Silver Week: Frisbees, Camping, and Mountain Climbing

On October 6, 2015October 6, 2015 By ambertravelingIn Uncategorized2 Comments

It all started when I told my Japanese coworkers that I liked hiking.

The next day, the math teacher showed me a a dusty old photo album with pictures of her as a 20-year-old, grinning from the top of a mountain.

As other teachers eavesdropped on our conversation, advice started to drift in.

The assistant principal – who still doesnt quite comprehend that I can’t understand him when he speaks Japanese – brought me a map and a book (all in Japanese) about local trails. I asked him which one was the best, and he rustled through the pages and showed me Hakusan.

Hakusan is one of Japan’s “Three Holy Mountains”, along with Fuji and Tateyama. (I visited Tateyama a few weeks ago and climbed a neighboring peak called Dainichidaira.) It seems the stars had aligned in my favor, as we had a 5-day holiday coming up called Silver Week. Adventure time!

The weekend before Hakusan, I played in an ultimate frisbee tournament on Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan.

My team, the Fukui Raptors, is a conglomeration of English teachers and our Japanese friends. We have players from Jamaica, Ireland, England, the USA, and Japan!

We camped next to the lake, played ultimate on the sand, and befriended Japanese frisbee players all weekend. I was high on life.

There was also a slackline set up there. I learned how to do it in college, and I was so excited to play on one again.

The day after the tournament, I slept in my apartment for one night, and then headed out again for part two of my vacation: climbing Hakusan!

I picked up another English teacher named Sandy in Maruoka, a little town with Japan’s oldest castle. We set Google Maps to Hakusan National Park, and drove on a Switzerland-esque valley road next to a crystal-clear river.

That night, we found a campground at the base of the mountain and fell asleep under the stars. Halfway through the night Sandy climbed in the slightly-warmer car, but my sleeping bag kept me fairly cozy. Next time I’m bringing extra socks, though. The next morning, my frozen toes triggered my internal alarm clock, and I got up just after 5, before sunrise. We caught the 5:40 bus to the trailhead.

Hakusan is a 2701 meter peak, but the bus takes you partway up. This enables even the slowest of hikers to get up and down in one day. The trail was fairly gentle but with some steep sections. I climbed alongside 10 year old kids and 80 year old senior citizens.

The vast majority of the other hikers were Japanese – I only saw two other foreigners. Amazingly, I was able to make friends with both of them! (Thank you universe!)

Erin is from Georgia, and has been living in Japan for 7 years. She was hiking with her Japanese boyfriend, and told me she lives near Naga, where you can go to see many majestic wild deer. I want to visit her!

Juan is from San Diego, California, and he works for a private tutoring company in Kanazawa, a city just 2 hours away from me. He was hiking with 3 Japanese friends, and they adopted me into their group. I reached the top with them, and photobombed their group picture:

Notice the snow and alpine lake!

The hike took me about 9 hours – I started at 6:00 AM, and got back to my car about 3:00PM. That includes time to take the shuttle both ways, though, which takes 20 minutes.

Back at work, I showed pictures of the mountain to my students. Even though it is only a few hours from here, only 2 students had ever been there – and I gave my presentation to at least 100 kids.

Many people don’t have the opportunity to do what I’m doing. Every day I feel blessed to be where I am. I love my job, and I am learning so much every day. Thank you universe. I’m so grateful for my car, my freedom, my health and my energy. I hope to continue to adventure even as it gets colder. Who wants to go skiing?

Climbing Dainichidaira

On September 4, 2015December 22, 2021 By ambertravelingIn Asia, Backpacking, Hiking, japan1 Comment

There’s something magical about childhood friends and beautiful places.

David and I have the same travel style. We don’t plan much. With just a loose idea in our heads of what might happen, we have the freedom to be spontaneous.

Last year, David took a solo six-month trip traveling overland from Israel to Japan. He walked, hitchhiked, took buses, and boats while passing through Egypt, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, and China, until he finally took a ferry to Japan. He slept on beaches, in caves, and in strangers houses (as well as the occasional hotel!) During his trip, he carried a tiny backpack that contained a sleeping bag, a change of clothes, a water purifier, and a few other necessities.

I’m lucky to call this adventurous soul my friend. Our parents have been close since we were babies, so we know each other pretty well. David is currently living near Shizuoka on the east side of Japan with his Japanese girlfriend, so we decided to meet up and travel together for a few days.

At first we were going to tackle Mount Fuji, but after hearing tales of how painfully crowded it would be, we decided to find another hiking spot. A fellow English teacher recommended we check out Mt. Tate, so off we went.

The drive was supposed to take 4 hours, but we added a fair few since we stopped so many times. Whenever I see something that looks interesting, I like to investigate.

At a roadside orchard, we were gifted a few nashi. We tried to pay for them but the saleslady wouldn’t hear of it.

We soaked in the Sea of Japan, letting the water splash us to cool us down from the hot and humid day.

From the highway, we noticed a big statue on a hill. We decided to drive closer to check it out. It was eerily deserted, and I still have no idea what it represents.

Our weirdest stop was for a tour of some random Styrofoam dome houses. These houses are supposedly earthquake resistant, retain heat in the winter, and stay cool in the summer. Also, they’re cute.

Finally, we reached Tateyama station, where dozens of Japanese hikers decked out in gaters, wide-brimmed hats and hiking poles were getting off buses. Upon further investigation, we realized that most people pay to take a bus and cable car up the mountain, a 37 kilometer, 1 hour journey, that takes you up to 2450 meters. Then all you have to do is walk for two hours to the top of Mt. Tate, which is 3015 meters tall.

We decided to find a place to camp, and postpone our decision about what to do the next day. Neither of us were thrilled about the idea of paying 4000 yen (about 35 dollars) apiece to get us up the mountain. We would both rather use our legs.

We saw a sign for Shomyo Waterfall (350 m), so we decided to explore. Since we were there on a Monday late in the day, the place was almost deserted. As we trudged up a winding road to view the falls, we noticed an inconspicuous trailhead. The sign next to it (all in Japanese) informed us that we could follow this path for a multi-day hike to various huts. Hooray! We had found an alternative plan.

After a night sleeping outside – no tent necessary, it’s so hot here at this time of year – we awoke with the sun and were on the trail by 7.

The first stretch was a series of crumbly stairs and ladders that brought us up to the same ridge as Shomyo waterfall. Once we were on that plateau, we had a nice flat section that took us to a mountain hut (9000 yen per night), where we exchanged photos with some Japanese hikers.

It was there that we discovered we could continue up a different mountain, Mount Dainichidaira. So we grabbed our packs and kept trekking!

The scenery reminded me of my gallivants in New Zealand. My multi-day backpacking trips in the South Island were some of the best moments of my life. It came back: the feeling that I’ve only experienced while hiking. I find it to be almost trance-like. My thoughts melt away. All that matters is the fact that I’m walking. There is no need to think about anything else.

I felt something that I hadn’t felt for a long time, a sense of stepping away from reality. Everything dissipates except for the scenery and the silence.

The cool clouds are drifting through me, but I’m sweating up this mountain. Up and up and up – passing mysterious purple berries and trees with red papery bark. The strange alpine flowers with translucent jellyfish petals. The moving blanket of fog covering the mountain as I watch, a silent and empty observer.

We reached the top at about noon, and took a half-hour to admire the view and eat our lunch. By the time we headed down, I had the same feeling as when I first jumped out of an airplane: when can I do this again?

I want to backpack in Japan as much as possible. I hope to climb something at least once a month. And when I return to the USA, I want to backpack there too. The Pacific Crest Trail. The Appalachian Trail. Something big! Who wants to come?

Here’s the map at the random trailhead we found.

I went hiking with my friend David and we stopped at a farm along the way, and the farmer gave us free gnashi!

Our lunch at the top of the mountain. Unfortunately the can of beans had sugar in it.

Nashi orchard! Yum!

Summer in Japan

On August 16, 2015December 22, 2021 By ambertravelingIn Asia, japan, teaching2 Comments

Summer in Japan is cicadas. Summer in Japan is humidity, festivals, and fireworks. I’m in my apartment now, typing away, while outside I can hear the festivities of a neighborhood’s barbecue.

Normally, I might be tempted to go outside and introduce myself. However, my lack of Japanese has been hindering my interactions with the locals.

Whenever I start a conversation with a Japanese person, the first thing I usually say is “Eigo ga hanasemasu ka?” (Do you speak English?) Usually they say no. Then I move on to my next useful phrase: “Tsumimasen, nihongo wakarimasen.” (I’m sorry, I don’t understand Japanese.) Once that’s out of the way, I can start my neanderthal gesturing to get my point across. Or consult the translator on my iPhone.

I’m exaggerating, of course. I had a few heartfelt connections with locals, but mostly with the ones who are willing and able to speak English with me.

At the beach last week (which is practically bathtub temperature) I met two girls floating in an inflatable raft. They must have studied English recently because both of them were capable of normal conversation. Yay!

Sushi at the beach! Bought it at the daiso (convenience store) for 400 yen (less than 4 dollars).

They were from Osaka, and had driven 2 hours to spend the day at the beach. They were wearing make up and fake eyelashes, like many of the girls there. One told me she worked for Dolce and Giobanna, and the other was a secretary. I told them I was an English teacher, although it doesn’t really feel like it yet, since I haven’t started teaching!

I have had some fun interactions with my students, though. Last week I practiced with the volleyball and table tennis teams, and both were challenging in different ways.

About 9 years ago, I played volleyball for one year in high school, on the junior varsity team. I can bump, set, and spike. Although I know I’m out of practice, I still stay “I play volleyball” with confidence. However, when I was grading some of the student workbooks, I noticed a common theme: when the kids here tell you they do something, here’s how they phrase it: “I play volleyball, but I’m not good.” Why do they need to add that afterthought?

Anyway, I thought I was a decent volleyball player until I tried practicing with these 12-year-old girls. For 3 hours I joined them in their drills and scrimmages. Even though they are all at least 6 inches shorter than me, they were so much better than me! Why? Because during summertime, instead of going to camps, most of them have been at school, focusing on their extra-curricular. The volleyball girls have been practicing for 3 hours a day, almost every day, all summer!

Despite my ego being put in its place, I had a lot of fun, and it was a great workout!I’m proud of myself for trying, and I’m looking forward to further embarrassment at practice next week.

The following day, I joined the boys table tennis team, which was pretty fun. The team captain led us through practice: practicing forehands, backhands, serves, which devolved at one point into an epic ping-pong battle.

My school is surrounded by mountains and rice fields. Since it’s summer vacation, there are some days when there are only a few people at school: the Kocho-Sensai (Principal), the Kyoto-Sensai, (Vice Principal), one or two lone teachers, and me.

Most ALT’s (Assistant Language Teacher’s, that’s my job title) don’t have to go to school this week, however my supervisor wanted me to come. I don’t mind, though, as it has been very relaxing to be alone in the school without kids, and I’ve made some headway on my bulletin board I’m making for the classroom where I’ll be teaching.

I painted these with my watercolors! I plan on using them for lessons too.

Besides the school activities, I’ve also been adventuring with my fellow ALT’s. When I was signing up for the JET program, they asked me my preference for how close I wanted to live to another English teacher. I checked the box for “walking distance,” and did they deliver! I’m living in an apartment complex with 11 other ALTs, and we see each other almost every day.

Tonight, we all ventured to a local festival together where we dined at food stalls and watched fireworks together.

This is the view of my town from Mt. Hino, 2,608 ft / 795 m. We hiked up it last weekend in about 4 hours.

If I can find a balance between school, social events, sports, exploration, and alone time, I think that I can be happy here. It helps me to share my experiences and hear feedback from my friends and family. Thanks for reading, and let me know if you have any questions!