Chasing Waterfalls
The hike was not planned well in advance. It called for an urgent midnight search on the internet for “easy hikes around Osaka” and a last minute cancellation of a dentist’s appointment. Three of us had the same day-off on a Thursday and because we have not yet grown tired of seeing each other almost every day at work, we decided to spend our day-off together.
The hike we picked was called “The 48 Waterfalls of Takihita”. The place seemed easily accessible. We would need to take the train to Kawachinagano station, which was about 45 minutes from Osaka station and take the bus for another 50 minutes to reach the starting point of the hike. The article we found on the internet informed us we can “Take a tour around the waterfalls and be refreshed by clean air and negative ions.”
We were not very knowledgeable about negative ions and their health benefits but we were excited at the prospect of seeing so many waterfalls on a single hike. Even the fact that we had to go to work the next day after the hike couldn’t dampen our spirits.
When we got off at the train station, one of us realized they had brought along a video camera with no memory card.
As we were waiting for the bus, munching on our pre-hike snacks, we found out that none of us had packed a mobile phone charger.
After the bus had dropped us off at the start of the trail and a few minutes into our hike, we were greeted by butterflies and insects flying around our faces like a summer halo. That was when we realized that we should have also brought insect repellent with us. We ended up using our hands like wind-mills to swat away at the bugs. But fortunately, as we kept walking, the bug situation improved and we were able to speak without accidentally swallowing any bugs.
We reached Kotakiji campsite after walking for about 30 minutes. A short distance from the campsite, two roads diverged into the woods. One of the roads was closed off and there was a sign in Japanese that said “Arataki Campsite” and “No Car Parking Allowed” in red letters. In retrospect, this was the point where we should have paid more attention to the small print and tried to read the kanjis. But we were feeling adventurous so we decided to go along the other road and explore what lies ahead without consulting Google Maps.
The trail was a paved road in the woods that was vibrant with greenery and life. It ran parallel to a stream of water, punctuated by tiny waterfalls. The sound of insects and flowing water accompanied us throughout. We saw a lot of butterflies, a snail, a ladybug, some worms, several spider webs, one dead snake and another that was alive. There were steady slopes at certain points but overall, it was not a very challenging hike.
Apart from three cars and a motorbike, we didn’t see any one else along the way. We assumed it was because we were there on a weekday. But after walking for almost two hours and not seeing any waterfall of significance, we decided maybe it was time to check the map again. Later, our suspicions that we should have taken the other path at the crossroads were confirmed.
One hour later, we were back on the right track. At last, we found our way towards the first waterfall on the hike called Gokotaki. Even though the main trail was a wide paved road, we had to take a short detour down a slope and navigate through some wild undergrowth to reach the waterfall.
It took us three hours instead of the supposed thirty minutes to reach this place. We were tired after all the walking but as we sat down to eat our lunch on a moss-covered stone, with drops of cool water spraying onto our hot sweaty skin, we were just glad we found our waterfall at last.
That one of us is scared of snakes.
That one of us has a scar on the front of their elbow and the story behind it involved a door handle.
That one of us dated someone who once woke them up in the middle of the night because of a mosquito buzzing around their ears.
That one of us tends to attract more insects than the other two.
That one of us likes cheese buns from Kobeya.
That one of us likes to sing random songs from High School Musical.
That none of us bothered to read the sign in Japanese, which led to us walking along the wrong trail for 3 hours.
That none of us can tell you how to get to all the waterfalls but we can tell you which road not to take and how to get to one of those waterfalls.
And also that all of us looked out for each other; when there’s a car coming, when we walked into a spider web, when there’s a slippery slope, when there’s a dead snake in the middle of the road.
That we were there for each other; when we got too tired to walk further, when we tried to find the right direction after getting lost, when we needed a hand to catch us in case we slip on the trail or across the waterfall.
That years later, this would be a good story to tell; one in which we made a series of ill-advised decisions and chased after waterfalls.
The hike we picked was called “The 48 Waterfalls of Takihita”. The place seemed easily accessible. We would need to take the train to Kawachinagano station, which was about 45 minutes from Osaka station and take the bus for another 50 minutes to reach the starting point of the hike. The article we found on the internet informed us we can “Take a tour around the waterfalls and be refreshed by clean air and negative ions.”
We were not very knowledgeable about negative ions and their health benefits but we were excited at the prospect of seeing so many waterfalls on a single hike. Even the fact that we had to go to work the next day after the hike couldn’t dampen our spirits.
***
These are the things we forgot on a Thursday.
When we got off at the train station, one of us realized they had brought along a video camera with no memory card.
As we were waiting for the bus, munching on our pre-hike snacks, we found out that none of us had packed a mobile phone charger.
After the bus had dropped us off at the start of the trail and a few minutes into our hike, we were greeted by butterflies and insects flying around our faces like a summer halo. That was when we realized that we should have also brought insect repellent with us. We ended up using our hands like wind-mills to swat away at the bugs. But fortunately, as we kept walking, the bug situation improved and we were able to speak without accidentally swallowing any bugs.
We reached Kotakiji campsite after walking for about 30 minutes. A short distance from the campsite, two roads diverged into the woods. One of the roads was closed off and there was a sign in Japanese that said “Arataki Campsite” and “No Car Parking Allowed” in red letters. In retrospect, this was the point where we should have paid more attention to the small print and tried to read the kanjis. But we were feeling adventurous so we decided to go along the other road and explore what lies ahead without consulting Google Maps.
The trail was a paved road in the woods that was vibrant with greenery and life. It ran parallel to a stream of water, punctuated by tiny waterfalls. The sound of insects and flowing water accompanied us throughout. We saw a lot of butterflies, a snail, a ladybug, some worms, several spider webs, one dead snake and another that was alive. There were steady slopes at certain points but overall, it was not a very challenging hike.
Apart from three cars and a motorbike, we didn’t see any one else along the way. We assumed it was because we were there on a weekday. But after walking for almost two hours and not seeing any waterfall of significance, we decided maybe it was time to check the map again. Later, our suspicions that we should have taken the other path at the crossroads were confirmed.
***
One hour later, we were back on the right track. At last, we found our way towards the first waterfall on the hike called Gokotaki. Even though the main trail was a wide paved road, we had to take a short detour down a slope and navigate through some wild undergrowth to reach the waterfall.
It took us three hours instead of the supposed thirty minutes to reach this place. We were tired after all the walking but as we sat down to eat our lunch on a moss-covered stone, with drops of cool water spraying onto our hot sweaty skin, we were just glad we found our waterfall at last.
***
These are the things we will remember from that Thursday.
That one of us is scared of snakes.
That one of us has a scar on the front of their elbow and the story behind it involved a door handle.
That one of us dated someone who once woke them up in the middle of the night because of a mosquito buzzing around their ears.
That one of us tends to attract more insects than the other two.
That one of us likes cheese buns from Kobeya.
That one of us likes to sing random songs from High School Musical.
That none of us bothered to read the sign in Japanese, which led to us walking along the wrong trail for 3 hours.
That none of us can tell you how to get to all the waterfalls but we can tell you which road not to take and how to get to one of those waterfalls.
And also that all of us looked out for each other; when there’s a car coming, when we walked into a spider web, when there’s a slippery slope, when there’s a dead snake in the middle of the road.
That we were there for each other; when we got too tired to walk further, when we tried to find the right direction after getting lost, when we needed a hand to catch us in case we slip on the trail or across the waterfall.
That years later, this would be a good story to tell; one in which we made a series of ill-advised decisions and chased after waterfalls.
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