Stinking of sulphur we set of early for an epic journey to the mountain town of Tsuwano. I say epic but in reality pretty straight forward, now we have mastered the Japanese rail system. The journey was well worth it and we found ourselves for the first time since Koyasan in a quiet little town.
The highlight and the reason for the journey here are the inhabitants of Tsuwano, some 65,000 of them. I'm talking about the carp that live in the towns drainage ditches, they out number the local human population 10:1.
One of the ditches is shown above, the water is crystal clear, supplied straight from the surrounding mountains. The quality of the Koi carp here is incredible. Having worked in the ornamental fish industry (fish shop) for a time I can tell you there are fish here that would sell for 1000s in the UK. You would struggle to even find them for sale and here in Tsuwano they swim past you down the high street, amazing.
The carp were originally bred in the time of the Samurai as a food source. An anticipated attack or siege of the town never happened and the fish have thrived.
Tsuwano is also home to some nice castle ruins reached by chair lift. On approaching the summit we could hear MC Hammer blaring out from an the stereo of an old Japanese man, who was helping people off the lifts. Only in Japan.Highlights: Stunning wild Koi
1 comment:
The Herons must think this place is Tesco's!!!
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