おおさこ・Osako
A cave linked to Shugendo is also located in this hamlet and can be accessed by entering the cafe associated with the cave. The cave is very cool in summer months and an underground stream runs through it.
The village of Osako is located on the west side of the river above the most visually prominent feature of this subdivision: the Osako Dam. A dam this high upstream on the river provides control of the water during typhoons, but it also gives Kawakami powerful leverage over Wakayama Prefecture and other towns further downstream that are dependent on this water for agricultural irrigation. Unfortunately, one of the tradeoffs of damming any river is the disruption of natural breeding patterns for local fish. Most of the river fish in Kawakami are born in artificial fisheries and must be regularly released by humans into the river because the ecosystem has been blocked.
The dam is featured in Kawakami’s signature curry, “Dam Curry.”
