I know I said I would talk about places that most people overlook, but
I have never been so overwhelmed by the nature in Japan as the time I
visited this area of the Japan Alps.
Though the place sees a lot of visitors, it stays remarkably beautiful due to allowing automobiles no further than the terminal at the southern edge.
Once inside the only way to travel is by foot.
And if you walk far enough to the innermost areas, the tour groups, day visitors and loud children thin out leaving only you, a few hikers and mountaineers, and nature.

Then if you look away from the paths and other people, all you see is pristine nature.

I stayed at an inn far enough away from the bus terminal to avoid the
common tourists but not so far that I would have to bring mountain
climbing gear.
Everything closed up early and even the place where I was staying
locked its doors.  A fact I learned the hard way, having stepped
outside to look at the stars and lost track of time.

But minor problems aside, seeing the morning mists over Myojin-ike
pond and walking on a path through the forest alongside a pack of
monkeys was a breathtaking experience.

Later into the day I walked further in, and despite the campers and
hikers, the sunlight shining through the trees to the green meadows
below, and the jagged mountains towering up at all sides made the
whole place seem almost unearthly.

In short, while Kamikochi itself is fairly well-known it just gets
better the further you are willing to travel in and away.

It has been a while since my trip and I only wish I had the presence of mind to take more pictures…

http://www.kamikochi.or.jp/english/

Next time I will write about one of the stranger places I have been to…a center of weird science fiction fantasies surprisingly close to where I live.