At Shiga prefecture's north end, the mountains around Makino

From the window of the limited express train headed south into Kyoto, this view soon after leaving the Japan Sea at the port of Tsuruga gives the feeling of "big shouldered" mountains. They fill the horizon, so close to the rail line are they. The countryside speeding past the window is a mix of forest land, farmland, and other sections of land that is overgrown or undeveloped. With rural populations migrating to cities, as they have done since the 1950s, and the national population as a whole decreasing, there are many spots that once were carefully tended, but now are abandoned, much to the benefit of the many wild plants and animals.