Achievement Unlocked

Thursday was our last full day at Hatcho-no-Yu, and that was a little bittersweet. We were all just starting to feel comfortable in that wonderful rustic setting. Things that initially felt foreign were now second nature, and a lot of the stress we’d felt upon arriving Tuesday had quietly faded.

Today’s Agenda

We had another day of fishing ahead. Anthony and I were going to hit the main stem of the Kinugawa headwaters that flowed right through the property with Hiro and Takashi. No ropes or climbing required this time. Unfortunately, Matt was feeling a little under the weather and chose to sleep in and rest up. Whatever bug he’d picked up somewhere between the flight, Tokyo, and Nikko had finally caught up with him.

My goal was simple, catch a wild, native fish. I needed that Iwana I’d missed the day before. I didn’t come halfway around the world to catch stocked rainbow trout. Hiro mentioned we might also encounter Yamane in this stretch, and the possibility alone was enough to get Anthony and I moving.

But First, Breakfast

Just because posting photos of these table settings never gets old.

Down to the River

You may recall from the prior day’s entry that we hiked down to the river and instead of turning right, we turned left to scramble over a roped berm to a feeder stream. Today we followed the same path, but turned right.

The water wasn’t large, but it was generally wider than what we’d fished Wednesday. Tenkara-perfect in many ways, lots of technical features, but not so wide that you couldn’t cover the entire stream from bank to bank with a standard-length rod.

I decided to fish my own gear today, opting for the DRAGONtail Kaida. Anthony did the same, fishing a Tanuki model he’d brought along. The familiarity of being back on my own equipment made me feel comfortable on the water almost immediately.

How Was The Fishing?

Much better. No more than ten minutes after dropping into the water, I felt my first strike. After a full day without a fish the day before, my hookset was a beat slow, but it was promising. It wasn’t long after that I landed my first Iwana of the trip. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt equal doses of adrenaline and relief quite like that before. Everything I came here for, right there in my hands.

The rest of the morning was slow but steady as we hopscotched each other up the stream. I’m happy to report that everyone caught multiple fish, and I believe Anthony did in fact land his Yamame.

With all the recent rain, the surroundings were impossibly green and lush. The self-imposed pressure of catching a native fish finally lifted, I found myself slowing down and just taking everything in. The birds. The moss. The ribbons of current. We even came across some white-stained rocks marking a mineral seep. The smell confirmed it.

Kamoshika Returns

For most of the morning we were spread out along the water, but there was one long, slow section where we all drifted together and took turns working the best water. Takashi first, then Anthony, then Hiro. Before I had my turn at cleanup, I noticed something just ahead of us upstream, the Japanese serow we’d spotted our first day at camp was back, slowly navigating the rocks as it crossed the stream.

It hadn’t seen us yet. That didn’t last long. It caught wind of four sweaty anglers, and within seconds it was gone, vanished into the woods. I jogged ahead trying to catch another look. Nothing. Stealthy critter.

Then Came the Rain

We’d been remarkably lucky with weather for most of the trip, but the skies finally opened up shortly after the serow encounter. Perhaps it was a sign from the heavens. It was early afternoon by then, and with a solid morning of fishing behind us, Takashi and Hiro decided it was a good time to get off the water. Back to the lodge we went.

The rest of the day was genuinely lazy, and honestly, after pushing hard since our arrival in Japan on Saturday, that was exactly what we needed. We hung our wet gear on the cabin porch, ate our bento box lunches, and sat and watched the rain come down.

I used some of the downtime to catch up on work emails I’d been ignoring. With the time difference, nobody back home was even awake yet to reply. It was, unexpectedly, one of the more enjoyable ways I’ve ever handled that particular chore.

Beyond that there wasn’t much more to the afternoon. Evening would bring more onsen time and another wonderful meal. We’d be leaving Hatcho-no-Yu in the morning, and I was already missing it.

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Just catching up on this adventure now? See all Japan 2026 posts here.

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