Yufudake, we tried to get close to you. We tried to find your big beautiful lake, Yufuin. We slipped in then sailed out for a short afternoon, sampled your Toriten chicken and gasped at the red koyo leaves winking through doorways. We avoided following your yellow brick road of tourism with all our might, dismissing the 'petting village', honey-bee traps, souvenir mile, but you don't make it easy. I searched for the dishevelled, the unpolished amongst what you'd created. I should have climbed that mountain, scrambled up there for perspective. But I gave in and ate expensive cheesecake, drank milky tea and let those trees beyond deliver the beauty.
