奧羽：日本“世界盡頭”

1698年，日本著名的徘句詩人松尾芭蕉在《奧的細道》里說，他在奧羽狹窄或根本無路可循的“路上”，徒步游歷5個月，歷盡千辛萬苦，他感嘆：“我不如到世界的盡頭！”

受到芭蕉的啟示，2006年仲夏時節，我們在日本羅森公司安田勛先生的陪同下，駕車在奧羽地區兜了一圈，行程2000多公里。

奧羽地區在日本本州島東北，包括青森、巖手、宮城、秋田、山形和福島6個縣。這里巍峨的奧羽山脈縱橫全境，形成一條火山脊柱，險峻的峽谷、飛瀉的瀑布、翻騰的急流、美麗的火山湖、天然的溫泉、傳統的文化，古樸的景色。在總面積67000平方公里的土地上，分布約1000萬人口，相對來說這是日本發展較慢的地區。我們曾在日本工作多年，但從未游歷過奧羽，這次抱著獵奇心情，想在這“世界的盡頭”看個究竟。

米澤秀美大庭園

6月15日，多次訪問過奧羽地區的安田先生，駕駛配有衛星定位導航裝置的銀色小汽車從東京出發，經琦玉、櫪木、福島3個縣，抵達了面向日本海的山形縣。經過最上峽時，我們眺望了晶瑩透亮的白絲瀑布，靜聽綠蔭深處潺潺的流水聲；在平坦的公路兩旁，又觀賞了米澤盆地上的大片西洋梨和櫻桃樹。安田說，這里不僅出產上好的大米，水果也極豐富，櫻桃產量占日本第一、葡萄第二、蘋果第三；啤酒花與紅花產量也居日本第一位；米澤雖是座10萬人口的小城，卻素有“日本人心中的故鄉”之稱，每年迎來400多萬游客。最上川是日本國家級的觀光地，芭蕉名句中描繪“五月雨蒙蒙，朝游最上川”。

米澤市這個歷史悠久、景色秀麗的城市，是日本家喻戶曉的米澤藩主上杉鷹山的故鄉。上杉城堡龐大的建筑群是米澤市的中心，四周的寺院為防御的據點，放眼望去，古城原貌盡現：街道上有白色庫房與帶有防風雪圍墻的店鋪和作坊，不遠處用茅草蓋頂的房子鱗次櫛比，綠油油的五加樹形成天然籬笆，小道幽徑蜿蜒曲折。街道聳立的石碑上刻著上杉公的詩：“霜滿軍營秋氣清，數行過雁月三更；越山拚得能州景，遮莫家鄉憶遠征。”這首七律再現了昔日米澤城堡的烽火。

安田要我們去品嘗與日本神戶牛肉、松坂牛肉齊名的米澤牛肉，這美味得益于這里的氣候、土壤、水質和飼養方法。米澤牛肉名不虛傳，鮮美香嫩，但價格不菲。安田介紹說，明治初期一位在米澤當教師的英國人達拉斯回橫濱時，深感這里的牛肉味鮮美，于是帶去一頭米澤牛供朋友們品嘗，大家對這美味贊嘆不已。

山崎凈土海岸情

我們在日本著名漁港北山崎領略了被譽為“日本最美的海岸”風光。那波瀾不驚的海水浩淼無垠直上云天，海岸青松翠柏風光無限，那太平洋怒濤雕鑿成的巖礁和洞穴，是大自然的杰作。最讓人驚嘆的是這里連綿8公里的懸崖斷壁，它猶如一幅寬銀幕似的壯麗畫卷，被人們稱為“海上阿爾卑斯山”。

從北山崎向南沿海岸公路前行，我們到達了名聞遐邇的“凈土之濱”，它在日本本州島的最東端。300多年前日本名僧靈鏡稱贊這里是“極樂凈土”。乘游覽船沿海岸航行，只見白森森、亮晶晶的粗面巖石，像恐龍牙齒般此起彼伏地裸露在海邊的小島上。在凈土之濱的白色沙灘上，滿眼是翠綠樹林、湛藍海面，那追逐游輪飛舞和覓食的海鷗，構成了一幅和諧、圣潔的風景畫。

從宮古島向南行駛，我們到達了與天橋立、宮島齊名的“日本三景”之一的松島。這里自古以來就是日本的旅游勝地，它有大鷹森的“壯觀”、富山的“麗觀”、扇谷的“幽觀”和多聞山的“偉觀”，有雄島夕照、瑞嚴晚鐘、霞浦歸雁、鹽釜暮煙等“八景”引人入勝。芭蕉詩人曾在這里流連忘返，贊頌松島是“扶桑第一好光風”。

溫泉魅力健身心

泡溫泉是日本旅游的重要項目，在奧羽的7天旅程中，我們在5處各具特色的地方洗了溫泉浴。

第一天夜宿古色古香的日式瀧波賓館，這里有已經開發了900多年的赤湯溫泉。這浴室是用天然素材木石建造的，池內有小巧玲瓏的木枕，人們可以舒適地躺在室內的泉水里泡浴，也可以上露天浴池。露天浴池是由一整塊巨石鑿成的，人坐在溫泉中，可以盡情享受這份柔情似水的靜謐。這里的溫泉有豐富的礦物質，水稍帶咸味，這對治療腸胃病、皮膚病、神經痛很有效。

第二天夜泊志戶平，這座別致的旅館在綠樹成蔭的山麓小溪邊，服務小姐輕聲慢語笑臉相迎，聽說秋田出美女，這些典雅的服務員還真是秋田人，溫柔又漂亮。日高見湯溫泉池中，歌聲婉轉飄蕩，人們在咕咕泛著氣泡的按摩池里盡情泡浴，真的好舒心！

6月18日，在凈土之濱的白濱旅館投宿，寬敞的日式套房，給人以許多溫馨和舒適。晚餐后，在臥室外瀕臨大海、綠樹圍繞著的露天風呂（浴池），我們便又在溫泉池中戲耍，享受著閑云野鶴般的瀟灑。

第五天住在松島好風亭旅館，透過明亮的窗戶，松島灣美麗小島一覽無余。晚餐后，我們又去小松好風亭大浴場。安田先生告訴我們：700多年前京都就有大眾浴室，400多年前東京也有了。當時日本男女同在一個大眾浴池里洗澡，直到1870年日本頒布了全國混浴禁止令，才結束歷史悠久的混浴習俗。但在露天風呂，仍有男女一起泡溫泉的浪漫。

第六天住在飯坂的聚樂飯店，在洋溢著淡淡硫磺味的露天溫泉泡浴，疲勞很快消失。在室內人造的蒼翠似傘的“溫泉森林”里，真是心曠神怡。正在此時，突然一束耀眼的閃電、一陣轟隆的雷聲從溫泉頂襲來，大家一驚，仿佛自己即將置身于狂風暴雨之中。然而這是一場虛驚，原來這是飯坂庭園溫泉室內“人工雷電”的杰作。

Ou Mountains:Japanese End of the World

By Zhu Ronggen， Zhao Ruiyun

In 1698， the famed Japanese haiku poet Matsuo Basho roamed in the Ou Mountains for five months. He was both intoxicated with the breathtaking sceneries in his adventures and tortured by the desolate wilderness in the mountains. Mentioning the grueling hiking on trails and pathless wilderness in an essay later， the poet sighed with feeling: “I’d rather go to the end of the world!?Inspired by the haiku poet’s masterpieces about the mountain area and this particular comment， we traveled across the Ou Mountains in the summer of 2006. The 2，000-kilometer-long car journey took us through Aomori， Iwate， Miyagi， Akita， Yamagata and Fukushima， the six prefectures spreading across the mountain range. We witnessed the breathtaking beauty of the volcano peaks， precipitous valleys， cascading waterfalls， sparkling streams， crater lakes， hot springs， and cultural sites. The 67，000-square-kilometer area， home to more than 10 million people， had maintained its ancient beauty and culture and less developed. Though we had worked in Japan for years， we had never visited the Ou Maintains. Our purpose was to satisfy our curiosity about the poeticized end of the world.

Guided by Mr. Yasuda who had visited the mountains several times before and a GPS-navigation system， we set out from Tokyo. Since the modern means of transportation saved us from hiking hardships the poet had experienced centuries before， we enjoyed the long journey.

Our first stop was Yamagata Prefecture facing the Japan Sea. The prefecture is a major fruit producer of Japan and we saw fruit trees along the highway. Yonezawa， capital city of the prefecture and home to a population of 100，000， is regarded as the spiritual hometown of all Japanese. It attracts 4 million visitors a year. The Uesugi clan which ruled the city for 270 years and brought prosperity there had a castle in the city’s downtown. The castle was surrounded by temples which once served as fortresses guarding the castle. A visit to the castle and the temples brought us back to the past glory of the clan. The Mogami River is a state-designated tourist destination of Japan. Matsuo Basho wrote a poem eulogizing the rainy scenes of the river he witnessed in an early morning. The beef in the city is delicious. For many tourists a beef dinner is a must.

Kitayamazaki boasts Japan’s most fascinating coastline. The day we were there， we saw the sea stretching toward the clouds and sky at the horizon. Verdant pine forests shone charms along the coast， where reefs and caves， sculpted by the seething tides of the Pacific Ocean， highlighted the wonders of nature. The most spectacular beauty， of course， was an 8-kilometer-long wall of towering craggy cliffs. Like a grand picture， the cliffs are famed as the Alps on the Sea. Driving south from Kitayamazaki to the easternmost tip of Honshu Island of Japan， we reached the Pure Land， a place named by an accomplished Japanese monk more than 300 years ago. The name fits and clings. Taking a dreamlike cruise along the coast， we saw glistening white rocks featuring themselves like dinosaurs?fangs. The Pure Land presented a holy picture of white beaches， lush woods， azure sea and sea gulls circling tourists?boats.

Bathing in hot springs is always an attraction in tours around Japan. We bathed in five hot springs during our seven-day journey in the Ou Mountains. Every bathing we took was an education about the country’s luxury， folk style， and history.

(Translated by David)