I woke up shortly after 5 am since I had to pee so badly! I didn’t go last night because I was just too tired to put my shoes on and walk over ha. The sky was rather overcast, but it wasn’t supposed to rain till the evening. One of the other groups was already dismantling their tent. I crawled back into bed to rest some more because I was in no rush today. At 5:30, I hear the pitter patter of rain start, ugh. I decided to wait it out and read awhile. I was hoping for a break in the rain to be able to take down my tent, but it got harder and harder. The wind was still howling. At 7:30 ish, I gave up and dove out of my shelter. I had the raincover for my pack and tried to kinda protect it under a tree. After I unstaked my tent, the wind kept blowing it away, ahhh. It’s so much harder with only one person. I somehow managed to get the poles out and the tent rolled up in a wet mass. I stuffed it in my pack, getting everything damp in the process.

The other campers were smart and put their backpacks under the water supply shelter. It was drier there. I set off on the way back and within 15 minutes I was completely soaked. It was raining hard sideways with the wind blowing. Shortly thereafter, my shoes were wet through as well, but at least my feet stayed warm in my wool socks, and my raincoat held out longer. It was almost impossible to take any photos without getting water all over my camera and lens. I ended up crossing the river and taking the alternate, slightly longer route back. This side was so much better! Apparently, Myojin pond actually is paid entry, but it has a temple attached to it. The housing was really old. I took shelter from the rain for a bit before continuing on. The path split off from the road into the forest, along the river and marshes. Beautiful in the foggy rain. The lush greenery and rushing rivers were so pretty!

It took me about two hours to get back to Kappabashi. The closer I got, the more ill-prepared tourists I saw with umbrellas and casual footwear. There were quite a few despite all the rain. I popped by a tourist shop before heading on to the bus terminal and purchasing my return ticket for the 11 am bus. I managed to change out of some of wet clothing. They had gotten rather cold now that I wasn’t hiking. I changed my leggings once I was back at the car. Phew, it felt nice to be dry again! Shortly thereafter, on my drive home, the rain stopped and the temperature kept climbing.

 After school yesterday, I went home to load up my car with my backpack, futon, and camping supplies before heading to Takasaki to pick up the sleeping bag I was renting. We had planned to meet at 5:30 pm at the station’s east entrance so I waited in the drop off zone. I thought it’d be a quick exchange, but some miscommunication made it take an hour. She ended up in a different parking garage than I knew, but we managed to track each other down and I got into the same garage where she was. Only took a while to get into the right level too because the car in front of me just sat there without entering. Finally I picked out the sleeping bag I wanted, and was on my way to Kamikochi in Nagano!

With partial expressway, it took me 2500 yen and about 3 hours to get there. I had my dinner in the car at a conbini in the middle of nowhere. Far enough out that the cashier was really surprised to see a westerner. By the time I arrived at the main bus terminal parking lot at 9 pm, I really had to pee. So I headed up to the toilets only to find them closed! With everything closed and dark, I wasn’t going to waste 600 yen to leave and re-enter so I found some sparse bushes instead. It was pretty brights out with the lights, but there was no one else around...I think, ha. I set up my futon in the car and read a little before trying to sleep. It was hot in my car, and cool outside so I had my windows down and hoped for no mosquitoes. Some more cars pulled up as others were also spending the night in their cars.

I woke up in the morning with my alarm at 5 am. Luckily I had shut my windows before going to sleep as it had rained in the night. It was cloudy and grey out. There were some others breakfasting and preparing their packs. I got my ticket for the first bus leaving at 5:40 am. No cars are allowed to drive into the park. This was my fourth Japanese National Park! The drive took about 30 minutes before we arrived. I hit up the toilets to brush my teeth before heading out. I had a lot of ground to cover today! The Kappabashi bridge was a short walk from the bus terminal. There was a troop of monkeys passing through! Monkeys everywhere, rustling in the bushes and climbing trees. Loads of baby ones too! Most people crossed the bridge, but I stayed on the same path to take the shorter distance, 6.5 km, to Tokusawa camp site.

It was pretty dark still in the valley and it was a boring, gravel road walk through the forest. Later, the trail approached the river a bit more. The water was so clear and blue! The tips of the mountains were lost in the clouds. Kamikochi has twenty of the tallest Japanese mountains, thus aptly named the Japanese Northern Alps. It has the third highest mountain in Japan at 3,190 m (10,500 ft), but sadly that’s a three day backpacking hike and out of my league. I passed another troop of monkeys all over the trail and in the river, playing, with even more babies! I even saw a mother nursing her child. The babies were very shy and would hide their faces in the adult monkey’s fur when they saw me looking at them. It was a little scary as they were all over the bath, but we kept to ourselves and there was no trouble.

I passed the first hut, where I ran into more hikers as the trail from the other side merged here, before arriving at the grassy field camp site. I found the check in office easily, and the lady working there spoke English! Got my tent and everything set up by 9 am. With just my day pack, I found the trailhead to Mt. Chogadake although it was a fading sign in Japanese. The trail didn’t ease into the steepness, but it was punishing from the start. The ascent is supposed to take 4.5 hours which is what it took me. I definitely took a lot of breaks. I passed one other group with backpacking packs and saw a couple other groups. Definitely possible to see bears on this deserted trail! It just kept going up and up for 3 km in the woods. Sadly, I couldn’t see anything but trees. I had two peeks at mountains with snow and Mt. Yaedake which has all the steam and smoke from its volcanic activity. Around the 3 km mark, the landscaped changed a bit and there were some meadows and ponds. The sun had progressively gotten stronger during my hike, but the wind kept me feeling refreshed.

I ate lunch on a log, and boy, was I hungry! I hit the peak of a smaller mountain along the way and finally the trail leveled out a bit. Too much uphill! Thank goodness for the mile marker signs that gave me hope. I finally hit the last part and was rewarded with a patch of melting snow!! I got to walk through snow in July! And the view, oh my god. Breathtaking. The snow dusted peaks were all clearly in sight with the clouds having lifted. Just stunning. It made the whole hike worth it. I started the final ascent. It was rocky ground covered with some low pine bushes. The wind hit and it hit badly as I moved out into the open. I’ve never felt anything so strong. I managed to get a quick photo at the peak with my camera strap wrapped around the peak marker, but the wind was pushing it the whole time.

I quickly descended behind a rock face by the mountain hut to get out of the direct wind. There were three tents pitched, huddling, by the rock wall for shelter. The wind was so intense. Nothing but howling. The mountain hut offered toilets (and ramen, I found out later!). I left the sheltering walls of the hut and re-emerged into the open. The wind slammed against me and I couldn’t move. Once it lessened, I backed up and added my fleece and raincoat layer for some protection. Also packed away everything in my bag and put my stomach backpack strap on to make sure my backpack didn’t fly away either! Just wow, wow, wow. The wind was about 60-70 kph (~40 mph). Several times I had to drop to the ground and clutch a rock as to not fly off the mountain. My heart was pounding, adrenaline flooding. It was scary. I could barely breathe with the wind snatching away the air and pressing my nostrils shut. I had 30 minutes of ground to cover with my legs already tired. I pressed on, basically walking at a 45 degree angle.

I ended up meeting another solo female traveler. We started a conversation at one point. Her English was so good! She had lived in England for a year. We kept each other company as we struggled along the ridgeline. Finally, we reached the trailhead for the descent to Yokoo campsite. Shortly after descending, the wind was cut off and we took off our layers. I could breathe again! That was definitely one of the most intense things I’ve done. We descended together. It was supposed to take two hours, but we definitely did it quicker with two breaks. Such shaky legs! This trail was steeper later and flatter in the beginning. There was an area where they had cleared the trees so you could see the Alps. So pretty! The clouds set in quickly again and the peaks were covered.

Finally we made it to Yokoo! I exchanged contact info with my new friend! She was also going to Oze next weekend. I ate some food and relaxed on one of the benches. I still had an hour flat walking in front of me to get back to my campsite. Yokoo was closer to the river and brand new! The campsite also looked nice although rockier. There was even a beer vending machine! All the luxuries you could want while camping. After thirty minutes, I headed back to Tokusawa. The path was again pretty boring, through the woods with an occasional peek at the river. Felt longer than an hour too with my tiredness, but I made it! I dumped my gear and decided not to go to the onsen - too far to walk those 5 minutes, ha - but got ice cream instead! Yum! A great treat after a long hike. I didn’t realize the elevation change would actually be 1,100 m due to the lack of English info online. It took me about 10 hours to do the whole thing, 19 kilometers (~12 miles) covered, which fit the estimate exactly. The wind was stronger at the camp than earlier and it had gotten chillier. After dinner, I prepared for bed and read for a little. The wind was really loud and kept bending the tent in half. I’m surprised that my stakes and poles even held out!

I woke with the rising sun at 5:15 am, ugh. Four hours of sleep is not enough, but it was hard to stay asleep with the car door slamming noises as well. People started lining up for tickets shortly before 6 am with the offices opening at 6:50 am for the first bus departure at 7:30 am. The Alpine Route stretches across the mountains between Nagano and Toyama. There are several different modes of transportation you take and the whole journey across can take 7 hours with waiting times. I was only going as far as Murodo where Japan’s highest altitude hotel and onsen were, and where the famous snow corridor was. Due to the lack of snow, this year it was only 13 m high instead of the usual 17-19 m. This was probably the best website I’ve encountered in Japan in terms of English information. Everything but the timetables had been translated.

I wanted to get here super early because the crowds were supposed to be intense as it was the weekend after the opening weekend. They estimated over one hour waiting lines at each station. No thank you.

It was pretty warm out already in the sun, but I wore a lot of layers anyway with my snow pants. I joined the line at about 6 am, and ate my breakfast there. I had bought food ahead of time although they sold things at a station shop (at a higher price). Many other Japanese people were waiting along with loads of skiers and snowboarders. There’s no ski resort, but plenty of places to go backcountry. It’s always impressive to me to watch people strap them on to their packs and hike with that weight. I easily got my ticket for a round trip between Ogizawa station and Murodo and took my spot in the next line for the first part of the transportation chain, riding the trolley bus.

Electric buses are rare in Japan. Unlike Czech Republic, where the inner city of Plzen was filled with them, this is the only trolleybus line in all of Japan. Plenty of Japanese tourists were eagerly taking pictures of the buses. The tunnels through the mountain took years to complete and claimed many lives. After waiting about 5 minutes, and catching the first bus at 7:30 am, we unloaded at Kurobe Dam 15 minutes later. It’s like the Hoover Dam of Japan and is the tallest one here. I climbed the many stairs to emerge from underground on the observation deck. The views were stunning. Seeing snow capped mountains is my favorite. I then descended a bazillion stairs to walk across the dam to the next station and wait in line again.

The next round of waiting took about 10-15 minutes before I managed to get on the cable car. The cable car took 5 minutes before we were at the next station, Kurobedaira. They handed us a number to tell us when we could get on the ropeway to help keep the lines down. In the meantime, I went to the deck observatory and got my photo taken at the altitude marker. The temperature was still pretty warm here although there was snow all around. After a quick 5 minute ride on the ropeway - with amazing views - I switched to another trolley bus at the next station. Again it only took about 10 minutes waiting before I could board and another 10 minute ride, before I finally arrived at my destination, Murodo!

I arrived at about 9 am at the already crowded station. It was rather confusing to find my way out towards the snow corridor. It was finally cooler at this altitude, 2450 m (8000 ft). Following the stream of people down the street, I encountered the highest part of the snow corridor, 13 meters tall this year. I got the famous bus shot with the snow towering overhead. Some years the snow is 17-19 m tall! It’s really cool to see the stratification patterns where the snow has melted and refrozen over winter. Next, I stopped by to catch a glimpse of the lake that was still completely frozen. I put on my crampons at this point because there was plenty of snow on the ground and I was slipping everywhere in my hiking boots. Interestingly enough, the top layer was kinda crusty and melted so you didn’t sink through like with the powder at Mt. Asama.

My goal was to summit Mt. Oyama, the main peak of the Tateyama range, at 3000 m. I wore too many layers and got hot quickly. It was slow going and rather steep up the first bit. You had to be careful not to slip. I made it to the mountain hut at 2700 m (a rise of 300 m from my starting point) and ate lunch. The wind was really strong at this peak so then I was thankful for all my layers! I was accompanied by some skiers, snowshoers, hikers, and snowboarders. Had a nice conversation with one guy and his group as we climbed at about the same speed. One again, they were surprised to hear that I was hiking by myself.

I started the last bit of ascent. It was extremely rocky and more like the bouldering I was used to in Maine. The patches of snow, ice, and bare rock made it tricky with the crampons. I really need the full on 6-8 point spike ones. Suddenly, the cloud cover started coming in pretty quickly and whiting out everything. Soon I could barely see in front of me. I decided to turn around at this point. It cleared a little bit, but after the partial descent I had started, I realized I was ill equipped. It was incredibly difficult going down. One of the hardest things I’ve done. My shoes didn’t grip at all and I slid a lot. I can’t imagine doing it much further than the short distance I managed. The rest of the way back was easy enough as it was just sliding down on snow for short bits. You had to watch out for hollows and cracks under the snow though.

I made it back to the hotel (the highest altitude hotel in Japan). I wanted to go to the onsen (also the highest altitude one), but mother nature had determined it was not to be. After buying some omiyage, I began the journey back. Hordes of people had flooded the route and my wait times were bad, but not awful. Most people were going in the opposite direction. I’ve never been so glad I started early. I made it back to my car and got ready to do the drive back on local roads. I ended up stopping in Ueda at a FamilyMart around 6 pm to take a nap. I was so tired from the lack of sleep last night. I could barely keep my eyes open while driving. The one hour nap rejuvenated me and I finally got home at 9 pm. What a successful, fun trip!

Side note: The next day I realized I had forgotten my glasses there! I must have left them in the restroom in the morning when I put my contacts in. I contacted the staff via the website and they got back to me saying they found them! They even wrapped them up nicely and mailed them to me by pay on delivery. Yay!

After school today, at 7 pm, we had our welcome and goodbye enkai in Takasaki at the Georgian House. It’s a fancy place, designed in a British style, that serves French food. Everyone was having parties there including S’s school so I swung by the station to pick him up. I got to see Ichigo-sensei again! Wah! She’s so lively, it’s fantastic. She had been back to cook for the handball girls and they were concerned for me. Guess they felt the rockiness with the JTE now teaching them. Whoops, but it’s quite sweet. It’s been an adjustment. It was a night of good food and I got to chat with another teacher N-sensei. With a mix of English and Japanese, it was nice to get to know her better.

I was planning to leave directly for Nagano on my trip after the enkai when I realized I had forgotten my mini spikes for my shoes at home. I’d definitely need them for the snow on the Alpine Route. As I had to drive back towards Tomioka anyway, it wasn’t a big detour. Our enkai ended late at about 9:45 pm. I changed at home into my sleeping/hiking clothes before starting the drive. I decided to pay the 3000 yen for the tolls so I could get there an hour faster. I left my place at about 10:35 pm and arrived at Ogizawa station at 12:40 am. I managed to shave off 25 min from Google’s ETA thanks to empty roads. The last bit of toll roads wasn’t even in operation. The last stretch was pretty cool thanks to the full moon reflecting off the snow capped mountain peaks. Luckily I only saw a tanuki on the road, and didn’t run into any other animals.

It was chilly out, but refreshing. There were several other cars in the parking lot and more pulled in while I was getting my futon ready. The bathrooms were open and so clean. Ah, one thing I absolutely love about Japan. With the back seat down and the two front seats pushed forward all the way, my futon fit perfectly. It was really comfortable actually with my comforter and two blankets keeping me warm. The moon shone down directly overhead.