Okura Village Volunteer Guide part 2

Early in the morning, a public announcement from the village speaker woke me up.  "A mother bear and two baby bears found in Asahidai"


Asahida is a highland of Hijiori where were were planning to visit for a Volunteer Gude training... For a second I thought maybe today's training would be canceled but it didn't take long for me to realize that people around here don't plan things around bears. 


This is a veiw sopt of Hijiori. Hijiori is a caldera created by the volcanic explosion about 10,000years ago. The caldera had been filled with water so the whole place was like a huge lake...


This is Hijiori's famous "power spot" Jizogura. The legend says that about 1,200years ago, an pilgrim got lost in the mountains in Hijiori, and met a guy (some say a young monk) who was an embodiment of Buddhist bodhisattva. The monk said that when he was suffering from broken elbow (Hiji-Ori) he soaked himself in the hot spring he found, and was cured immediately  The monk asked the pilgrim to stay in this place and spread the word about this miraculous hot spring.  


It is said that the embodiment of Bodhisattva was living in Jizogura. Later, the convince pilgrim decided to dwell in the same spot. That is the start of Hijiori(Elbow Broken)Onsen.


Jizogura is located on the steep cliff and it's a bit hard to get there,but it is absolutely worth it!!! The view from Jizogura is magnificent, Many people come here to pray for safe baby birth, and for a good match making.



After lunch, we kept walking and walking. now we are on our way to the ruin of Okura coal mine.


I absolutely fell in love with this spot. Old coal mine factory is still there, The walls crumbling down. The greenish blue color of the bricks must be due to chemicals. 


The mine was closed in 1959 but there were times when about 3,000 people lived here. There were houses, shops, schools, bars. There was a life here. Hijiori Onsen was also quite busy at the time, many mine workers and their families visited Hijiori. 

This is Asahidai, Bears' favorite play ground. We used megaphones to make siren noise to keep away bears. Luckily,we didn't encounter bears, but instead, we encountered Mr. Chonan,who reported the village office about the bears in that morning. He said he was picking mountain vegetables, and when he got out of the forest, he found 3 bears playing under a wooden chair!


He said proudly. "I was the first person to spot the bears 4  years in a row."


This time of the year, all the Oji-chans and Oba-chans look so happy and energetic because after a long long winter, finally they get to go into the mountains and pick wild vegetables. Later they sell them and get good money. 


Of course everybody is scared of bears, but nothing can stop them from going into the spring mountains... a real gold mine !