A sightseeing surprise in Japan

Off the beaten tourist path in Japan.

from the March 3, 2008 edition

Page 2 of 2

Page 1 | 2

We got to the main road and bumped along, as before. Then the road suddenly became paved again. I was ecstatic.

He pulled over and honked his horn. He wanted me to stop, because he had a burning question to ask: Did I like hiking? (Or "hiking-gu" in Japanese).

I thought the least I could do was be agreeable. "Yes," I said. "Hiking, yes."

He pointed to a parking lot hidden under low-hanging branches. I nodded, and we joined the other cars parked there.

We hiked a long way down a steep trail to the beach, which was nearly deserted. But there was a soft drink and snack vendor. Everywhere you go in Japan, there's a vendor or a vending machine, even in the middle of an empty beach. It's like a surreal movie.

There was also a glass-bottomed boat, with a pilot who was glad to see us. My friend bought us soft drinks and tickets for the boat. We were the only passengers. We shoved off from land and peered down through clear aquamarine water at the fish flitting beneath us.

Then my new friend nudged me, and pointed back to land.

"Hotoke-ga-ura," he said. I tried to repeat it, and we both nodded. He meant the coastline, which was formed of cliffs 200 or 300 feet high, going almost straight up from the sea. They had been carved by winter waves into what looked like pale-gray draperies hung from giant hooks.

I've since learned that people think they resemble statues of Buddha, which is what "Hotoke" means. We leaned back, sipped our soft drinks, and took our time looking at the striated stone. It was one of the quietest moments I ever had in Japan.

Sometimes the best way to sightsee is to plan. Maybe I should do more of that. Then again, there are some things about travel that can't be planned. You just have to choose one fork of the road when you come to it.

1 | Page 2