Once upon a time there lived a poet named Ariwarano Narihira. He dreamt of his lover Fujiwarano Takaiko all day long. He would think of her when he saw the spring blossoms, and in the tsuyu rains in June that would turn the rice fields green like a verdant carpet. If only he could tell her how much he loved her. What would he do? One day, while boiling some water, he saw the steam rise to the heavens, like a prayer to God. He thought, I can send some smoke signals to the heavens. So when his lover passed by, he would boil some water for her. He became intrigued by the patterns that smoke made, and thought, why don’t I color this water so she can see it. So he got some Imperial purple or murosaki water, and created smoke signals for her. Today, you can still see the salt kiln used for boiling water at Jurinji Temple, also known as Narihira-dera, after the Heian period poet.
Experience the charm of an earlier time, just 30 minutes from Higashi Muko station. Grab a bento lunch from the shops next to the station, and wind your way to the mountains on bus route 66.
