Kamikochi

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Turning down the opportunity of the 04:30 train, our bodies now more adjusted to this time zone, we caught a more civilised 06:00 service towards Kamikochi. The journey consists of thirty minutes on a train followed by an hour on a coach. Neither of these were covered by our JR Passes and it was necessary to buy complete open return tickets for 4400 yen per person. From reading guide books I was prepared to find hoards of tourist marching in slow lines around the picturesque, but well visited Kamikochi. As we dismounted the coach at Taisho pond, I was pleasantly surprised to see only a few people around. The majority of these were elderly tourists who had come equipped with painting paraphernalia or SLRs with a bag full of lenses and clearly planned to settle in one spot for some time, and use the coach as a link between locations.



It was a clear and bright morning. Our ascent to 1500m explained the cooler air, though still no more than a t-shirt and shorts was required when walking. There was little wind and only the occasional bird of fish disturbed the image of the imposing 3,000m plus, snow-capped mountains on Taisho pond. We walked along a well sign-posted trail through sub-alpine terrain for about forty minutes until we crossed the Azusagawa river just South of the main Kamikochi bus terminal. At this point the site was becoming more busy but not sufficiently to spoil the tranquil ambience. Almost immediately, a path forked of to out left which was the start of the trail to the summit of Mt. Nishihotakadake. Beside it was a picture of a man in his thirties with details of his height and weight which I assumed was a missing poster, though it was written in Japanese.



We followed a path along the river for another thirty minutes or so, stopping regularly to take photos, until we crossed the rive again at Kappa bridge. This is the most famous image of Kamikochi. Several hotels, restaurants and cafes are located here, the bus terminal is just 200m South and the visitors centre a short walk North. We stopped briefly at the visitors centre on route to Tokusawa. It was doing a good trade on 'bear bells', used by hikers to alert the indigenous Asciatic black bear of their presence and hopefully avoid a confrontation. According to a notice board, a bear was last sighted fifteen days previously. In addition to bears, the local fauna included monkeys, badgers, foxes and a multitude of smaller mammals in addition to birds and fish.



After an early lunch stop at Tokusawa we paid a small fee and visited the sacred Myojin pond, a popular spot with photographers. With a variety of rocks and trees piercing the mirrored surface of the lake framed by dramatic mountains, we could understand why. On our walk back to Kappa bridge on the other side of the Azusagawa river we were joined by a troop of Japanese monkeys who swung on trees, bounded along the wooden walkways and played in the ponds, paying little attention to us. Clearly the rules of not feeding wildlife which were displayed regularly on signs had so far to date been adhered to.



At around two in the afternoon, with the midday heat and our early start taking its toll on us , we decided to head back to Matsumoto. After a quick coffee near the station in Matsumoto we returned to our hotel to utilise the wifi to plan some more of our trip. In the evening I felt like doing some exercise and after searching on the internet without success for a gym I could use, I opted for a run. However, this proved pretty futile as I was forever waiting at crossings despite planning a route beforehand. The lack of other runners and the funny looks I received convinced me that urban running is not a feasible way to keep fit in Japan.



At around 19:30 when we left our hotel for dinner, the weather had changed dramatically. It was now raining heavily and loud gusts of wind rushed past our tenth floor room. With umbrellas in hand, and considering but dismissing the easier option of dinner at the hotel, we braved the storm and walked several blocks to find a popular eatery we had noticed the evening before. After removing our sodden shoes at the entrance, we entered and were welcomed immediately by the four young staff who chanted something in unison and clapped. We were sat at a bench by the bar and handed a Japanese menu.



Understanding some basic spoken Japanese could be seen as an objective of this trip and would definitely add to the experience and enjoyment. Reading Japanese, however, is certainly a bridge too far for me. Observing our blank faces the chef approached us from within his kitchen, on the other side of the bar and asked us in broken English what we would like, directing our attention again to the Japanese menu. We opted for two beers and a couple of dishes of his choice, for want of better communication skills on our part. A risky strategy in a society which serves horse sashimi. In this instance however, the chef proved a good judge of our Western tastes, and it paid off. We started with some raw cabbage with a Miso dipping sauce which was remarkably tasty. This was followed by Japanese fried chicken, a beef stew and pork steaks with various dipping sauces. Having so far done well by the selections of our chef we also left the important decision of dessert in his hands for which he provided Oreo cookies inside deep-fried donut balls with ice cream. These were incredible, if not particularly Japanese.

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