In the village, I spied an obaasan (a mature lady) in her garden. She seemed to be sorting something.

What was she sorting? Perhaps these (rather picturesque) black and white beans that were in baskets all around the village.

I finally entered a village – the first on the Magome side of the pass. The homes are built in the same way as the one on the other side, and all neat and tidy, showcasing a wealth of autumn blooms.

These were particularly vibrant, and kind of appropriate considering the season.

One can’t go very far in Japan without stumbling on a shrine or temple. I stumbled on a little shrine beside the trail through the woods. The shrine itself was only a non-descript torii and an altar with some small offerings. What fascinated me the most was the washing trough nearby, which featured a very ornate dragon’s head.

The trail eventually emerged from the woods. And what did I find? That will be in my next post!

Near the top of the pass was a pair of waterfalls not too far apart from each other. The glade is cool and damp, and being still early-ish in the day, I had the waterfall all to myself.

I passed through more mountain villages, each one sleepier than the last, and at a higher altitude.

The path then ducked back into the woods as I approached the summit of the pass. It was autumn, and although there were plenty of evergreen pines one can’t escape the flame-like glow of Japanese maples.

We leave the road and venture out on to what is initially a cobble-stoned path, undoubtedly part of the old road. The woods are thick with cypress pines and full of mystery to my Aussie eyes.

The following day I walked the road to the next village, Magome. It starts with a slow climb following the narrow local roads through even quieter mountain villages than Tsumago. There was hardly any movement – not surprising since it was early on Sunday morning. I had plenty of opportunity to stop and take in the scenery, or in this case, the roadside autumn flora.