I went to Mt. Suzugamine! |「海陽で行ってみた!」鈴ヶ峰編
Hey, Tony here.
こんにちは、トニーだよ。
I heard that autumn is a great season to go hiking in Tokushima because it’s not too hot or cold, so I and my Global Kaiyo team members, Gwenafaye and Kyoko, decided to hike nearby Mt. Suzugamine! We went in mid-November, which is when yakkoso can be seen growing there, so we kept an eye out for that too.
秋は暑すぎず寒すぎず、徳島県内でハイキングするにはいい季節だと聞いたので、グローバル海陽チームの２人、グウェナフェーイさんと暁子さんと一緒に鈴ヶ峰をハイキングに行ってきたよ！ ヤッコソウが見える時期に行ったので、ハイキングがてらヤッコソウを探してみた！
We decided to go by car, but immediately got lost on the way there since the road wasn’t very clear on Google Maps. Fortunately, there were signs along the road (that we decided to ignore at first) which led us to a smaller road that doesn’t appear on the map near the Shishikui Junior High School. The unmarked road continued up the hill and into a narrow mountainous area. It was easy from this point on since there’s only one road. Following along, we eventually reached a small parking lot next to the main trailhead. It seems both the road leading up to the car park and car park itself don’t appear on Google Maps, which might make it harder for non-locals!
車で行こうとしたけど、携帯の地図アプリでは道がよくわからなかったので、途中で迷っちゃった。幸い、道沿いに看板があって（なぜか最初は気づかなかった...）、宍喰中学校の近くの小さな道に出ることができたよ。狭い山中に続くその道を進むと、登山口の横にある小さな駐車場に到着したよ。駐車場までの道も駐車場自体もグーグルマップには表示されていないようなので、地元の人以外は辿り着くのがちょっと大変かもしれないね。
At the carpark, we borrowed some of the kindly-provided hiking sticks from the basket. There were also no toilets or vending machines there either, but we came prepared!
駐車場にはトイレも自動販売機もなく、トレッキングポールが入ったカゴがあっただけ。すでに準備をしていたので、トレッキングポールを手に取り、ハイキング開始！
Within the first couple hundred meters of hiking, I quickly found myself immersed in nature. Even though it was autumn, there was a lot of green. It really felt deep in a forest because of all of the mossy rocks and tree roots spilling onto the pathway. The terrain varied as we climbed up, ranging from loose rocks and soil to layers of foliage, log and even stone steps. Despite this, there are signs and the hiking trail is very clear, so we didn’t worry about getting lost.
最初の数百メートルだけでもう自然に囲まれていたよ。秋だったけど、まだ緑がいっぱいだったよ。苔むした岩があったり、木の根が道に出ていたり、本当に森の中にいたような感じだったな。登るにつれて、足下の地形は緩い岩の表面のようなところから土や葉の層、丸太、石段、などと変化していったけれど、道はとても分かりやすかったよ。標識もあるから、道に迷うことはないだろうね。
There are a couple of openings with benches where we took some quick breaks, but not many of them offered clear views. However, we were able to find this little window through the trees to peek out of! All the more reason to get to the peak, I guess!
ベンチのある休憩所がいくつかあったので、そこで少し休憩したよ。景色がよく見えるところは少なかったけど、木々の隙間から宍喰の町並みを見ることができたよ！早く山頂に行きたい！
I think what I enjoyed the most about the hike was the small details. In trying to spot yakkoso, I managed to see many other peculiar things. I found some chewed pine cones that looked like fried shrimp! This boulder looks a bit too perfect, almost like it had been chiselled by hand. I also noticed what I believe are Jizo statues along the way, as well as tile and bowl fragments too, which I thought was a bit strange. I had a strong sense that there was something special waiting to be discovered the further up we climbed.
ハイキングの醍醐味というのは小さくて細かい発見なんじゃないかな、と感じたよ。ヤッコソウを見つけようとしていたけど、他にもたくさんの面白いものを見つけたよ。エビフライのような松かさ、まるで手で削ったような形の岩、お地蔵さんと思われるものや、瓦やお椀の破片などもあって、ちょっと不思議な感じもした。登れば登るほど、何か特別な物が待っているような気がしてきたよ。
Finally, we found ourselves in an open, flat area with old building foundations stacked with piles of tiles. According to the signs that pointed to the peak, this was the site of an ancient temple called “Entsuuji”. You can clearly see the signs it was a temple, based on the statues and the way the smaller foundations are arranged around the larger foundation. It’s a shame it’s not what it used to be.
そしてついに、古代建物の基礎がたくさん並んでいる場所にたどり着いたよ。頂上の方向を指す標識によると、ここは「円通寺」と呼ばれる古代の寺院の跡地だったそうだよ。像や、大きな土台の周りに小さな土台が並んでいる様子から、お寺であったことがよくわかるね。今はこのような状態になっているのは残念だね。
Moving on from the temple, we backtracked and followed another path that led to the peak. It was on this last stretch of the hike that Gwenafaye spotted yakkoso, which I had almost given up on finding. There were some growing on the roots and in the trunk of a tree. This was my first time seeing yakkoso and it doesn't look like anything I’ve ever seen before.
寺院跡の後、山頂に続く別の道を辿ったよ。この最後の区間で、僕がヤッコソウを見つけるのをほとんど諦めていたところ、グウェナフェーイさんが木の根や幹の中に生えていたヤッコソウを発見してくれた！ヤッコソウを見たのは初めてだったけど、今まで見たことのないようなものだったよ。
After about 2 hours of hiking, we reached the peak and this is the view we were treated to! It was quite beautiful. The air was delicious, and we could almost see the whole Shishikui area next to the ocean, stretching all the way to the horizon. Although it was a cloudy afternoon and the hazy air blurred the horizon line, the ocean looked like it was blending right into the sky, which was definitely attractive, in its own way. We even managed to catch the red DMV running along the train tracks
約2時間のハイキングで山頂に到着すると、こんな綺麗な景色が広がっていたよ。空気が美味しくて、宍喰の海が水平線まで広がっているのが見えた。曇り空と霞んだ空気で水平線がぼやけて、まるで空が海に溶け込んでいるようで、魅力的だったよ。線路を走っている赤いDMVも発見できたよ！
The descent was far easier and it was a brilliant way of spending the afternoon. With that, our Mt. Suzugamine hike came to a close. The hike was very rewarding and we got to see some very interesting things along the way. I envy the people of Shishikui because they have a place like this so close to town.
下りはもっと楽で、午後の時間を楽しく過ごすことができたよ。これで鈴ヶ峰ハイキングは終わりだけど、途中で色々な興味深いものを見ることができて、とても有意義な時間だったよ。こんなに立派な山がすぐ近くにある宍喰の人たちがうらやましいね。
I look forward to coming back, maybe in a different season!
また、違う季節に行ってみたらもいいかもしれないね！