We spent just one day in Matsumoto before taking an early train then bus to Kamikochi to start the ascent up Mt. Yarigatake. We slept in a lodge near the summit, rose early the next morning to hike the peak, then all the way back down with enough time to make it to Tokyo the same evening. Quite a lot in two days!
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| Matsumoto Castle with a ninja |
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| Samurai armour |
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| We accidentally encountered an Oktoberfest celebration. Strange combination of Japanese people eating German sausages with chopsticks. |
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| The start up Mt. Yarigatake on the Azusa River |
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| The extremely sharp peak of Mt. Yari coming into view in the distance |
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| Closer to the peak |
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| Snow sheets |
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| The lodge at the peak. Such a relief and elation to make it up to the top! The lodge is only accessibly on foot or by helicopter, so there is a real sense of camaraderie with your fellow lodgers. It sleeps 500 people but when we were there it was at low capacity, maybe 100 people. As far as we could tell, we were 2 of 4 non-Japanese people so it felt like a true Japanese experience. |
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| Bunk-style sleeping |
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| Dinner was served promptly at 5pm. Japanese food never tasted so good! |
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| At the peak the next morning (3180m). Most of the other hikers at the lodge had arisen and hiked the summit much earlier than us (4am) so we had more space at the top, good considering the very little space and sheer cliffs on all sides. |
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| View of the lodge from above |
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| The chains and ladders leading to the top |
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| Richard making up the final ladder |
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| Scaling back down |
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