Though it is said their numbers are dwindling slightly year by year, it is still quite possible to see fireflys near some of the clear waters of the lakes, rivers and streams around Hakuba.  I was lucky enough to have the chance last week to join one of Evergreen's "Hotaru Tours" and see them in all their glory around the edge of Aoki-ko.  

It is not an easy thing to put into words, or indeed pictures, as it is quite difficult to capture with a camera, but the feeling of floating softly in a canoe by the shores of the lake, lit only slightly by the moon overhead and the flitting glow of dozens of fireflys...   well, hard to put into words.  A tilt of the head also gives you full view of the panorama of stars above, and the dim comforting bulk of the mountains surrounding you.  Reflection, calm, and a rekindling of a sense of wonder are sure to follow.

When you tell people that you like cycling, most assume either a road bike and 60 kms before breakfast, or they think mountain bike and thrills and the odd spill.  Well, for me, I prefer just poking around to be honest.  Kind of like taking a leisurely walk, except with the added range that a bicycle gives you.  I, on occasion, will put some serious mileage under me, but that's not really my goal.

This was originally meant to be a one day trip covering some of the more easily accessable areas around Hakuba, but the vagaries of the weather this time of year had me split it over two days.  It is not meant to portray the best route or even a suggested route in and around Hakuba, rather it simply represents some of the things and places you might see while out for a cycle.  

 

 

The first short outing led me out from Happo and towards Goryu.  The village of Hakuba does have a somewhat detailed cycle route laid out (maps available at the hotel), as you can see by the first photo, but I find I tend to come across these signs rather haphazardly as opposed to following them station by station, though I suppose you could.  This particular one leads you off the Olympic Road, still within the village proper, and through a patch of rice fields rolling up towards the Hakuba 47 and Goryu resorts.  Lovely views on both sides in usual circumstance, though obviously the cloud cover and mist does me no favours on this particular day.  Still, when thinking about all the groaning I've heard from my Tokyo based friends about the heat and humidity recently… no complaints here.



I slowly turned past Juro-no-yu hotspring and the Chokoku-ji Temple.  In vain, I tried to get a good picture of the mountains shifting in and out of the mist behind the temple, but alas, it'll have to remain in my memory and not on film.  The roads here start to wind quite a bit, with dead ends and false starts on every side… perfect for a wanderer like me!  This gravel road leading enticingly up into the forest will have to remain a mystery for another day!



Further up now, and my first climbing of the day, short though it was.  This area sees a concentration of smaller pensions and lodges, some of them in pristine shape, others a bit more down at heels.  Though certainly not so in the traditional sense that Chokoku-ji temple is, this particular picture is very Japanese in many ways.  An immaculately kept lawn of a grass that is not indigenous to Japan, showcasing a lovely pension with the name… Abbey Road.  And a sign with a design of what is presumably the four lads from Liverpool capering across the top.  Perfect.

The rest of the ride up to Goryu was rather uneventful.  Other place names a little strange to foreign eyes perhaps, include a pension named "Lady Dianna", and one called "Green Gables".  Being of Prince Edward Island heritage myself, I thought to stop in and enquire of the motivation behind the name, but no-one seemed to be around.  

After a wheel around the parking lot at Goryu, I got up a good head of steam for the drift back down into the valley…  and down to the Himekawa River, and the cycling road that parallels it.  A kilometre or so along, and a side road here that I had been itching to follow since I first drove into Hakuba led me up to the Royal Stage Short Course, which was a bit of a workout, but not much payoff at the top in all honesty.  Golf, as such… the meaning escapes me.  Why?



Rain starting to fall yet again so I decided to call it a day…  with a very large hamburger at the "Alaskan Hamburger Place" (not sure of the proper name), after which I could not move.  Very nice addition to Hakuba this hamburger place is, and a short walk from the hotel as well.

Onsen, dinner, relaxing evening… not a bad day considering the pouring rain I woke up to.

I think Noah himself would've been scared off by the buckets of rain the next day, so it was two days later that saw part 2...


Day 2
Setting out again from Happo, I was determined to explore some of the backroads and byways in and around the resorts of Tsugaike,  Norikura and Cortina.   I sped by the Matsukawa River, and it's view up towards Daisekkei, and around the corner of one side of Iwatake and then made my turn up and over towards Tsugaike.   Again, as the other day, unfortunately the pictures show the overcloud conditions only too well.



Just past the EX Adventure grounds, there is a small Buddhist monument to the Hakuba mountain range.  A section of flatland and rice fields lead you by the Iwatake lifts and then into a section known as Ochikura and the Ochikura Nature Park.  "Mizubasho" is a flower prominent in these parts and at this park, although it unfortunately goes by the somewhat awkward English name of "skunk cabbage".  Still, they can be quite lovely and do cause quite a stir among the horticulturally inclined when they begin to bloom.

A couple of steep steep roads lead you first down and then up into the "village" surrounding Tsugaike.  Tsugaike Nature Park is only open for a couple of months of the year, with the lifts speeding you up to views and walks near the top of the Alps.  Cruising on by the families and couples making a day of it in this area, I wound up and down the streets just to see what was there.  Not too much in all honesty, as pretty much everything seemed to be in service of the lifts and the resort proper.


Again (and again), the pictures don't really do it justice, but the Chikuni O-hashi Bridge leads you over a spectacular rift between the mountains, with views up toward Mt. Norikura and down into the valley below.  Apparently sections along this route are breathtaking when the autumn leaves come along, so I'll certainly be back to see that.




Skirting by the Hakuba Alps Hotel, I turned my wheels up towards Cortina, and the road up to the Green Plaza Hotel and area.  It’s a winding road up to the hotel itself, with nothing but forest on either side, and it certainly does make for an impression when you finally exit the forest cover and see the grand size of the Green Plaza nuzzling against the base of the mountain.  A day of skiing at Cortina, followed by dinner and a hot spring at the Green Plaza can make a very nice day on your trip, even if you are based in Happo  (shuttle buses can be reserved running to and from Cortina from the Happo area). 

The rest of the day was spent pleasantly getting lost…  starting out by descending from the Green Plaza towards the main highway along another winding road, with rice patties tucked in every scenic nook and cranny, I took a side turn on to the portion of the "shio no michi", or "salt road" which runs through Otari and Hakuba.  This route's history apparently dates back to the middle ages, when salt and other essential goods would be carried overland from the Sea of Japan port at Itoigawa.  Not an easy process I'm sure.

The part of the route I turned onto rapidly turned from small path to a trail, not at all suited for a bicycle.  Happily carrying my bicycle along, I was justifiably laughed at by the two groups of hikers I met along the way.  I finally made it back to the road about, erm, 45 minutes later and at that point…  decided to head back to town and bath and dinner… and bed. 

Fantastic day, and I can't wait to try the same again with a little sunshine along for company!

The Himekawa River flows through Hakuba, and indeed gains strength for 60 kms before emptying itself into the Japan Sea off Niigata Prefecture.  The Himekawa actually has it's source within the town itself, directly across the main highway from Sanosaka Ski Resort.

The area around the source contains several well groomed trails through fairly dense forest.  There are a couple of courses one can follow, neither of them very long, but all in all...   it's an extremely nice place for an afternoon walk.  As it's along the Himekawa Cycling road, it's an ideal place to take a bit of a break before perhaps continuing on to Aoki Lake or turning around back into Hakuba proper.

 

The parking lot for Sanosaka, is about 10 minutes drive from the hotel. If you are coming into town from Matsumoto, you'll see the Sanosaka Ski area and parking area on your left as you come down the hill from Lake Aoki.  Entrance to the park itself is only signed in Japanese, but enquiries at the Sanosaka Tourism Center should get you pointed in the right direction.

Information (in Japanese)

http://www.hakubasanosaka.com/himekawa_oyomi.html

Matsumoto is a lovely town.  Population of  210,000, it's about a half hours drive from Hakuba and is also the main transfer station if you're taking the Azuza Express Train up to Hakuba from Shinjuku.  Well worth a days, or at least a half day stopover, especially if the weather cooperates.

Matsumoto Castle is the main tourist draw and for good reason.  It is still, for the most part, in it's original state, and it gives a fascinating insight into what the real meaning of these kind of places were.  Europeans probably know better I suppose (and other people cleverer than I), but as a Canadian and not having many castles close at hand to refer too, I grew up thinking that castles were kitted up with all sorts of amenities, or at least as much as was possible in those days.  Sure, I thought they must have been fairly drafty and cold, but still, people proceeded with their lives calling the castle...home.  Matsumoto Castle (“Matsumoto-jo” as it's referred to in Japanese) is for the most part,  strictly utilitarian.  There are a couple of rooms where you could take in the surrounding area in a more leisurely fashion, but for the most part it's full of steep steep staircases (easy to defend against enemies coming up from below) and wide corridors so as to facilitate the running to and fro of fully armoured warriors.   And, lot's of places to drop rocks on people.  Exactly the kind of place I was looking for as a clubhouse when I was a boy.  If only I had know where to look!

As you would expect, the castle serves as museum as well, so you can also see  interesting displays of the armour worn at the time and the weapons used, including some quite beautifully decorated guns. 

As it was not always wartime in feudal Japan, and certainly hasn't been in recent days, the area immediately surrounding castles is usually an immaculate garden or park land.  Matsumoto-jo is no different, and some of the loveliest views of cherry blossoms in the spring (usually, the middle of April) can be had along the moat surrounding the castle.

The Metobagawa River is one of a few rivers running through Matsumoto ....    situated casually along it's banks is a lovely “shopping street” (“shoten-gai” in Japanese), where you can find all manner of tradional Japanese snacks, toys and gifts and a sense of what it must have been like strolling around “downtown”, circa feudal Japan era.  It certainly doesn't compare to the hustle and bustle of the Asakusa area in Tokyo for example, but that's one of it's charms I think.  I strolled and strolled on that warm afternoon, and then sat down on a bench with a friendly old lady who insisted that I share her tea from her thermos.  Which, I promptly did.  Usually prefer coffee myself, but it wasn't bad.

Just off this shopping street is the Yohashira-jinja Shrine (“jinja” means “shrine” in Japanese).  As is quite common in modern day Japan, it's the sense of contrast that is perhaps the most interesting to westerners.  Directly behind the shrine is a, well, not so lovely communications tower.  First time visitors to Kyoto are often faced with similar scenes, temples of breathtaking beauty, sometimes surrounded by, well, the willy nilly of daily modern life.  The Japanese are especially adroit at focusing the mind's eye on what should be seen, and away from the less attractive surroundings, and I have a feeling most visitors to Japan quickly develop this gift.  Life is not a museum piece after all, and these temples and shrines still form an important part of modern Japanese life.

One of the charms of Japanese temples is the chance to take an “o-mikuji” or “fortune”.  They usually cost 100 or 200 yen, and  give fairly generic fortune cookie type advice about the near future.  In, dare I say, a not atypical Japanese attitude towards fate, the Japanese themselves are somewhat ambivalent about it's true meaning...   if it's positive, or “dai-kichi”, great!  If the fortune points to a negative future, the thing to do is to tie the actual paper the fortune is written on to the line you can see in the picture and then ...  all bets are off.  Get out of jail ... free!  Nice!   The fortune I drew was not all that positive, so that's what I did.  Ah, no worries!

My final walk on this trip into Matsumoto was along the river bank itself, which depending on the season, can be a snowbank, a treacherous mudslide, or, if your timing is right, it can be a serene slice of riverside life, complete with blooming cherry trees and a family of ducks.  (or, perhaps they were just friends, I didn't think to ask).

Links
Matsumoto Welcome Page
Matsumoto Castle
Matsumoto Maps

Like many a man since the dawn of time...  woke up with a few problems on my mind.  Got myself to the top of a mountain, took a look around, and by the time I got back down, all those problems seemed to be less important somehow.

Happoike is a pond up towards the top of Happo-one.  Sitting at an elevation of 2060 m it is, in all honesty, a fairly easy hike if you take the gondola and lift part of the way up.  Great views of the valley, though it was a little hazy on the day I was up there.  The surrounding mountains of Yariga-take, Shakushi-dake and Shirouma-dake were imposing and luckily able to be seen clearly. 

Happo-ike is the entry point to climbing Karamatsu-dake, where full scale climbing gear is required.  Next time!

 

Happo "Adam Gondola" is a seven minute walk from our front doors, and the round trip hike, if you take the gondola and lifts, can be completed in about 4 hours.  Longer and more challenging options for those who feel like spreading out a bit more.

A friend's birthday celebration provided the occasion to put the pedal down and let loose for some go-kart action… at Circuit Azumino (about an hour or so outside of Hakuba, or on your way up from Matsumoto).  The competition was fierce, there can be no doubt…   I have to say I'm not entirely satisfied with my 7th place showing, but what can you do… not all of us are cut out to be speed demons.

 

Great fun though, and they really do it up right.  The cars are powerful enough that you get a real feel of the g-force when cornering.  On the straights, you may feel the desire for a little more oomph, but soon enough you're into a turn again.

 

We paid 9,000 yen each for a solid half days outing and left genuinely feeling we had gotten our moneys worth.  You get a chance to go through a warm up circuit (5 laps??), a number of qualifying time trials (10 laps each??), and then down through various semi-final heats to the championship race.  By the end, these somewhat old bones, not used to all the g force had had enough to be certain.

 

The champions were saluted with a podium presentation, complete with bottles of sparkling wine.

 

There are various options and pricing plans depending on how long you want to be there, whether you have a proper license or not (go-kart license that is), and there is a chance to rent the entire circuit out for your party if you so desire.  Will certainly go back again…   hopefully all the way to the podium next time.

 

http://www.circuit-azumino.com/

This is certainly one of the iconic images around Hakuba, and rightly so. Absolutely beautiful spot. 15 minutes away from Hakuba proper as well...

Last week, on the way back from Hotaka, I took the time to stop in at the Alps Azumino Park. Was more of a short lark to be honest, as I was alone, and the place is more suited to families (especially those with young children) but was a good couple of hours spent nonetheless. The park is immaculately kept, from the fully paved walking paths, to the sturdy playground equipment. There are several "science" or "nature" based activities for kids, including scavenger hunts and nature quizzes (though, all written in Japanese only unfortunately) scattered along the various trails. You'll also find all matter of listening devices, kaleidoscopes and detailed info on each species of plant or animal life you're likely to come across. Probably the highlight of the day was the indoor climbing area, where a full elementary school class was going absolutely mental over the climbing apparatus… to be fair, I felt like jumping in and joining them… There is a day camping facility attached to the park, and I would highly recommend it if you have youngsters who are hankering for the outdoors, but you still feel it's best to keep in a somewhat controlled environment. Have fun!