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Published: August 28th 2007
Nokonoshima Campsite
A 10-minute ferry ride from bustling FukuokaI meant to write much sooner than this. A month is a long time to travel a country without recording your adventures, but somehow faced with the thought of sacrificing a day and possibly a new adventure to sitting in an internet café, I just couldn’t do it. Finally, I have decided to rest for a few days at a friend’s house to get myself sorted out before I sail to Shanghai on Friday.
The last month has been a whirlwind trek around Japan during which I haven’t remained in most places for more than a day. I have done most of my traveling using the incredibly cheap (11, 500 yen or about $115.00 CDN) Seishun Ju-hachi Kippu, a youth discount train ticket that allows you to travel an unlimited distance on the local trains for 5 days per ticket; and I have taken the bus or ferry when the train was going to take too long. I have also stayed in youth hostels or camped where possible to keep my expenses down. As a result of avoiding big cities, I feel like I’ve seen some of the most beautiful places in Japan, though maybe not the most accessible.
Warriors
Shimonoseki - Probably a depiction of the famous battle between the Heike and Genji clans My journey has taken me from Kagoshima to Fukuoka, through Shikoku and up Honshu into Hokkaido, then back down again. I’ve spent a lot of time in transit because cheap travel is slow travel here, but on the way I’ve had some great experiences, met good people and, of course, eaten some amazing food (ever important for this foodie!)
Although I have enjoyed most of the places I visited, my trip had two major highlights: a 5-day trek through the Northern Japanese Alps and my visit with my Canadian friend, Ashlee, in Hokkaido.
Shirouma-Dake to Ogisawa trek In my last entry I mentioned that I had three 3-day “solo” hikes planned. Well, as anyone could have been foreseen, I wasn’t able to do all of them. The first one got canceled because a typhoon had washed out the road to the trailhead (a fact that was communicated to me by a bus driver who kept putting his arms out in a big “X” every time I mentioned my desired destination); I canceled the other hike I had planned in order to spend more time (partying) with Ashlee. But whatever I missed in the other two hikes, I
Half and half
Julian, a Mexican friend from the Shimonoseki youth hostel, straddles the border between Kita-Kyushu and Shimonoseki certainly made up for in my trek through the Alps.
The hike, which was to last four days according to Lonely Planet’s “Hiking in Japan” guide, spanned 41km from a town called Sarukura to another called Ogisawa and was basically a giant ridge walk across several of Japan’s 100 Famous Mountains (Hyakumeizan). Each day required about 10 or 11km of hiking and, having traveled up to 20km a day on hikes in Canada I was sure I would be able to finish in 3 days. So with much enthusiasm I hopped on the earliest bus to the trailhead from Hakuba, where I had camped the night before.
The first day went smoothly, with a steady climb up the Daisekkei glacier to Shirouma-dake (White Horse Mountain), and as I was resting at the lodge near my camping spot for the night I was approached by a man who wanted to practice his English. We chatted for a while and, as I was about to head to the tent area to set up for the night, he invited me to join he and his wife for a steak dinner at the lodge in return for an English lesson. Although I
really did need to eat away at some of the weight in my pack (I was convinced the food was slowing me down. Ha!), I obliged. Let me tell you, it doesn’t get much better than steak and wine when you’re in the mountains, but at nearly 3000 yen it was an expensive lesson!
I was up at 4:30am the next morning hoping to catch the sunrise but already trailing most of my fellow campers who packed and leaving by the time I stepped out of my tent. Although the guidebook says that once you’re up Shirouma-dake “you won’t be doing a big descent for four days” day two certainly had its fill of descents (often in cliff-like conditions), followed by ups to make up for the lost altitude. From the time I reached the first major set of chains, I knew I was in for a challenge, not only because I would have to get myself through the scary parts alone, but also because I had never done such rugged hiking for such an extended period of time.
By the time I reached the end of day 3 I was nowhere near the end and, having almost
lost myself down a gully, I knew I was going to have to shorten day 4 to a half day to try to curb some of my fatigue. On day 4 I ended up camping on a ridge with a perfect view of the sunset and sunrise where I was also able to make a new friend (Ryohei). Ryohei and I spent the next day hiking together and he helped me find the onsen (public bath), laundromat, and train schedules for my trip north once we got out of the mountains - after 5 tiring days without a shower and little sleep, I was grateful to have him there.
Hokkaido, Japanese Canada Then I was off to Hokkaido, where some big-city adventures awaited. The first thing that happened when I arrived (by ferry) was that I was approached by a man who, noting the look of confusion on my face, wanted to know where I was headed. I mentioned that I was hoping to have some sushi for breakfast so he told me I’d have to get on the next bus to Sapporo. He turned out to be on the same bus and actually told me to get
Paper Cranes
Children's Peace Park, Hiroshima off with him and took me to the fish market by taxi. Since our ferry had arrived at 4:30am and it was only about 6 when we got to the fish market, he taxied us to his house where his wife cooked us an egg breakfast. They then spent the next 4 hours showing me the photos from their travels around the world before taking me on a driving tour of Sapporo and finally for a sushi lunch, then they dropped me off at the bus station with directions on how to get to Ashlee’s town; and I didn’t pay a yen. I am convinced that everyone needs a set of Japanese grandparents.
It was pure joy to visit Ashlee and her town. Ashlee and I met in Japanese class before we came on JET and she is actually the only Canadian I managed to keep in touch with. The first time I was able to mention something Canadian or Calgarian without having to give any context for it was actually a little shocking. Furthermore, because Hokkaido was only colonized (taken over from the Ainu) by the Japanese last century, the houses look much more western with two stories,
Dengaku
Potato, tofu and devil's tongue coated with miso sauce and cooked over hot coals sometimes built out of brick, sometimes in a log cabin style. In Ashlee’s town most houses sit on large fields of corn, lavender or rice and Hokkaido is renowned for its dairy products. The icing on the cake is the beautiful woodworking they do, which I had never seen in Kagoshima. Needless to say, I felt right at home.
Ash and I spent 4 days in her area with her friend Jeff (a former JET) joining us at the half-way point. Together we ate the most incredible sushi I have tasted (Hokkaido is famous for, among other things, the freshness of its sushi), visited the pubs, sang karaoke and explored the local volcano, Asahi-dake (Sunrise Mountain). After a fun weekend we all headed down to Sapporo where Jeff left for the States, Ashlee attended a conference and I walked around most of the city sights. After one final dinner together Ash and I left off and I began the long train journey back south.
Next stop Shanghai After three days on the local trains I copped out of traveling any further, opting to visit Ryohei, who lives about an hour north of Tokyo, and to say a
Biwa Falls
The Heike used to sit by these falls and sing songs...very inspiring final farewell to Andrew (my former Shibushi HS co-worker) who has moved to Tokyo to teach at an international school. I’m glad to have taken a break before I take the 48 hour ferry ride to Shanghai, China, on Friday; I have averaged about 12 hours of sleep per night since I arrived at Ryohei’s. I’ve also heard that the level of English in China is even lower than Japan’s and I don’t speak any Mandarin. I’m excited to test my limits and communication skills yet again (this is like a level up from Japan!), but I have a feeling it’s going to take a lot of energy to do it alone!
Hostel Recommendations Shimonoseki:
Shimonosekishi Hinoyama
Details: clean rooms overlooking the river; friendly, English-speaking staff; close to the Kyushu-Honshu pedestrian tunnel
Shikoku, Tokushima Prefecture, Oboke:
Ku-Neru-Asobu
Details: a gem; beautiful setting; friendly owner who will pick up and drop guests off at the train station no matter when they arrive or depart; close to Iya Valley and Oboke-Koboke Gorge; traditional Japanese (dorm) style
Gifu Prefecture, Nakatsugawa:
Kisoji Furusato
Details: beautiful setting; ultra-clean, new wooden building with hardwood floors; friendly owner; slow internet access and a
Mountain vegetable soba
The Iya Valley in Shikoku is famous for it's handmade soba bit out of the way, but worth it for a retreat; beautiful bath
Hokkaido, Hakodate:
Hakodate YGH
Details: 3km from Hakodate Station but very close to some key sights; accessible by tram; private rooms with TV and sink (shared bathroom); free ice cream and tea served from 9-10pm every night; close to restaurants and a supermarket; very clean
Fukushima Prefecture, Inowashiro, Ura-bandai Park:
Ura-Bandai
Details: 15 minute bus ride from Inowashiro Station; wooden building set in the forest; 2 minute walk from the Goshiki-numa walking trail
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Kathy
non-member comment
WOW!
Hi Em, This is so exciting, I feel like I am there with you. Thanks for sharing your amazing adventure! Love, Kathy