Akiyamago

Akiyamago is not one village but thirteen hamlets in the gorge of the Nakatsu River, between Mount Naeba to the east and Mount Torikabuto to the west. The border runs through the middle: the eight lower hamlets, from Ando to Oakazawa, belong to Tsunan in Niigata, and the five upper ones, Kotakezawa, Yashiki, Uenohara, Wayama and Kiriake, belong to Sakae in Nagano. Local tradition says the first settlers were Heike refugees led by Taira no Katsuhide of Kusatsu, beaten by Minamoto no Yoritomo in the 1180s. A 1952 survey found the story had no basis and that the settlers were farmers from the Gunma side escaping taxes. The writer Suzuki Bokushi walked in from Shiozawa in 1828 to record how people lived, at the suggestion of the novelist Jippensha Ikku. Ikku died before it could be printed, and Akiyama Kiko waited until 1932 to be published. The valley is still cut off easily: in the heavy snow of 2006, about 500 residents were isolated for several days. Most of the hot springs are on the Nagano side. At Kiriake, at the far end, hot water seeps up through the gravel of the riverbed. Borrow a shovel from the inn, dig a hollow, and let river water in until the temperature suits you. Kiriake Riverside House currently asks bathers to wear swimwear. Getting in from a station takes half a day or more each way, so stay at least one night.