Read Part I here After discovering a beautiful, yet strangely void of trout, keiryu I rallied at a local convenience store for some lunch and to pour over my trail map. As I was looking over the map I came across a little blue line that had escaped my attention … Read More
It was the hottest recorded summer this year in Japan, so much so that besides a brief foray into the Sierra Nevada Mountains during a visit home in June, I had forgotten what it was like to be cold. That all changed on the morning of September 30th when I … Read More
There is a waterfall deep in the Tanzawa Mountains. What intrigues me the most with this waterfall is not its stature (it’s only a scant 12 meters in height) but the relentless, voluminous, crystal clear and turquoise hue of the water. I first came across this waterfall last winter which is when, the trees and bushes have lost their green finery, you can easily see an old wooden ladder bolted to the cliff beside the waterfall. However, during the spring and summer when the greenery engulfs the countryside the ladder nearly disappears from sight and only the memory of it remains.
The Tanzawa Mountains in Japan are a blessing and here’s why. Tokyo is the largest city in the world in terms of population. This summer was a record breaker for heat in Japan, with temperatures reaching 100˚F (that may not seem so bad but when you factor in 80%+ humidity … Read More
Fallfish Tenkara explores Mizusawa River, a small mountain stream near Tokyo, and finds a beautiful creek teeming with small Yamame
With my new sawanobori gear fresh out of the packaging I was itching to get out and break them in. There was a little blue line on the map I had been eyeballing for awhile and decided now was a great time to go and see what she had to offer. … Read More
Last week I wrote a post about visiting Japan. If you are a Tenkara angler, Epidote Creek is THE reason why you need to get on a plane and fly to Japan today. If you’re not a Tenkara angler, well you can enjoy the photos and compelling prose, and afterwards you’ll want … Read More
Deep in the mountains of the Tanzawa Oyama Quasi-National Park surrounded by tall mountains shrouded in Japanese cedar, Hinoki cypress, Japanese mountain maple, and Japanese beech is a network of mountain streams. These streams terminate in the majestic Miyagase Lake, which interestingly enough is a man-made lake that took nearly three decades to … Read More
I have numerous things on my “to-do” list while living in Japan. For example, I’ve skied Japan’s famous powder and I’ve gotten lost in Tokyo. But there are several more “to-do’s” that I haven’t accomplished yet. Climbing Mount Fuji and skiing from the summit for example. The other day I ticked another … Read More