When the landslide took out the Takakura road at Oyama-ji on September 22nd, it carried our water main with it (as well as the power and optic fiber cables). The water company quickly offered workarounds while they figured out a temporary solution that would restore water supply to our side of the mountain.
And yesterday, we decided to follow those temporary aboveground pipes from end to end.
It was a challenging hike. Photos don’t convey the slippery slopes, the leeches, or the steep terrain. But we managed them and found ourselves enjoying the view at Oyama-ji.
I made things difficult by refusing to return the way we came. As hard as the climb was, I know that going downhill on those loose soil slopes was more challenging and definitely unwise. Another complication was the weather forecast; we were expecting rain by 1:30. It was already after 12:30.
So we opted to walk down from the temple into Kozuka, get a snack at Sushi-ya, then hike home up and over a paved mountain pass. It started raining at 1:15 while we were sitting outside the grocery store with our onigiri and cookies.
We arrived home soaked and laughing at our folly. Yet the knowledge of how our water is routed was worth the trouble. It seems solid enough to hold until a permanent fix is created. I made good use of the running water and drew a hot bath to warm us up.
