Wednesday 9 - Friday 11 October 2019
This is the actual view as I start writing this chapter. I am at 1,300m above sea level up a mountain in the Daisetsu National Park in Hokkaido, northern Japan.
It is a glorious blue sky only kinda day up here, and I'm told it snowed at the peak of Mt Kurodake last night. But it is the colours of the tree leaves that is impressing me. It is so pretty here! Autumn is upon us and the vividly coloured leaves are breathtaking, and the maple red reminds me of what could be a really good lipstick colour.
The leaves begin to turn at the summit in September, slowly spreading down to the foothills of Sounkyo Onsen town over a month. Sounkyo is at 670 m and is where we are currently staying.
I popped into the museum to observe some wildlife, including a fine specimen of a Japanese Biker Man that happened to be on display....
A wise WOL
"Here we have a common male rider, sexius motorbicus, observing the animal kingdom he dominates. He survives by travelling vast distances on his steel horse."
Then I ascended the mountain via the ropeway cable car to the 5th station. Hikers can hike up to the peak from here, non-hikers can take a chair lift to the 7th station and take a stroll to waterfalls up there. Unfortunately, the chair lift is closed today due to yesterday's weather so obviously, goes without saying, I am not hiking up any further than this spot!
I had lunch up here so I think overall this is a good achievement for my mountaineering shenanigans. Paul was out early to hike to the peak, I hope he was prepared for the snow!
Hi
Post writing update: he wasn't, he had to wring out his wet socks up t'mountain sitting in a little hut. Turns out his trainers have holes in them. He said the climb was quite warm because the sun was out and the mountain was shielding against the winds, but at the peak the winds were very chilly.
We arrived yesterday to grey skies and high winds. I put on my hoodie and coat for the first time in three weeks! The hotel is a little like The Shining meets Dirty Dancing. This is because there are creepy corridors and due to the mountain backdrop. And also because there are tannoy announcements every so often for the start of activities such as bingo or the dining room opening, a la Dirty Dancing.
I know which 'Johnny' I would prefer to see here ❤️ (let's pause to remember Mr Swayze....).
The accommodation (Sounkyo Choya Hotel) is half board so it was quite cosy to stay in the hotel and eat from their gigantic buffet. Now, I am a buffet professional (thanks to Not-DONG) and even this buffet threw me off my game. It was quite an overwhelmingly Japanese buffet with lots of mystery items plus a full on soft scoop ice-cream dispenser (Hokkaido is famous for ice-cream and other milk products due to having some spiffy cows).
I made a Genghis Khan both nights. Say what? You bring a burner and cast iron pan to the table, and load it up with veggies, fish, meat to cook at the table.
Now, we all know I tend to go off script when it comes to food combinations. The Japanese around us must have been quite amused by my combinations.
The first night I sizzled salmon, tofu, bean sprouts, onions, peppers - all wrong.
It should have been a pre-mixed beef combination, instead I went around a buffet picking up other items.
The second night, I sizzled already cooked tempura vegetables (including a potato / rice patty, a lot like gnocchi).
And I drizzled the lot of it with a Chinese salad dressing for flavour as it cooked. Then I would eat the pieces dipped in sesame seeds and wasabi powder.
Conventionally, I did finally eat tuna sashimi (raw tuna) with wasabi and picked ginger, which was on my food list for this trip.
Sounkyo Onsen is a hot springs town so I had to onsen (sit in the water) here. Thankfully, I was able to take a dip into the springy sulphur water in a private bath. You have to onsen naked, even in the public baths. The rules are:
1. Take off clothes in change room
2. Rinse or wash body
3. Soak in bath (do not put head under water)
4. Relax and enjoy
5. Rinse and wash body after bath
I did all that but privately during a 50 min slot. The water is not drained and replaced between bathers, much like a jacuzzi isn't either. The onsen water felt cleaner than jacuzzi water, perhaps because bathers must wash prior to use and the Japanese are unlikely to skip this part. The onsen water also felt hot, hot, hot. I had to climb out twice to cool down. I can't say if the water is healing and calming because I felt sick afterwards, a little like if I had just spent the day sweating outdoors in Singapore. I had to have a nap afterwards to recover so I think long term, an onsen isn't for me!
One fun observation: if you soap your butt and sit back down on the stool, there is a high chance you slide right off the stool only the floor. It may or may not have happened to me....
Entry area in the private bathing room
Pre and post (posterior?) cleaning
The drive out of the mountains was very pretty, as it was another blue sky morning. I think I am a big fan of gorgeous 'gorge' gorges.
I could potentially become a Gorge Gorge blogger, full time? Chasing gorge gorges around the world in my helicopter (memo to self: learn to fly a helo).
In fact, this photo has been the screensaver on my phone for almost two years.
It is the very Gorge Gorge Kawarau gorge in Queenstown, New Zealand. I was eyeballing it as part of my Lord Of The Rings tour, and is actually where the Fellowship sailed in the scene as they pass the Gates of Argonath / Pillars of the Kings and He (Lord Aragorn, son of Arathorn, true heir to Gondor, King of my Heart) and Frodo look upon the giant stone statues of the kings. I actually ache to watch that film right now!
So you know, we played Bingo at the hotel, Japanese style. Luckily the numbers themselves were in English numerics. Paul won a bottle of sake, I tried to be pleased for him but I am a sore loser when it comes to Bingo. I think I prefer playing down Gala, with a dabber!
Back to Sapporo today, where we are bunkering down for Typhoon Haggis / Hagibis. "This is Divya Patel, reporting live from the eye of the storm, back to the studio .... "
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