I hadn't realized how much I wanted a break from cities. It took changing trains three times, plus taking a cable car and a bus to get me here, not fun with my rucksack, but worth it. Up here the foliage, like up in Nikko, is brighter than what I've been seeing lower down. The air has that same forest scent, and there are temples everywhere, sweeping and possibly the most gracious I've seen yet.
Souvenir shops crowd the street for a few blocks in the center.
And it's also just a regular town, with a high school and supermarkets. This afternoon I walked to Okunoin cemetery, on the other side of town. The path was beautiful, and the cemetery itself I think is my favorite so far. It's inside a shadowy old forest reached by crossing a river on a curved scarlet bridge. The path twists and branches off, scurrying up slopes to lead you to further aged markers.