Crossing the Amagi Pass

Izu Peninsula is located approximately 100km to the southwest of Tokyo. Dividing the peninsula, which juts into the Pacific Ocean into the north and south, is the "Amagi Goe", a single mountain pass. It used to take people one whole day to walk over this pass. Passing over the Amagi still stirs up emotions of the traveler in the hearts of the Japanese. Examples of this can be seen in "The Izu Dancer", an early short story by Nobel Prize-winning writer Yasunari Kawabata, and a popular karaoke song titled "Amagi Goe". This pass was once a harsh place that could only be crossed on foot. Sometimes, with a sense of longing... There are people who once passed over the Amagi, and people who are about to. In this episode of Seasoning the Seasons, we look into the emotions of those travelers, together with the beautiful scenery of the pass. Land of Fire and Water