Yesterday (9/20/10) I hiked Mount Kinka, one of the mountains that rises out of the center of Gifu. On top is Gifu Castle. Originally built in 1201 by the Nikaidou clan, the castle was known as Inabayama Castle until its takeover by Oda Nobunaga in 1567, when it was renamed Gifu Castle. Oda Nobunaga was a militaristic leader who dreamed of uniting Japan under one leadership (his own, of course), and worked toward constant expansion of his power. He renovated the castle shortly thereafter, and it remained that way until 1600, when it was demolished by The Battle of Gifu Castle. Apparently it was rebuilt at that time, because eventually it was firebombed in World War II, and rebuilt again in 1950.
The climb to the top of Mount Kinka is not the most arduous I've taken but not the easiest, either. We took the Meditation Path up, which is a winding, rocky trail that travels along the side of the mountain to the top. Frequently there are panoramic vistas of Gifu City with the river sparkling and stretching before you for miles. Other mountains rise out of the Earth from urban sprawl, creating a slightly off union of wilderness and society. The spiders are fearsome, humongous creatures that spin enormous webs and must be carefully avoided at all times, and apparently there can be wild boars. Luckily, the most that came our way were wonderfully cute sparrows. These delightful birds come perch on your hand and take peanuts from you to hiding places for winter. Matt managed to get an amazing shot of one on my hand, so it's princess-perfect proof!
At the top we also met some old Japanese men who gave us good conversation about world affairs, language, and politics. They apparently come to the top of Mount Kinka every day and make bracelets out of tree nuts or weave them from colored string, talk to people, and give away their wares. Our new ALT friend Rachael, a blonde, blue-eyed Floridian who came on the hike with us, was especially gifted as she is quite the unusual beauty here in Japan. When we came down from the Castle we found the Natural Cafe, a lovely place with a ton of great food and a resident tortoise. Yes, there was a giant turtle in a room of the Cafe. And the food is the best I've had going out to eat in Gifu so far (but I'll save full marks until I try the Turkish restaurant we recently found next weekend). In all, a lovely day.
Above: a sculpture in downtown Gifu shows two portly figures with all of Gifu's meibutsu (famous things): persimmons, squid, sweet fish, leeks, sake, and some sort of squash.
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