Amazing waterfalls that if you drink from them they offer longevity!

The oldest and largest timber building with one big Buddha, and a live prehistoric animal that just crawled out of the primeval swamp.

At 1400m in the central

Kii Peninsula

The locals paying homage to the sacred Nachi Waterfall.

It’s the highest single drop at 133meters

Drinking at the dragon fountain is to ensure longevity-

I went back for seconds just to make sure

The central mountains are beautiful

If it not winding roads then it’s tunnels through mountains- some up to 5km long

The largest timber building in the world.

The Todai-hi originally built in 798AD and rebuilt twice since.

It houses the Great Buddha

Wow!

Cast in bronze in eight castings over a period of 3 years.

It was originally covered in gold leaf.

Weight 500tonnes

Yep.. another WOW

Japanese Giant Salamander - 1.15m long

They are found the central highlands near Akame.

This one it estimated 65 years old and is described as being ‘lost in thought’.

He’s in the Akame Salamander Museum.

They are a reminder that we crawled out of the water millions of years ago.

One of the 48 Akame waterfalls, it’s also the training ground for the Ninja and birthplace of Sandayu Momochi who is the founder of the Iga school of Ninjyutsu arts

Just north of Nagoya the impressive Inuyana Castle.

It’s the oldest surviving castle built before the Edo period and finished around 1440.

It was built by Oda Nobunaga, one of Japans greatest samurai warriors.

Typical country side. The valleys farm land/houses and the occasional factory.

The mountains with thick timber.

We wanted to go back, way back into Japans prehistoric history and visited the Fukui Dinosaur Museum-

In Japanese クローズド = Closed

But I did find out that Trex once roamed here.

The Asakura Family Historical Ruins.

This is a castle town with 103 years and 5 generations of history where 10,000 people lived here in this fortified valley.

The Daimyos are a warring clan but the city had a elegant culture until 1573 when warriors set fire to the city over 3 days and 3 nights, bringing its long history to a close.

The valley became rice paddies until in 1967 they began excavating the site.

Now one street is returned to appear as original.

Nothing better than a camp in the mountains next to a wild river.

Wild or free Camp No 38

Time for a full cooked breakfast