Haunted Shizuoka

Just beyond the city limits of Shizuoka City is Utsunoya Pass, a once-daunting mountain crossing that travelers on the Old Tokaido Road (the historic route from Tokyo to Kyoto) hiked between the villages of Mariko (in present-day Shizuoka City) and Okabe (recently incorporated into Fujieda City). We set off with cameras to first visit the tiny settlement of Utsunoya, a strip of traditional houses nestled alongside the mountain.This photo was inspired by Yuna, our photographer friend who has a thing for rust:Despite having been warned by my students and Shizuokan friends that the place is haunted (cameras malfunctioning in/around the place, people feeling strange, ooOOOoooo!), we hiked up to the entrance of the Meiji Tunnel, the first tunnel through Utsunoya Pass, constructed in 1876.Ain't afraid of no ghosts. Besides, the tunnel's only 200 meters long...Really, the only spooky part was that it had started to thunder when we exited the other side (below is the view of Utsunoya Pass from the Okabe side...a 4-lane highway now cuts through the mountain below the site of the old Meiji Tunnel).Then, as we waited for the bus, it poured...rainy season, after all. This visit was one more check off my "must-see before moving home" list. And sorry for the misleading title...not even any strange white shapes showed up on our developed photos.