Leaving, on a jet plane

Silver week is now over but our holidays are just beginning - I was considering just making this post a big picture of K-Mart but that wouldn't make it past my exacting editorial standards. Besides, we did actually do something interesting this weekend, in between the usual pre-trip bouts of worrying about rubbish and using up tomatoes. In Nishinomiya there's what's known as the Fukuchiyama abandoned railway, a trail along what used to be scenic rail tracks. Nature has reclaimed a lot of it and the tunnels are uneven and unlit but despite big warning signs everywhere telling people to piss off, it's one of the area's more popular hiking trails.

Shining by the river

We met a bunch of JETs out on Saturday morning, among dribs and drabs of Japanese people looking like they were preparing to hike Fuji. Andy, by contrast, showed up in shorts and a t-shirt, wondering if he should have brought a hat or a bottle of water. Fortunately he was closer to the mark - it's more like a two hour walk than a hike. We set off from the station and wandered along the side of the road for a while, before it turned off into a gravel drive that led to our first "you are likely to be eaten by a grue" sign. Here and there we could see the broken down old railway sleepers, but the trail got so wild in parts that it was hard to imagine a train could ever have made it through.

Back in the hole!

It was all very pretty, but the most interesting bit was going through the tunnels. They were absolutely inky so if you didn't have a torch you could look forward to several hundred metres of shuffling along the gravel with nothing to warn you of potholes or puddles beyond the sound of dripping water. The air was as cool and musty as a cave, which I suppose makes sense. Andy spent most of the walk through making ghost sounds.

Success

Before too long we were spat out the other side, at a big rust-coloured bridge with water rushing underneath it. Beyond, the other side's "abandon all hope ye who enter here" sign stood with its back to us, warning hopeful hikers who had decided to do the trail in reverse. Standing on it was a little Ultraman figure, arms raised in defiance. I think there's probably a Japan metaphor in there somewhere.

Punching health and safety laws in the FACE

We took our leave at this point and had a nice spot of dunch with Andy, breaking our "no more meals out before Guam" rule for about the 5th time. And then we had Mister Donut, which probably counts as number 6. In any case, we're all packed, I've done my research (Denny's Breakfast Menu.pdf) and we're ready to rock and roll. Bring me that horizon.

Yes, that's the one