Last weekend,
I went to Aso again on a one day bus tour.
The day before,
the city of Kumamoto experienced heavy rain and lightning,
and I was worried that the tour would be cancelled.
The rain stopped at the start of the tour on the day.
The highlights of this bus tour were getting on
the sightseeing train "Aso Boy"
and bathing and eating at Uchimaki Onesen.
What impressed me was not "Aso Boy" or "Uchimaki Onsen",
but "Kamishikimi Kumanoza Shrine"
and "the chaangeable mountain weather".
"Kamishikimi Kumanoza Shrine" is a small shrine in the forest
where cedors grow in Aso.
It is said that it is the shrine that was the setting for the movie
"Hotarubi no Mori e".
There are more than 220 stone steps to the main shrine
in the mountain where big ceder trees grow,
and 100 lnterns are lined up on both sides.
Seen from the entrance,
it is a very mysterious place surrounded by greenery.
However, the 220 stone steps are a big plobrem.
They are not evently sized or spaced,
and the height also varies.
All of this makes it very hard to climeb.
Some of the tourists did not attempt to go up from the begining,
and some gave up on the way.
I go to the gym on the weekend
and the climb was good exercise for me.
Near the main shrine,
the steps suddenely became steep,
and it felt like a whip was striking my tired body.
When I reached the top,
I heared heavy breathing right behind me,
and when I looked sideways,
I saw a junior high school student from the tour.
He wasn't breating as hard as I was,
and I thoght it was amazing to be young.
The weather in Aso on that day was cloudy in the morning.
After that, it was sunny and the sun was dazzling.
By the time I arrived at Aso station in the evening,
the weather changed suddenely and it rained heavily.
I felt that "mountain weather" was so variable.
When we got on "Aso Boy" and arrived at Kumamoto Station,
the city of Kumamoto was sunny.
It rained even harder in Aso,
and the railway section of Aso was suspended.
