Takigoshi 滝越

Good Evening Ontake-san!!
Today I visited a section of Otaki called Takigoshi 滝越, which is located about 10 kilometers from the village center at the back of a canyon that rolls out from Ontake-san's southwestern slope. This section was the hardest hit by a landslide caused by a large earthquake in 1984. A section of the hillside that had collapsed and carried a house away with it was pointed out to me, as was a statue that commemorates the site where a mother and her child were buried and killed.

My neighbor had invited me out to Takigoshi to visit a small park called Suikouen 水交園. The park is run by a man and his wife, both of whom are in their thirties and have lived in Otaki for a decade. Both were very fascinating to talk with. They live nearby the park in a minshuku 民宿, which is like a Japanese B&B, that was built about fifty years ago. The house is heated by a wood burning stove and they bath in a home-made tub that is also wood-burning--It's also open-air. . .fun in the winter I'm sure.

At Suikouen the couple sells homemade soba, which is buckwheat noodles served cold and dipped in a soy-sauce based broth, and also mountain vegetables served tempura-style. I forgot to take a photo of the soba. . .it was just too good, ate it all up. . .but here are photos of the tempura and some of the veggies they served us.

In addition to the great food, I was also treated to some great stories about the Takigoshi area and Otaki in general. I'll save those for later.