Dazaifu, Day 23 - Adventures with a Volcano

Sunday morning, and I'm ready for a trip to Mount Aso, an active volcano near the center of Kyushu Island. The weather looks fairly good here; hopefully that will hold for the day.

Ishii-san picks me up and we head over to school to meet Nakagawa-san. His car is bigger, and he has his two older children with him as well, so we will drive south in his vehicle today. We head out for the expressway, and enjoy the scenery as we drive.

A full day of activities has been planned, and Ishii and Nakagawa confer on which is the best road to take once we get close to the area. Mount Aso is actually a series of 5 high mountain peaks, one of which is in an active erupting stage, and a huge caldera (the largest in the world) that is full of lush green fields of rice and vegetables and fruit. There are several points of interest in the area, and my partners have chosen some that should intrigue both me and the children.

As we get closer to our highway exit, the rain starts, and it gets much heavier as we follow a winding road that climbs the southeastern wall of the caldera. The children squeal whenever we hit a large puddle in the road, and we comment on the amount of water standing not only in the rice fields but in parking lots, and on the road itself. It would appear that the lack of rainfall earlier in the season is rapidly being rectified. (So much for good weather holding through the day.....)

We finally arrive at our lunch destination - it is a place that specializes in soba (buckwheat) noodles, only here you get to make your own! One of the ladies shows us where to wash our hands and don aprons, and then we gather around a table with a large cutting board and rolling bar, and a giant wooden bowl. A tray appears, with buckwheat and white flours, water and measuring utensils. The buckwheat flour is dumped into the wooden bowl, then the water is added a little at a time, and we are instructed to work the flour and water between our hands, keeping the forming dough from getting lumps. As more water is added, it's time to knead the dough - much like bread dough, one must work it until it is smooth and not sticky, ready to be rolled out and cut into noodles.

The rolling process is a bit different from what I expect - I am used to a short wooden rolling pin with handles that are held during the entire process. This uses a long wooden cylinder; your hands are placed in the middle and pushed out to the ends as you roll. There is a rhythm that works with this method; after a few false starts, I begin to get the basic idea.

Then the thin dough is folded into several layers and a large chopping block is set in place. A heavy knife is brought out, and we are shown how to cut the dough into thin strips using the knife and a knuckled fist to hold the dough safely. Even the 6-year-old is allowed to cut some strips (with careful supervision by his father, of course), and the older daughter does a very good job of making thin evenly-sized noodles. (Mine vary in thickness, but then I've never been known for adroit handling of anything with a sharp blade.......)

As we finish cutting our noodles, the lady asks if we would prefer warm or cold soba; I ask for warm. Our tray is taken back to the kitchen, and we head back to the front, where we clean our hands and put away our dirty aprons. Very shortly, our group's name is called, and we have trays with noodles, rice balls in seaweed, and pickles in small dishes waiting for us. Tea and water are available at a side service area.

These are our noodles, all right; there's the strange wide ones. And they are 'Oshi' (delicious)! We're all hungry and finish off every bite.

The rains have stopped and started while we were in the restaurant, but the clouds have also lifted a bit so I can get a better view. We are near the edge of the volcano caldera; the five peaks are directly opposite, but their tops are obscured in heavy clouds. Ishii explains that we will drive to the peaks and attempt to go up to the summit road, where the active volcano is.

As we drive higher, the rains come down harder, and the clouds descend. This is a rather narrow road that winds, hairpin-style, up the mountain, and it's an exciting drive, to say the least. It culminates in a long uphill tunnel that is full of fog! (Fortunately, there are reflective lane and wall markers the entire length.)

There are very few cars up here, and we soon find out why; the last portion of the road has a large gate on it and it is closed and locked. A neon sign announces that the road is closed due to heavy fog. Well, we got as close as we could....

The gate and sign are obviously well-used; Ishii tells me that, in addition to weather-related problems, the road will also be closed whenever the prevailing winds are from the north. This drives a high concentration of sulfurous gases from the active eruption into the road area, which makes for hazardous breathing conditions (ever tried to breath sulfuric acid?).

We head down the other side of the mountain peaks, another interesting drive. Even with the heavy cloud cover and fog, there is still a lot of scenery to view; heavy forest of mostly cedars and pines, and areas of thick grass that wave in the wind.

Our next stop is an area on the outside of the caldera known for its many hot springs. This part, on the northeastern edge of the caldera has a great many spas and baths, and we will pay a visit to one of the oldest ones. These spas are built along a river; many of the buildings cling to the valley walls, and most of the bathing pools are built of the same stones that line the riverbanks and valley.

Japan is noted for its many hot springs and baths, but in the larger cities, many of the public baths used water that is piped in from springs located far away or deep underground. Not here, though - these springs bubble up all over the area, and the pools are built right on the spot. They are also rich in minerals (considered to be healthy) and vary in temperature from nicely warm to "Oh, my!" In the spa, each bathing area (men or women) usually has several pools available, with varying temperatures, so you can find one that is comfortable for you.

After a relaxing soak, we regroup and drive further down the valley. The river is wild; they've made up their rainfall shortage in a very short period of time and the river is overly full, with foaming muddy water. As we get to the junction, we discover a problem - the direct route back to the west is closed, and it's obvious that this is a recent problem. The sign says only that the road is not passable. (Later news reports tell the full story - a mudslide that not only blocked the road but swept away part of it.)

A consultation with a map takes us east and then north, following the river which eventually empties into a larger one that culminates in a huge reservoir - and I recognize this one from pictures on the news. It has been very low in recent weeks because the start of the rainy season had been delayed, but its water levels are improving. Right now, though there is so much water coming through that the floodgates are open to prevent too much back pressure from building up. As we drive down the valley away from the reservoir dam, we notice that there are flashing red lights and signs at intervals along both sides of the river. I recognize these - they are similar to the warning system used farther north, where river flow changes dramatically whenever the turbines are fired up at the hydroelectric plant. The main purpose of the warning system is to alert anyone downstream who might be along the banks or on a low-water bridge that a big surge of water is coming and that they should move to higher ground. This time, though, they warn that the river is high because of too much rainfall. It's going to take a little time for this to subside.

We finally come to a large town north of the Aso area and get on an expressway which will take us back to Dazaifu - but it's still raining, and it looks like we are bringing it back north with us (we do). There are a couple of incidents of note along the expressway; while Japanese drivers tend to be a fairly cautious set (with narrow roads and high insurance rates, this is to be expected), they do like to 'open it up' when they get on the expressways (which are built much like the train routes, lots of straight and open stretches with very few curves).

The first accident appears just beyond a long tunnel with a curve; a car has exited the tunnel, caught some water under his wheels and managed to run it up the side of the mountain and then roll it over to the guardrail. The police are already there and flashing lights alert oncoming traffic; the driver is standing outside on the side of the road, so he is safe, but looking disheartened at the mess that was once a fast roadster.

A few miles farther, there is another one - this one has spun several times and again hit the guardrail As we pass that one, I comment that they must have hydroplaned; Ishii understands me perfectly and agrees. Fortunately, we have no problems, and we arrive in Chikushino where we wait for Sasaki-san to meet us at a local convenience store. We have all been invited to a dinner party at the Nakagawa's house.

Dinner is wonderful - lots of good things to eat in the setting of an older Japanese home that is well lived in. Nakagawa explains that the house was built in stages; the oldest and most central part is about 55 years old. Because of the multiple constructions, there are rooms that connect in unusual ways; Nakagawa has previously told me that his family believes that the house is inhabited by friendly spirits, and I see nothing to disprove that.

Regardless, it's a beautiful example of a country house in Japan, and I am grateful for the opportunity to get to visit there. While I am there, my partners have gifts for me - interesting drinking cups with a history or a story to tell, a set of carving tools for my artist husband (my partner, Nakagawa, is also an artist and art teacher; he and my husband seemed to enjoy comparing notes about wood and carving), some gifts for my children. I will remember this evening with pleasure.