The above will search this blog. |
Even though the Japanese look at the beginning of December as the beginning of winter, the fall colors are just hitting their peak in Tokyo. Where would you like to go today? Shibuya? Shinjuku? Or perhaps you’d like to go to Iidabashi (near the Tokyo Dome, Budokan, and Tokyo Imperial Palace)?
The weather was good and the fall colors (紅葉) were supposed to be great, so I jumped on the train to Kamakura (鎌倉) for Thanksgiving. This was my first time on the train between 8 and 9 a.m., and it was not pleasant. We were pushed in like sardines. I could breath since I’m taller than 99% of the Japanese by a good margin, but I can’t imagine being a foot or two shorter in that condition. My feet got locked in, and I couldn’t move them. I had three layers of clothes on and was sweating like crazy. The lady next to me no longer had her feet on the floor after the train shifted a few times. She was grabbing my arm to keep from falling. Of course, none of us could fall, but leaning heavily on those around you as you move through Tokyo at rapid speeds on the train is not fun.
I was able to sit on the final train (of three), from Yokohama to Kamakura, but it, too, was fairly crowded for a non-holiday weekday in Japan. Everyone without a job was going to see the autumn foliage.
This was my third time in Kamakura. Each time has been very different. At the last second, without a plan in mind, I got off at Kitakamakura instead of the Kamakura station. I visited only three temples and shrines (Engakuji 円覚寺, Kenchoji 建長寺, and Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine 鶴岡八幡宮), but those three still took up a whole day.
The above photo is of the Engakuji Sanmon taken under a Japanese Maple, one of the first of countless seen on this Thanksgiving day.
The above photo was taken from where I had my Thanksgiving feast (of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, an apple, and a PowerBar). The statue in the picture is of Tengu and I think the place was called Hansobo in the Kenchoji complex. I will tell you more about it in a future entry. On a clear day you can see the ocean from here. The sun was too bright and there was a bit of haze on the horizon so I didn’t see the ocean on Thanksgiving.
For most of the uphill climb after departing Highway 45 near Kori Station (古里駅) the above is all you can see. Few people were on this trail (in the 奥多摩町 area). In fact, we would have thought we were on some of our favorite hikes near home in Ashland, Oregon were it not for the roots lining the trail, the trees not being quite the same (sugi maybe? 杉), and the occasional hiker saying konnichiwa to us.
Upon reaching the ridge after a couple of hours, the views changed rather dramatically. They were also very different depending on which way you looked. Trees on one side of the ridge were non-existent on the opposing side and vice versa. Some trees had lost most of their leaves.
Other trees, like these Japanese Maples, were peaking.
I wasn’t expecting to see susuki up here, but there it was. From this last spot, if one could jump 50 feet straight up, they would be treated with a vast overview of Tokyo.
Last Saturday (November 21), upon recommendation from a friend who had been there the prior weekend and upon seeing it is a featured fall “walk” in a guidebook we own, we headed west of Tokyo to Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park.
The above photo is of the Tama River (多摩川), from a bridge just a minute or two away from Kori Station (古里駅). This is were we began our walk. The fall colors were still nice, but they probably hit their peak at this location a week or two before.
This next picture is from inside the train near the Mitake Station. The train was actually packed on a Saturday morning, and most people got off at this station. We followed Day Walks Near Tokyo’s advice and kept going to Kori Station. Some of the information in our book was dated and/or inaccurate. For instance, there no longer is a jiyukippu. Nor is it cheapest or fastest to go from Shinjuku and pay the 1992 price of 890 yen each way. Instead we went from Takadanobaba and paid 770 yen on the way there and just 600 yen on the way back (from Hinatawada), using a Seibu line instead of JR for much of the journey.
When we transferred trains at Haijima Station, we had a good view of Mt. Fuji. The above pic didn’t come out so great through the lined glass and with the power lines grabbing the focus, but you get the idea.
Be careful when relying on the information in Day Walks Near Tokyo. “Walking time” in the book seems to mean “running time,” and even though we gave ourselves 7 hours of daylight to do the 4 hour and 45 minute walk with breaks, we ended up in darkness for the last hour. For instance, the first part of the walk says it takes a total of 1 hour and 30 minutes. However, even before we finished it 2 and a half hours later, we saw a sign on the trail pointing in the downward direction saying it was 1 hour and 30 minutes to the start of the walk.
The book really doesn’t prepare you for the amount of climbing. Only once does it mention the trail being steep, even though you will encounter steep trails both up and down all day long. The last 2 hours and 10 minutes (from Mt. Hinode to Hinatawada Station) is described as “quite easy going.” While it is mostly downhill, you will be descending hundreds of steep steps at times and generally navigating a trail loaded with tree roots, ditches, and other obstacles. As we were nearly out of daylight, we almost jogged this part of the trail, without any rests, and it still took longer than the 2 hours and 10 minutes the book estimated. If you plan to follow this trail after the days grow shorter in fall, be sure to bring a headlamp and get to Kori Station by 9 a.m. Another complaint about Day Walks Near Tokyo by Gary Walters is that after the fact I found out, by looking on other websites, that the highlights of a trip to Mt. Mitake are the Rock Garden and water falls (two sets). The book didn’t mention water falls or the Rock Garden so we didn’t know to see either.
We did see and experience some really cool stuff, though, and the fall colors were beautiful. I’ll show you some more pictures in future entries.
In looking through my Hakuba pictures just now, for the first time in a few weeks, I realized that this is going to be about a 20- or 30-part series. I hope you don’t mind.
Our lodgings in Hakuba were wonderful. We booked them through a travel agent in Tokyo. After doing so we got an email saying that the owners of Mountainside Hakuba Jodel were going to throw in a free breakfast for us each morning as well. That’s not something that usually happens AFTER you book a place, but it was the first of countless bonuses the fabulous owners imparted to us.
When we arrived at Jodel (マウントサイド白馬ヨーデル) we were surprised to find no one there–no guests, no employees, no owners, nobody. We soon came to find that the Jodel wasn’t alone. Much of Hakuba had an abandoned feel to it, a most welcome contrast to Tokyo. A few minutes after we settled ourselves in the lobby the owners arrived. From the instant we met them I loved them. They were so kind. I think their names were Mr. and Mrs. Uozaki, but Mr. Uozaki asked us to just call him Uo (魚) for short.
Mrs. Uo cut the largest nashi (梨) I have ever seen and gave it to us. They came from her daughter, who lives in Kyushu, that morning. Mr. Uo showed us to our rooms. The above is an unaltered image of my first look out our room’s window. I could have cropped it, or shown you a better picture that I took later, but I like this one for a memory of the initial impression.
Mr. Uo then offered to drive us around town or pick us up (should we call) from any point in town whenever we went out. How is that for service? They fired up the hotel’s bath for us, even though we were the only ones staying there and could have just bathed in our rooms’ baths. The hotel could hold probably 200 or more people, and the bath can handle at least 10 or 15 people at a time, so we felt a bit bad that they should have everything running just for us.
We were served a breakfast of about a dozen courses each morning, freshly cooked by Mrs. Uo. The views were amazing and Mrs. Uo even decorated our table in fall colors in case we didn’t get enough from looking out the window. Did I mention that we didn’t even order or pay for breakfast?
The Jodel’s owners were so cute. They came out of the kitchen to take pictures with us and of the breakfast. She said she had never made a western breakfast before so she wanted to capture it with photos. Apparently most of their guests are Japanese and the few foreigners they get are from Australia (coming to Hakuba to ski), not the USA or Europe.
Here are Ellie and Ryan in the lobby of the Jodel. The place isn’t fancy or new, but for hospitality there is no better place on the planet. The price is extremely reasonable, and if you aren’t planning on staying on a Saturday night during the peak of the ski season you will likely have lots of elbow room.
Subscribe in a reader or get updates via email
