Tsurugisan Super Forest Road Pause on the gravel and look out at the distant ridgelines

The gravel shifted under my shoes with a little crunch. I stopped near the mountainside, lifting my eyes from the folded map. The nearby trees were turning autumn colours, and beyond them stood one mountain, then another. I couldn’t help following the ridgelines with my eyes, wondering how far they went.

I was glad I’d worn my russet jacket; it made me want to step into the frame with the autumn scenery behind me. Before I called out to my friend, I stayed to look a little longer. I loved watching the leaves move in front of me while the far-off ridges stayed still.

The line on my map had looked so thin, but out here I could feel the stones underfoot and see the shape of the slope. When the road curved out of sight, I carefully unfolded the map at its crease. The paper that had only shown me where I was now seemed to connect with the scene in front of me. Maybe that’s what it means to know a mountain road.

My friend said, “There’s another mountain beyond those.” I looked again and spotted the faint outline of a mountain behind the nearest ridge. That second look gave the whole scene more depth. Sharing the view with someone else helps me notice things I would have missed on my own.

“Shall we get going?” I folded up the map, but my eyes were still searching beyond the valley. Next time, I’d like to stop at Fagus no Mori Takashiro for venison curry. For today, I want to take home the crunch of gravel underfoot and the sight of these layered mountains. The autumn forest road had become a memory, not just a line on my map.