Itoshiro, a small village located in the Gifu prefecture of central Japan

is a popular destinationfor mountain stream fishing fans from all over

Japan during the season.

Ishigaki sensei organized an event for Tenkara anglers to gather in

Itoshiro to watch Iwana spawning and catch up, so my wife and I went

to participate.

We have yet to see any snow around where we live, but Itoshiro is

800 meters (2700ft) above sea level.

There was plenty of it up there.  After our long agonizing drive of creeping

up the steep and winding road up through hills and mountain,

we arrived just after midnight on Friday.

It must have been just below 0 Celsius (32°F) but those who arrived before us

had built fire to welcome us.

We all spent the first night in cars and tents, but before we head

for pillows, our friend “Soba-Gaki san” (nickname)

made delicious fresh Soba noodles!

Buckwheat harvested in summer, aged until autumn is called

“shin-soba”.

It is an important flavor of the season.  It strengthens you.

With good soba noodles we all had our share of drinks and got

some nice sleep.

It was wonderful… until we woke up in the morning.

RAIN!

Of course, whenever Ishigaki sensei plans an event, it always gets

rained on!

On top of that, he was accompanied by Mr. Kimura the cameraman…

another rain man.

Both are notorious within Tenkara community of Japan for bringing in

rain on event dates.

River had turned brown… no way of finding fish in such conditions…

we quickly switched up our plans and mindsets.

We went for a walk all with umbrellas and some visited hot springs.

Air was cold and crisp.  There’s really something about walking through

a world covered in snow.

It rejuvenates your soul.