My 2011 started off in an amazing way. Three other "aliens" (the term Japanese use to refer to foreigners) and I joined a local hiking group for a hike up a 387.6m tall hill to welcome the first sunrise for the year.
For once, my New Year's Eve was surprisingly quiet. Instead of staying up late to welcome the New Year, I was in bed by 2330 so as to ensure I got enough rest before my climb the next day. Despite all my efforts, I tossed and turned quite a fair bit before I finally managed to doze off at about 0100. Guess I was just too excited about the hike.
At 0450, we meet the organisers for the hike, along with the other Japanese participants at the Omagari JR station. Our leader was a fit old man who looked nothing like his actual age. He was over 80 and he was really lean and fit. He had a great command of English and was really excited about us foreigners joining in the climb. This is the 51st year they are organising the climb and the number of participants has been increasing every single year.
Our journey started off smoothly with a brisk and quiet walk from the station to the foot of the hill. The weather was great. It wasn't snowing and there was no wind. The skies were clear and we could see the stars clearly. Coming a city country, I am constantly amazed at how pretty the stars look at night. Some days, I would just gaze at the stars from my kitchen window and think about how beautiful nature is. Being in the country definitely makes you appreciate the wonders of nature more.
The climb from the foot of the hill to the (蛭川薬師神社)shrine was pretty simple. Despite the thick snow, the tracks were obvious and you could follow the path easily. As the path wasn't wide, most part of the climb was done in a single file manner. I tried to snap some photos but it was just too dark. At the shrine, we stopped for a short break before we continued on to the summit.
Before coming for the climb, I got my kind JTE (Japanese Teacher of English) to call up the organisers for some clarifications. I was concerned that the climb might be difficult because I had not exercised for ages. I was reassured that the hike was not difficult and was suitable for beginners. Well..... it was NOT EASY. Parts of the climb were really bad because of the snow. It's difficult to find your footing in the snow because it's soft and it also makes things slippery. Also, it was tiring and at times, I felt like my calves were going to cramp. What made it was worse was that you can't really rest because we are climbing in a single file and resting would mean you were slowing the rest down. There was no place for you to step aside to rest and most people were in a rush to get to the top before the sunrise. Some parts of the climb required you to pull yourself up using ropes and if you did lose your footing, there was a real danger of you rolling off the hill.
Thankfully, all of us did made it up to the summit. We didn't get to see the whole sunrise but we did witness some of it. The scenery was gorgeous! The sky was lit up in many different shades and everything below looked so pretty. The snow left everything with a glittering white snow which sparkled in the soft sunlight. Despite feeling really exhausted, I was re-energised by the beauty around me. The clear skies also allowed us to get a good view of Mt Chokai ( the Mt Fuji of Akita). It looked so magnificent and I can't wait to climb it once winter is over.
The climb back down to the shrine was bad. We were one of the last few to leave because we were busy snapping photos. The slope was steep and without any visible tracks, we were uncertain about how we should attempt our way down. In the end, we slided down most of the way. Yup, on our bums. (Thank our lucky stars for our waterproof trackpants.) It was pretty fun despite some hard knocks here and there. The locals went down using a "jump and dig in" technique that looked really scary to me. I guess if you have been doing so since you are young, it would be really easy. But for someone like me who is so uncomfortable with the snow, that method looked deadly. I was just unable to summon enough courage to try jumping down a hill. NO WAY!!!!!!
After reaching the shrine, we were handed pipping hot mochi soup (mochi is a traditional dish eaten during Oshogatsu (New Year Day)) and bowls of sake. It was a great treat after a long, wet and cold hike. The locals were generally pleased to see us aliens and some made an effort to introduce us to the Japanese culture. Aside from feeling good about successfully completing the hike, I also came away feeling a need to exercise. It's kinda of demoralising to see how folks older than you (much older) breeze their way through this hike while you huff and puff the whole time. I wanna be fit too!! And I wanna be able to climb a hill like this when I am 70 too!
(gotta figure out how to post my pics)
Sounds nice. I would like to view the stars from your kitchen window too. My kitchen window only shows apartment blocks and carpark.
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