There is a railway that quietly leads into the San’in region.
From Kurashiki in Okayama, the Hakubi Line begins to climb into the mountains.
The train that runs this route is the Yakumo Limited Express.
Recently renewed, it carries a modern design and a calm, spacious interior.
And yet, no matter how refined the train becomes,
the mountains remain unchanged.
They rise close to the windows,
steep and silent,
as if pressing gently against the passing train.
San’in is one of the few regions in Japan without a bullet train.
But once you travel through these mountains,
you begin to understand why.
Some landscapes are not meant to be crossed quickly.
Where Mountains and Water Move Together
Along the way, the Hino River appears beside the tracks,
flowing quietly toward the Sea of Japan.
The railway, the river, and the road run side by side,
as if sharing the same path through the valley.
Villages appear and disappear between the trees.
Small stations, often with only one or two cars stopping,
carry a sense of time that moves differently.
Here, the mountains do not feel distant.
They feel close—
almost overwhelming.
A Night Within the Mountains
One summer night, I drove along this valley.
The road grew darker,
and the mountains became something else—
no longer just scenery,
but a presence.
The silence was deep.
The darkness felt endless.
For the first time,
I felt the mountains as something to be feared.
And then, suddenly—
a burst of light.
Fireworks rose above the river,
and people appeared in the darkness,
their silhouettes softly lit.
In that moment,
the fear dissolved into something quieter—
a sense of being held within the landscape.
A Sense of Awe
In these mountains, distances are longer than they seem.
By day, the road is beautiful.
By night, only silence remains.
It is here that the Japanese word “畏れ (awe)” begins to make sense—
a feeling that holds both fear and respect.
And yet,
this very severity protects the clarity of the river,
the glow of fireflies in early summer,
and the quiet rhythm of life.
Light Within the Valley
When I arrived at a small town,
I found a place to stay by the river.
A simple building,
a bath filled with warm steam,
and a dining room filled with soft light.
In a place where the mountains feel vast and overwhelming,
these small human lights felt deeply reassuring.
Places to stay in this valley are few,
but that is part of what keeps the silence intact.
Traveling Through the Hakubi Line
This is not a route for speed.
It is a journey through depth—
through mountains that cannot be hurried past.
Some landscapes ask you to slow down.
This is one of them.
Arriving by night brings a different kind of memory
→ Sunrise Izumo