  ok... not exactly this one, but one nicer one in yokohama... So having nowhere else in mind to venture to myself, I decided to head there, which is near Ichinoseki Shinkansen Station. This was about almost 3 hours away via Shinkansen. Ah well, may as well take more bullet train rides when they are free ;) Oh, and, for those who went to/knows Sendai, it is about 30 mins further up north, so you can roughly have an idea of where this is. From Ichinoseki (一ノ関), it took another 40 mins via local train to reach the destination - Geibi-kei (猊鼻渓). This turned out to be a bird-no-lay-eggs place, and so, I discovered that the train services every hour/ 2 hours. (I was done by 1350, and had to wait for the 1512 train back to Ichinoseki!!) Well a little about Geibi Gorge before I go any further. It is reputed to be one of the top 100 sights in Japan. Well, from what I've seen, it should be in the top 10 instead. If only the surroundings are more urbanised, I would think it will be a fantastic tourist stop. Anyway, there are flat boat rides that will take you through a nice little serene river sandwiched by 120-metre cliffs on both sides. The boat is "rowed" by a single pole - make that 2, if the person in front is helping out - much like those boat rides you see in Chinese pugilistic dramas. And the boatmen, as I had read prior to going there, traditionally sings a... errmm... traditional song as they are oaring... and I must say, it is quite ... errm... interesting as well. ok, I think I overdid my introduction, so let's get on with the photos! When I reached, there weren't much signs pointing to the boatride site, but I eventually found it...  Nearby, I saw this sign regarding the gorge.  It says "Japan 100 top spots, named Gibei Kei, 2 km long river flanked by huge stone walls 120m high. You can take the wooden boat ride, view Fuji flowers in Spring, view lush greeneries in Summer, red leaves in Autumn, or snow in Winter - enjoy the nature of each season. The song at the head of the boat echoes in the gorge and captivates all people present" The gist of it, at least.   Too bad it was winter, hence it wasnt the usual open-top boat rides, but rather, a floating greenhouse. And the view was pretty much close to zero from the inside... Well, at least it kept us warm... we even had heater and futons to keep our bodies warm!!  Poor guy at the back rowing...  A boat that is going back to the start point... Really look like a floating greenhouse hor?  Our stop point in sight!      We reached this place where they had the lion's nose I think - not too sure cos I couldn't really catch the guide's japanese - where you pay 100 yen for 3 something, to try to throw into the small holes on the opposing stone wall. Supposedly, if the something enters the hole, your wish will be granted. Hence here you can see the guy throwing err.. something. Well at least he got one in on his 101th try. ;)  I just happened to be able to take this shot... cute hor??     Going back liao... sigh  Got a clip of that guy singing... but dunno if I should upload or not... hehe... see how lah ;p Anyway the trip lasted 50 mins, when it was supposed to be 90 mins... hmphh.. maybe in winter cut short? I dunno.  And I seriously dunno why they need so many boats for. I mean, it is an hourly departure.  anyway, I dunno how you guys feel about the place after seeing the photos, but it was really nice, although a bit sabishii going there myself. I think it was one of the prettiest place I've visited so far in Japan... ok.. so this marks the end of my first proper blog update after 2 months.. hehe... a bit of a rush job, but well better than nothing right? 230 am liao... I am so gonna suffer tomorrow... sigh... take care ya, guys ;) posted by winz at 11:26 PM 2 comments
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2 Comments:
the place looks gorgeous! like something out of those chinese paintings!
By
Buckies, at
2:32 AM
yah lor.. nice hor ;)
By
winz, at
10:17 AM
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