Japan for the 10th time (Finally!) - October and November 2023 - Page 8

Kyoto station. I was here a bit early. Does not look too busy in this shot, but it was.

My carriage was the very last carriage on the train. Every bullet train was running late due to high winds. Here is a view of a grey bit of the Kyoto rail yards.

This is the street my hotel is on in Tokyo, in fact you can see it on the right if you know what to look for.

This is near where I was sitting when a crow stole my melonpan bun. I wonder if he knows how to get it out of the plastic?

An example of one of many NON COVERED shopping streets in Okachimachi. No rain is forecast so lack of roof is ok.

Now for the hotel shot. Hotel photo lovers, start mourning. This is the last hotel of this trip. It. is. the. same. as. all. the. others.

Also, the toilet is exactly the same, pre fabricated bathroom cubicles are shipped all over Japan and craned into place in every building.

And finally, there it is. My bear bell. It has a plastic cover that slips up and down to stop it from belling when you are not in a bear area, although I intend to wear mine at all times, people will think a cat is nearby and be disappointed when they see that it is me.

Here is the view from.. checks notes, checks map, Okachimachi station. It is on the Yamanote line. The Yamanote is partially suspended this weekend at Ikebukuro, which has left 9.3 million tourists completely lost as every Tokyo itinerary describes doing everything along the Yamanote line.

While waiting for my train I examine the escalators in the local Uniqlo store. They seem to be up to code.

Dinner was a make it yourself Okonomiyaki. I did ok. The flip was poor, but I saved it with sauce. I chose pork and kim chi. This is not the style that comes with fried noodles in batter. This was a place in the very familiar Sunshine City complex on the edge of Ikebukuro.

A single shot of the very busy Saturday night streets in Ikebukuro.

And finally, just to make sure I can type it one more time and not call it Ochonomizu, a shot of the street my hotel is on in Okachimachi.

I think I got off at a stop named Atami. But you will probably need a map on your phone to do this hike, so get off when the bus gets near the start point on the map. They have provided a nice sign.

There are a few houses at this stop, the people that live here have this view all the time. No matter how I rotate that photo it still looks crooked. I have been to Lake Okutama a few times before, it is the best place for hiking day trips from Tokyo.

More lake, looking away from the dam. Dam is up next damn it.

There is the damn dam. I do the Vegas vacation joke every time I come here.

Lets get hiking. The first bits were seriously steep, and because I thought I was in for a really long day, I went really fast.

The autumn colours were however, finally colourful.

As I got higher, the leaves were more on the ground than the trees. I lost the trail a few times. In some spots they have put a rope to guide you where the leaves are particularly deep. I wore long pants today because I knew it would be a wading through leaves day.

The scenery changed a few times. Here is a dead pine forest.

Fuji was a constant companion through the trees (look closely, it's there!), do not worry, there will be clear shots later.

Up on the ridge, it got a bit rocky, and the leaves were um, deader, so it was easier to follow the trail, and go quickly due to the relative flatness.

Those are some other snowy mountains, somewhere up past Nagano.

But don't panic, there is Fuji. There will be a lot more Fuji below.

There are a lot of ways to climb this mountain, I climbed it probably the most challenging way on the way up. Near the top it joins a lot of other paths and the trees thin out and great views are there to be had.

Another random shot of those other snowy mountains.

And another random shot of Fuji. I will over Fuji.

Hmm, the trail became a ravine! A muddy ravine. Easy enough to walk around it.

This last bit is actually really steep, although does not look it in the photo. I saw 2 other people before getting to this bit where the trails all join together, here you can see 2 different other people near the top.

And on the top, a few people, including some with their Bunsen burners preparing a 3 course meal. There is a much shorter way to climb but that requires a car. I think the people having a picnic probably drove.

Quite high today, but not as high as my attempt to climb Mount Ibuki that was cancelled due to landslide.

Stance time. Light was not great for it but getting Fuji in the shot was more important than correctly lighting my mullet.

I spent maybe 5 minutes at the top, time to start the run down!

Although, still time for a bit more Fuji.

I used my zoom to zoom in on it for a special treat.

Then I took a heap of selfies still zoomed in, right up my left nostril. Once I realised I zoomed out and here is my head plus Fuji. OK no more Fuji.

I lied, but now I mean it, no more Fuji.

The path down was mostly like this, wide and not too steep, it made for quick progress. My bear bell was ringing furiously.

However inexplicably, there was then this really really steep bit, I had to go from tree to tree.

Thankfully it levelled out again.

I liked this mossy section a lot.

It gets cold enough here at night that the ground freezes in shadows, these bits were still frozen in the afternoon.

Now to continue descending down a corridor of trees.

Whatever that mountain is across the valley, I have climbed it, because I have climbed all the mountains on that side.

It started to get colourful again as I went further down, and a bit rocky.

But then, another muddy trench! I had to go down into that trench.

The further down I went the more colourful it became.

Retina burning.

The last bit on the actual trail became a pine / cedar forest again but this time with some sun shining through. I like photos like this.

Right before the end of the trail it is Indiana Jones time. I made it across.

And this is the end of the trail, after this it is a forest road. I recommend if you do this loop that you do it the way I did it, because getting to this start point up a road would be quite boring. It is still 2km to go.

Down the road a bit, and the first signs of the residents of Okutama.

Almost back at the station, I have crossed this bridge many times before.

The ravine at Okutama is nowhere near as nice as it Mitake, which is a photo I took at the start of this trip. They know it is not as good, so they strung a wire to discourage people from taking photos.

And finally, here is the station. Although today did not take as long as I had hoped, I still rate it as a top 5 hike in Japan. Great scenery. Good workout. I hope to do it again one day.
It goes without saying, tonight will be a short outing in the local area only!

Over the road from my hotel is the lane-way that eventually becomes Ameyoko.

Book off is also Hard off and Hobby off. Here is their guitar selection, not great.

The spot in Ameyoko where everyone takes the photo, so I did.

Heading under the tracks always provides good photos.

Between the tracks. I like this photo.

I headed into Ueno station to find another public toilet.

I was hungry and decided I wanted some salt. Ramen it will be then. This place had no customers, my kind of place.

And actually, it was pretty good! They think they are good enough to put their name in their bowls. Lotus root and a huge but of bamboo. I rounded it out with an ice cream from 7-eleven soon after.
Tomorrow is NOT a hiking day.

The walkways above Ueno station always make for a good way to start the day to check on the weather. Perfect, and supposed get back above 20c in a day or two. Weird. I blame all the packaging everything comes in. Plus lithium batteries in vapes. Plus too many people having kids.

Ueno park was quiet early on, it is Monday so none of the museums or the zoo are open.

Shrine time. This one has bits of gold on it.

Another one of these. I will see a different one a few pics down.

I thought this photo would be better than it is.

Something was happening here on the weekend. I gave some instructions to the guys pulling down the tents.

I would suggest it is still not peak Autumn in Ueno park yet.

Here is, another random shrine on my way to Asakusa. Probably superfluous. I just labelled someones shrine superfluous.

Rail yards are always worth a photo.

I was wandering around all comfortable and without worry, but you should never forget, Ninja's are never far away, and they also own a knife shop.

Not a restaurant, a food sample shop. Do not call it fake food! They have a sign there explaining they are offended if you call it fake food.

Pretty easy to get your bearings to find the skytree.

Senso-ji was far scarier than the Ninja's.

I could not wait to leave.

This guys is taking his photo game very seriously.

More superfluousity.

Last one, let's move on. I normally seem to visit this area at night, it is much quieter at night.

I crossed the mighty river north of where I normally cross it.

This meant I approached the skytree from a different angle, where I am able to get the whole thing in one photo.

I am too cheap to go up the skytree, instead I went to the xmas market. I remember it being much more elaborate than this. But maybe there is more to see at night.

Thank you for your service. Apparently he went to a hand made soap shop. I heard he stinks?

A rest day means a real lunch. I went to the afternoon tea gallery inside a bookshop and had this vegetarian thing, the balls are tofu and soy related in the tomato sauce (I think?). I was the only male in the place. I was happy with my choice.

And finally, as I walk back through Ueno, I was surprised by this. I remember reading Tokyo had banned smoking indoors in all restaurants some time ago. Clearly they did not, or no one cares about the rule and proudly shows a sign anyway. I do remember they could not force stores and restaurants to close during COVID lockdowns and that was a big drama due to ancient laws about land owners rights, so maybe the smoking ban is related.

I carefully examined all the masks and decided that my face is closest to number 2, top row second from left, contorted pig face.

Asakusa at night. Those 2 guys look a bit sketchy. They look like they could be the dreaded foreigners I keep hearing about.

Chinese people dream about coming to this place at 3am. It is open 24 hours. It is basically a giant Daiso store, only more expensive.

One of the many covered shopping streets in this area, they go in every direction.

Not so many people here now is there.

Almost no one. The best time to visit is when everything is closed.

Here is tonight's ramen. Red spicy miso, to which I added a heap more spicy stuff. Probably not the best ramen, noodles were definitely overcooked.

All the streets around Asakusa are nice to look at.

And then I walked back to Ueno, and completed the day by taking the same shot from the same place that I took this morning. This could be a new thing I do every day, but it won't be because I cannot be bothered.