We left Tokyo by means of the Rapid Tobu-Nikko train and arrived in Nikko around noon. Nikko is a small town with a national park and many sites around it. By the time we got to the guest house and put our bags down we were both tired and hungry so we went for a walk around town. Nikko, though beautiful, did not seeme very hospitable to us that afternoon, as almost all businesses were closed (on a Friday!) and even at the info-center it was hard to get any information in english.
The next morning we took a bus to an even smaller town called Chusenjo by a lake of the same name with the purpose of climbing the nearby Mountain Nantai-San (2450 meter high). The road up to the highlands - climbing to 1200meter above sea level - is so steep and winding, that there are two separate roads: one going up the mountain, the other going down. As we arrived, we started looking for the path leading up to Nantai-san.
Funny, but only that took us about an hour. Then we learned that the path begins behind and through the local Shrine,
and you need to pay at the shrine and get a pass
So at last, around noon, we began what was supposd to be a 3.5 hour climb up followed by a 2.5 hour climb-down.
You start with stairs, but eventually the stairs are left behind you and you climb rocks and slide in mud, but either way, it is beautiful. And hard. Especially with huge backpacks.
There are huge and old cedar trees with moss that has been gathering for years (decades? centuries?) and the ground between the trees is covered by a knee high bamboo-like grass on both sides of the track. All around us, a cacophony of insect and bird sounds and patches of light as the sun broke through the clouds.
(This short film is nominated to be included in the next BBC Planet Earth series - Film by Shay Ohayon, Directed by Shay Ohayon)
After climbing for 3.5 hours without getting to the top of the mountain, and finding out from an elderly couple already on their way down that the top was still about 90 min. ahead of us, we decided to turn back and start our way down. If our GPS is any indication, we did climb over 900 meters that day.
The way down was no picknick either, let me tell you. And we were HUNGRY!
Almost 2 hours later we got back to the shrine and started towards the caping ground - another 4 km away by a lake-side trail.
It took us another hour to get there and we were DEAD tired, and enxious for a shower.
We put up our tent in the spot indicated by the camp manager but as we were settling in for sleep and it startet raining, the campsite owner came by, pulled us out of the tent, and made us move the tent!!!
Though the new spot was much nicer (as it turned out in the morning, we couldn't tell at the time), moving your tent is no fun.
In the morning, Shay woke up with a fever and the campsite owner drove us to the doctor. We stayed at the camp for three more days untill Shay got better - in the meantime, I went back to Nikko toget the rest of our stuff from the locker and to try and buy more food supplies (unsuccessfuly, as everything was closed for the weekend - we cooked noodles with carrots and Pringles).
When Shay was well enough we took a day tour to a resort town higher in the mountains in which we spent a few hours. We went to a foot-spa, and Shay went to an Onsen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onsen
Note the fine-print warning on the Onsen's pamphlet.
Shay also tried licking toads as a means of getting over his cold.
- It didn't work.
A warm meal by the lake did him much, much better.
The next morning, we left the campsite, the rain and the cold, and with a short stop-over to
see Kegon falls, made our way back to Tokyo from where we took the Shinkansen train (270kmh) to Kyoto.
This was not filmed at double speed - the GPS said we were traveling at a speed of 270 km/h
So - now we are in Kyoto. We will tell you all about it in the next post.
Oh - a word to the wise: those of you planning to get to Japan, know that there are no paper towels in the public toilets and I highly recomend to do as the locals do and carry a small hand towel in your bag :)
At the top, there was a japanese man who gave some explanations about what we saw to some woman. You can listen also. We found it extremely useful! We decided he knows the way better than we did, so we followed him down...
Near the summit, there was a temple, and we found a pilgrim who came to say some prayers and to blow his horn.
Here is me and Mr. Miagi (from Karate Kid)
