I woke up shortly after 5 am since I had to pee so badly! I didn’t go last night because I was just too tired to put my shoes on and walk over ha. The sky was rather overcast, but it wasn’t supposed to rain till the evening. One of the other groups was already dismantling their tent. I crawled back into bed to rest some more because I was in no rush today. At 5:30, I hear the pitter patter of rain start, ugh. I decided to wait it out and read awhile. I was hoping for a break in the rain to be able to take down my tent, but it got harder and harder. The wind was still howling. At 7:30 ish, I gave up and dove out of my shelter. I had the raincover for my pack and tried to kinda protect it under a tree. After I unstaked my tent, the wind kept blowing it away, ahhh. It’s so much harder with only one person. I somehow managed to get the poles out and the tent rolled up in a wet mass. I stuffed it in my pack, getting everything damp in the process.

The other campers were smart and put their backpacks under the water supply shelter. It was drier there. I set off on the way back and within 15 minutes I was completely soaked. It was raining hard sideways with the wind blowing. Shortly thereafter, my shoes were wet through as well, but at least my feet stayed warm in my wool socks, and my raincoat held out longer. It was almost impossible to take any photos without getting water all over my camera and lens. I ended up crossing the river and taking the alternate, slightly longer route back. This side was so much better! Apparently, Myojin pond actually is paid entry, but it has a temple attached to it. The housing was really old. I took shelter from the rain for a bit before continuing on. The path split off from the road into the forest, along the river and marshes. Beautiful in the foggy rain. The lush greenery and rushing rivers were so pretty!

It took me about two hours to get back to Kappabashi. The closer I got, the more ill-prepared tourists I saw with umbrellas and casual footwear. There were quite a few despite all the rain. I popped by a tourist shop before heading on to the bus terminal and purchasing my return ticket for the 11 am bus. I managed to change out of some of wet clothing. They had gotten rather cold now that I wasn’t hiking. I changed my leggings once I was back at the car. Phew, it felt nice to be dry again! Shortly thereafter, on my drive home, the rain stopped and the temperature kept climbing.