Asahidake Hiking
Me On Top of the World
Me On Top of the World
Coming off an extremley busy weekend, thought I would take the time for a post to the Blog. Friday was spent running errands, while Saturday I had to go to a going away party for the person that I replaced on my new job. It turned out to be the typical Japanese ladder night, ladder meaning you start at one place and progressively visit many others throughout the night (and early morning).
Overcoming obstacles
Overcoming obstacles
I made it home Sunday morning at about 4:30am, I was still recovering from a slight cold, which staying out all night didn’t help matters much. Sunday was spent mostly sleeping. Monday morning I was up and at em, ready to meet Toby and Maiko, the two people who I spoke of in my Blog Post Severe Synchronicities.
A small pond we ran into at the top of the mountain
A small pond we ran into at the top of the mountain
Toby, Maiko and myself met up about 9:45am and headed to the Teninkyo resort where we would begin our Asahidake Hiking trip up and over the mountain to the Asahidake ropeway. When we arrived at the Tenninkyo resort they were charging for parking (300 Yen) about $3, which normally they don’t, but since the long weekend was in effect they were capitalizing on it.
A lone little duck in a lone little pond
A lone little duck in a lone little pond
We started up at about 10:15am and was met with a hard climb zig zagging straight up the mountain, the trail at times was only about a foot wide with a sheer drop off on one side and a cliff on the other. I didn’t realize how out of shape I was until we were probably 25 minutes into the climb, I had to take it slow and steady, and also take frequent breaks.
Maiko and Toby contemplating what it would be like to be a duck
Maiko and Toby contemplating what it would be like to be a duck
Toby and Maiko was well equipped with the right clothing for Asahidake hiking while I was in many layers of clothing and tennis shoes. It got warm very quickly and I had to start stripping off some layers of clothes about 30 minutes into the hike. Hiking in Tennis shoes is comfortable but, I slipped a lot and landed on my bum frequently.
Toby enjoying the fall colors, and thinking how lucky we are to live here
Toby enjoying the fall colors, and thinking how lucky we are to live here
After about an hour and 30 minutes we made it to the top of the mountain we were hiking up and was treated to a great view of the Taisetsu Mountain Range. Getting to witness a sight like this made the climb all worth the difficult trek. You could see the snow capped mountains and the Chubetsu river down below, with a couple of water falls in view.
Great view from the top
Great view from the top
Continuing on we ran into a small pond and marshy area, where a lone wood duck was swimming around on the glassy surface. The water was crystal clear and was covered on the bottom with bright green algae. We also saw a wood pecker, and several other species of birds I had never seen before. After a short visit to the pond we continued on the trail until we were able to see the top of the Asahidake ropeway and a nice view of Asahidake herself. Asahidake is the tallest mountain on the island of Hokkaido.
A serene view of the snow capped Asahidake through the pine trees
A serene view of the snow capped Asahidake through the pine trees
Since we left the car at Tenninkyo we decided to head back down the way we came, after a short rest and some fresh fruit and granola bars we headed back down. I slipped quite a few times on the way down since my shoes didn’t grip very well, it was a fast trip back down since a lot of time was spent jogging down steep slopes.
Taking a snack break and enjoying the view
Taking a snack break and enjoying the view
After we arrived back at the bottom we decided to go check out the autumn colors at the Hagoromo water falls, which was only about 500 meters from where we came out at. There were a lot of tourists checking out the majestic falls, while I heard many different languages, from Chinese to English to Japanese. Hokkaido is truly an International Island.
Hagoromo falls and many tourists
Hagoromo falls and many tourists
After enjoying the waterfalls for a while we decided to call it a day and head back home. I had a great time and got some good exercise, and would be very sore the next day. Look forward to the next Asahidake Hiking trip, and snowboarding this winter. Snow should be upon us in a few weeks, I already have a snowboard, thanks to Toby, and just have to find some snowboard boots. Hope you all enjoy the photos. Take Care.
Hagoromo Falls sporting fall colors.
Hagoromo Falls sporting fall colors.
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Comments
great post, charlie. we had a great time on our “first meeting” with you, as well. loved the “overcoming obstacles” picture you have. it turned out much better than my pic’s (as did all your pictures) and i’d love get a copy of it sometime.
see on in the hill again soon.
peace & yama,
-toby
Nice, I also own a Canon Digital Rebel, but just got the 40D which I love. 
btw love your “Overcoming obstacles” shot.
i loved the “Toby enjoying the fall colors, and thinking how lucky we are to live here” shot looks great, did you do any PS to the image? if not try to you can bring some of those colors out
Right On Charlie!
You had great weather and great companions, for a wonderful day and more excellent photographs.
I am looking forward to seeing all of the original photos in the near future.
Norman D.
http://www.everythingjapan.net