William A bit more about springs and where to find them: Kakibaru (柿原) is a neighborhood on the eastern flank of Mt. Kimpo, whose weight causes water to gush out in lots of places, one of which is called お手水の森 (ochyōzu no mori). The strange pronunciation is due to a legend: apparently, Takeiwatatsu no Mikoto (the main god of Ichinomiya Aso Shrine, who I wrote about the other day) used the spring for ablutions (sacred washing of hands); both that action and its location are referred to as お手水, ochyōzu (most shrines have お手水 for washing hands or rinsing out one’s mouth before prayers). The location, now run by a restaurant, has a small trough-like pond stocked with nijimasu (虹鱒 - rainbow trout) which can be taken home or they’ll cook ’em for you on the spot; a large pond not suitable for swimming; and, in the back corner, the spring, a waterfall which is the ochyōzu. The delicious, biting water tumbles down from fissures in a small cliff, and visitors are welcome to find a niche in which to chill. The official Website: https://nijimasu.jp/spot/ochozu/
William A bit more about springs and where to find them: Kakibaru (柿原) is a nei…