Hiking Shiritakayama in Kanazawa
The weather forecast was not good. Rain all day. I originally planned to climb Hakusan, Japan's third most sacred mountain after Fuji and Tate.
However, theres no buses. In recent years, the bus schedule has become 1/4 of what it once was, due to lack of demand. There are now only weekend services for one month of the year.
I really think this is due to an overall decline in Japan, people now play Pokemon Go, and wait for death. Everywhere seems to be closing down. I believe this transition is happening much faster than anyone expected, it is noticeable between my first visit and current visit to Japan.
There have been numerous stories about how secondary cities will not survive, and will need to be mothballed, largely due to declining population, but also due to servicing the massive debt, which really is set to get worse due to the Olympics.
The Olympics is being used as an excuse to build new infrastructure, and I think there is even a new subway line being built in Tokyo, but the country already has way too much infrastructure for a declining and very rapidly ageing population, coupled with a younger generation who refuse to leave their homes, they are called Hikikomori.
As a comparison, Korea is opening new national parks on a regular basis, and building bullet train stops in the park, and you need to book in advance to get a seat on these trains to visit these mountains. Their mountains are not as good as Japan's but their people still see being outdoors as a national past time. They are probably about 10 years behind Japan in experiencing the Pokemon influenced decline.
Anyway, rant over, today I went to Tsurugi, which is the last stop on a local rail line to nowhere. From there, you can climb a small mountain range which has an abandoned cable car up it (rant back on) to an abandoned ski field, which is according to a sign Japan's premier location for hang gliding and paragliding. I saw no one flying a death trap machine, and I saw exactly ZERO other people all day.
The train line today starts from the middle of nowhere, about 2km from any main road in Kanazawa. So you can take a bus and experience Superlative Happiness, or you can walk. I walked.
Another rail line that does not accept IC cards. When you plan your trip to Japan the internet will tell you everywhere now takes Suica and Icoca, thats a lie.
Its an hours ride, so I had a coffee. I really included this picture to show off my legs.
Once at Tsurugi, its about an hours walk to the mountain trail, a lot further than I realised. The houses here all have nice gardens.
As you would expect, there are shrines. As you might also expect, large parts of it are under construction and or refurbishment.
This is the greatest hearse you will see in your life (or death).
Nice street, but these used to be shops, now they are houses or abandoned. Except that car poking out is a BMW M6. Probably the head of the shrine visiting his mistress.
I am going up there, its very steep!
This is a park, cable car station, restaurant, abandoned! Maybe it comes back to life in winter.
Someone is looking after the flowers here, but I think they are supposed to be in planter pots in the car park.
Once on the path, it was actually excellent, about an hour and a quarter to the top, going as fast as I could. I was convinced it was going to start pouring with rain.
Half way up, looking back down the river towards Kanazawa. A very grey day. You can see the ocean and some ships, across the ocean is North Korea.
Cabin in the woods.
Gettting near the top. You can actually drive up another much longer way with your hang glider. About now it got really very windy.
I still have to get up here.
Very near the top it becomes a ski field. There are some big jumps to damage your knee on. Snow sports travel insurance costs a lot extra.
Looking the other way, and it looks like rain, and I could feel rain coming sideways in the force 10 gale ever so briefly.
Hang gliding departure area. So very windy, so about to rain, I dont have time to spare to eat my calorie mate.
I do have time to ride the lion in the creepy playground.
Also time for a creepy selfie. Note its so windy my camera blew off a park bench!
I quickly decided to go and frighten children camping in the huts with stories of Indian (feather not dot) burial grounds. But of course, abandoned.
One last view shot, now I run down the hill, hopefully without sliding on my ass. It was so windy the huge cedars were blowing into each other, they make a terrifying sound when they hit each other.
Also two trees that were not crossing the path on my way up, were now crossing my path on the way down! That was quite concerning. More so than bear warning signs.
The storm passed with basically no rain! Hooray. The wind largely stopped. Time to look at another shrine.
This is the main shrine in the area, complete with tour buses in the parking lot, not sure where the people on them were though, maybe the buses stay parked there until the weekend and belong to the shrine.
From where I am at this shrine, its possible to climb up the path I was just on, and continue along the ridge for over 100km to Hakusan. It takes at least 3 days.
There is a smaller off shoot of this shrine on the summit of Hakusan, and a priest lives in it year round, even during blizzard. I doubt it. I bet like the one on the top of Mount Tate its been abandoned.
Exploring the shopping and dining options of Kanazawa
Weather update: rain.
Also hot, 23C when I left for the evening, wish I wore shorts.
Due to big drops of rain I decided to head for the station area, which would have lots of things to see and do undercover, like look at trains. Turns out this was a good decision, there was lots to see and lots of it was undercover.
I was very impressed with the quality of the shops in, under, over, surrounding and nearby the station. Even more impressed with the numerous indoor station restaurant streets. There was no end of places I wanted to eat at.
There was also a huge number of tour groups arriving at this time, not just by train but by bus. It was interesting to see what they were all carrying. I dont understand the kind of torture some people put themselves through whilst on holiday.
In addition to multiple huge suitcases, everyone had bags and bags, big bags, of shopping. I saw lots of Tokyo Skytree bags with one group, and lots of Tokyu Hands bags with another, and the Koreans all had some kind of crab related product in bags. It was easy to tell which companies had paid which tour operators to encourage which countries tourists to part with their money in their stores.
I did not see anyone carrying bags of horse placenta face cream, but I have seen it advertised as the new latest thing, much better than crushed snail cream. Horse placenta cream must be huge in Korea by now? What happens if I blend all the various placentas into a new cream combined with filter snails for the super science wonder cream? Perhaps then I can dine at a private invitation only restaurant and sit on the floor wearing slippers.
When I was climbig down Mount Tate, every Japanese person coming up the mountain was decked out in a full suite of Mont-Bell gear. It sounds like an ice cream store to me, but as I was passing by a huge one that had a factory outlet section, I thought I would check it out.
I photobombed someones photo of this bear, the mascot of Mont-Bell. Thats when the no photo! no photo! nonsense started in the distance as a Mont-Bell girl came running over frantically waving.
No photo, no buy boots then! I need new boots, the soles on mine are worn smooth. But the constant no photo panic drives me insane.
The big stores around the station are all very shiny and new, much like the station.
This one has probably the best and biggest food hall I have ever seen, however even though I am standing in the doorway, NO PHOTO! The little security guy then stood between me and the food hall. Dinner wont be from here then.
Nearby is an art gallery of sorts. I was on a no photo roll now, so took photos of their art. These balls are made of cotton or some kind of thread. I suspect a machine makes them in about 3 minutes and they charge a fortune for them. It would be cool if they levitated and hummed and fired lasers at me whilst I am blind folded.
This does not look appealing, but was very good. The bowl is the size of a sink, so its actually a decent serve, of gnocchi with beef stew (not curry). It came from a health food girly restaurant, and was a little more than I would usually pay, $13 Australian. Its full of mushrooms and other vegetables, including gnocchi which technically is potato.
The far side of the station is just a few hotels and bus parking, but made for a nice photo in the rain. It is strange rain, very big drops, very infrequent.
I went back under the station through a series of bike filled tunnels.
I wanted to take some photos of this tiny fold up bike with wheels no bigger than a side plate (the plate alongside a dinner plate), but people were looking at me anxiously so I moved on.
How funny would it be if I managed to get a NO PHOTO! NO PHOTO! from just an ordinary member of the public?
The reason for todays title. I now know how the Japanese think baugette should be spelt.
Taking the slow train from Kanazawa to Kyoto
Now I am in Kyoto, I will be here for 2 nights, I have been here twice before, it is the main tourist centre of Japan.
Whilst it is not a big city in terms of resident population, it is a massive city in terms of shops, restaurants, shrines, temples, castles, monkey parks, ice cream stands, kimono dress ups, overpriced hotels, leaf hysteria, blossom fever, halloween hyperventilation and christmas light Armageddon.
To get from Kanazawa to here, there is no bullet train. So you have to take a regular kind of train for over 2 hours which is called the THUNDERBIRD. It is quite slow.
The highlight of that journey is a 720 degree rotation around inside and through a mountain to gain altitude to go through a tunnel through a mountain to come out the other side of some mountains near a huge lake thats surrounded by mountains. I enjoyed looking at the mountains for much of the mountainous journey today.
Unfortunately, I could not see much of the lake, because Japan has again copied China by installing pollution levels that I would describe as stay indoors and assume that because you cant see it, its not in the air inside your doors.
I also noticed that the entire surrounds of the lake, are densely populated. There is no one city, just a linear conglomeration (is that a word?) of cities around the lake. Much of it heavy manufacturing of steel and hello kitty collectibles emptying their toxic blend into the lake.
My hotel in Kyoto is the smallest so far of this trip, but its fine. It has no view. Its right by the station. It is right on top of a much much larger shopping area connected to the station than I remember from previous visits. I am also certain that the enormous AEON mall behind the station was not here last time I visited, it was all a construction site then.
Finally the weather. Its hot. 27 degrees celsius according to a big sign on a clock I saw, but feels hotter. Dont worry though, the inside of shops are even hotter still! Soon I will go to Sapporo where its below freezing at night.
Now to work out what to do with my full day in Kyoto tomorrow, weather might determine it, the Japanese meteorological institute of advanced notice of atmospheric patterns impacting the citizens of the great land of Japan and associated warnings of typhoons and related astronomical phenomena has been forecasting rain for days now, and it is yet to eventuate.
I missed visiting the curry champ in Kanazawa. I was up for a dawn stroll around the wet market to look dead fish in their dead eyes, but theres also lots of restaurants. The curry champ is in the basement.
Wet market. I got chased by a crab.
There are highly anatomically correct statues of western women all over Kanazawa. This one is now lit up inside a christmas tree.
The outside of the Kanazawa station. Move on.
The inside of the Kanazawa station. Keep moving.
A warning sign to advise you not to punch railway staff into the path of an oncoming train. I can translate cause most of the Japanese characters are shared with China.
Attention traveller. Please do not punch staff if train is approaching. Once train is clear of platform, kindly resume punching.
My slow train.
My train is almost abandoned, just one other person on my carriage.
An actual view!
Part of my spiralling journey to gain height to go in a tunnel.
Heres the lake, a tiny bit of it. The lake is enormous, looks like the ocean, except for the vast majority of the journey you cant see it due to smog!
The lake. The view of the islands in the lake is one of the top views of Japan. Instead we get to see a haze of sulfur bi fluro triphoxillate.
The urban area surrounding the lake was surprising. Looks like theres a lot of tourist spots set up along the shore. Mainly pachinko parlours.
Now I have arrived in Kyoto. No need to go outside and admire the grand station. They have provided a very convenient lego model.
The shopping area is 10x what it was last time.
I decided on a healthy late lunch, and was happy with my choice. 2 kinds of vegetarian soup.
Been here before, photographed this before, photographing it again, did not bother to go to the roof top to take photos because smog.
Not a great photo, but I thought it was amusing that 10 women fully dressed up in kimonos are standing around taking photos of two people dressed normally.
The above mentioned new Aeon mall out the back of the main station. It is actually multiple buildings.
This kitten is over $400 and is advertised as a halloween special due to its color and scary face.
I had to muscle my way through the throngs of photo takers to get to the glass to take this photo.
Final photo as always, my little hotel room, the APA Kyoto Ekimae.
The covered shopping streets of Kyoto
Kyoto has been completed.
There is nothing under construction. Last time I was here everything was, including the big temple near the station, the station itself, the shops in under and behind the station and various other things were in a state of 'grand renew coming soon'.
Now everything is ready for Tokyo 2020! Except Kyoto is not in Tokyo.
I think Kyoto might be the best city for a middle aged solo non drinking traveller who enjoys walking around but not buying things and eating cheap meals anywhere in the world.
It rained a little bit this evening, but it was timed for my arrival to the main street that goes up to Gion which has coverings for rain / snow / sun above the footpath. It was very busy here during the rainy period and I saw lots and lots of older tourists, and as a result, ambulances!
I really do think some old people on tours attempted running across the road and either had heart attacks or fell over and broke hips. Ambulances were scooping them up and applying oxygen face masks left right and centre.
Then I saw someone tumble down the stairs into a subway and spring back to their feet without breaking stride, I thought they would have been badly injured, perhaps they were, but 'face' is more important than a broken leg. Walk it off.
There are of course pros and cons to a city that exists to make tourists happy. Tour groups, school groups, and slow walkers. Slow walkers holding hands 3 and even 4 abreast are the worst. Its the height of all rudeness. I walked straight through one group of 3 doing this and they were angered by my antics. My other option was to go on the road and get hit by a bus.
The completed station with ominous clouds approaching.
The completed temple with gold highlights and no scaffolding.
The completed Kyoto tower that has always been completed and is useless because the roof observation area on the Isetan store above the station over the road is now higher than the tower, and free.
You know you have hit peak tourist when there are shops selling fans and only fans.
I was relieved to get to here during the heaviest of the brief rain. I ran, it was scary due to umbrellas and short people.
Male / female / other? I thought it was Justin Bieber. Its a glasses shop. I still dont know the answer to my own question.
The most terrifying combo of all is someone riding a bike holding an umbrella.
The complex of covered shopping areas called Teramichi or similar and the other one or two whos names I forget are still long, bright and busy.
This is how you do a tea shop.
Now I did not eat here, but I have a story. When I was last in Kyoto, 2 trips to Japan ago, I ate curry at a place run by an old hunch back woman. The menu explained she was old, had all she needed, and so was running the restaurant to collect for charity.
I thought it was in Osaka, not Kyoto. Anyway, I was looking for a bathroom, and decided to head down the stairs to the subway. Down there was a very big, dated looking mall, it looked familiar. And then I spotted the curry shop and realised it was in Kyoto not Osaka.
I thought the old woman must be dead by now, when I was last here she was doing everything herself, cooking, greeting, cleaning, taking orders, bowing as you leave, all with her notre dame hunch. Anyway, shes still there and going strong.
Probably should have eaten there but didnt, have had enough curry lately.
One of many school groups, practicing the colored hat game. Getting through or past one of these groups can be very challenging.
Obviously you need to pray for low low prices.
BIGBOSS is still here, and still making me weep for Australian guitar stores and their pathetic range of 'Gibson AND Fender...we are proud to offer both brands!'
Halloween is a far bigger deal to Japanese than makes sense.
Kyoto has hundreds of these alleyways full of little restaurants, only in Kyoto they welcome tourists including westerners. It was still hot so I was wearing shorts, I need to find somewhere a little more informal.
I wanted to go here. It is a special Kyoto variant of Okonomyaki. Folded over like a calzone, completed product pictured on the right. I wanted to go here last time I was in Kyoto, but then like now, the line is huge and I dont have an umbrella to wait in the rain because I dont enjoy poking out the eyes of strangers.
Despite not getting octopus and fish flake with noodles calzone, I was very happy with my dinner of Mapo Tofu. Quite authentic (I am qualified to say that, I have been to the restaurant in Chengdu where it was invented!). I spoke Chinese to the Chinese guy running the place, he was amused by this.
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adriana on 2016-10-26 said:
Never seen folded okonomiyaki before - will be trying that in a few weeks too.
Mother on 2016-10-26 said:
the lake is Lake Biwa and you can ride your bike there from Kyoto. should do this one day. The water is supposed to be clean these days with lots of fishies back in it. don't know about the air though. The Aeon Mall sounds good. Will have to check it out in a few weeks time.
Hiking Mount Hiei in Kyoto using public transport
After spending some time researching I had selected my Kyoto mountain. There are not huge mountains near Kyoto but there are mountains, I chose what is supposed to be the most challenging mountain near a train, Mount Hiei. I like to say mountain a lot.
This is to the north east of Kyoto, and you have to walk to the train, then change train lines, then walk an hour to the start of the trail. Sounds good to me.
I am not sure what else goes on along this train line, but the station has a series of small decorated single carriages, and school kids were lined up to board. There were also school kids on my train as you will see below.
The good news is Kyoto has embraced the IC cards, and my ICOCA worked fine on these small railways, preventing further embarrassing incidents where my pants full down due the weight of change needed to purchase tickets, drinks, calorie mate bars, pokemon trading cards etc.
Once on the trail, I was surprised to find myself scrambling up deep canyons. Water will find a way. Hopefully it does not find its way down these canyons today. This unique ascent was not too challenging, just over 2 hours to the summit (no resting!), but because of the canyon there is not a lot to see on your way up.
I did however see monkeys, lots of them, but they would not stop for a photo. One particularly dense area of monkey activity smelt like a zoo. So there you go, I know that monkeys are the main form of stench in a zoo.
The summit area is the usual conglomeration of tv towers, mobile phone towers but also bus parking! You can take the bus up, or 2 different cable cars. This mountain is exactly in between Kyoto and Lake Biwa, and there is an extortionate mountain garden museum outdoor arboretum with additional indoor seating for appreciation of the seasons with special focus on view area. Extortionate due to the $15 entry fee!
Having explained to the ticket lady that the reason she has no customers is because of the fee, I went to the summit proper, which has no view, then appreciated the view of Lake Biwa through smog, then had to decide which way to go back down.
I was not going to take the cable car, I was going to walk. After some extended consideration, I decided to go back the way I had come rather than down the Lake Biwa side, I could not identify there was a definite path and it seemed a long way. Now looking at google maps it does not look anywhere near as far as the path I took from the station.
On the way up, I met no one until I met a tour group of old folks very near the top. They had taken the cable car and were hiking around the summit. On the way down I passed maybe 5 people coming up. This is still very surprising to me, where are all these huge crowds I keep reading about?
It was about a 20 minute walk from the hotel to my first train, which is on a line that does not go through the main Kyoto station. I had to cross a raging open sewer river to get to the train.
Changing from train 1 to 2, it seems theres a few different lines that shoot off from here with single carriage trains of school kids. It was very confusing and there was no English, but they take IC cards.
I took a photo of school kids. This is the pink hat gang. There was also a yellow hat gang. Along with their hats they all have a drink bottle slung over their shoulders.
The walk from the train station to the start of the trail was quite far, and up hill, nice views started to appear.
Now I am in a canyon, thinking about flash flooding. Unlikely during blue sky.
The canyon got deeper and rocky. Made for slow going but was fun. Monkeys were watching me.
One of the few opportunities for a view on the way up. Still quite hazey. Nice powerlines.
The canyon eventually became a path with the tall cedars. No terrifying wind today.
This is not the actual top, but it might have the best view. It is where you change from one cable car to another. Or if you are me, continue walking because thats what I do and I do not pay for expensive cable cars if I can walk instead.
Time for one of these. Not good light for it.
More view, this is Kyoto.
A different kind of selfie. Cant see my awesome stance.
Looking further up the valley.
Very near the top, I ran into this group of old folks who had taken the cable car up. Despite having only half a kilometre of hiking to complete, they have come ready to traverse the alps.
Lake Biwa, and pollution.
The top has a bus stop, and some vending machines, and lots of parking with no cars.
And a little bit more view before I head to the real summit with no view.
This is the $15 garden. I think the top cable car station is up there as well. No thanks.
The Kyoto Yodobashi is very large
Sorry to my loyal viewer, but there are not many photos this evening.
Main reason for this is, I went back to the same place as last night cause I like it so much.
On the way there, I was attacked by a small dog! I did nothing to this dog, but he did not like me at all. My shoe has been chewed. I believe at one point the dog had all 4 paws off the ground and was supporting his entire body weight by his jaw clamped to my foot whilst I tried to shake him off. The rubber toe thing on my shoes is very handy.
Crazy dogs owner did not seem apologetic enough, she did not even offer an apology bow. I considered bighting the dog back. Man bites dog.
Later on, inside a Loft store, which is a bit like Tokyu Hands but more fashion focused, I witnessed a child attempt to eat fake candy stationery. He did not swallow it, but even after spitting out one piece, he decided to try a second piece of moulded colorful plastic. If you are unable to learn from your mistakes then you are a form of life lower than monkey. Be gone with you lesser monkey child.
My journey home involved avoiding the surface as much as possible, I decided to explore the subway tunnels under the road. To see how far they go, I walked as far as I could away from the city to get to the end, before walking back towards the city. About 2.8km I think.
These tunnels have no shops, they are just a very convenient under used fast way to avoid the crush of tourists at the surface. The highlight for me was when a serious looking jogger went past. He jogs for kilometres indoors without having to stop for traffic lights or trip over other humans. Smart.
Peak tourist back alley restaurant street. They have alleys running off the alleys here. Tour groups all stop to take photos from the same spot, for 5 minutes at a time, whilst a traffic jam forms behind them.
Your mobile phone cameras are useless to take such photos, the flash will not help, please move on.
I had an excellent dinner which claimed to be authentic original championship winning ancient meiji restoration era samurai approved Kyoto style ramen.
It had 9 chefs hats on the menu to recommend it. I do not know what the green stuff is, but its all that differentiates it from all the other ramen. The noodles were the ones I prefer though, the ones that are whiter and stronger than the yellower ones.
Now I just had to choose my dessert. I like mochi, green tea and kidney beans blended with sugar. Basically the main dessert flavour of Japan.
One of the long sections of under road jogging tunnel.
Nearer my hotel, I was going down dark back streets, really dark. I came around a corner and a motion sensor light turned on and lit these guys up directly in front of me. I leapt about 3 feet in the air.
The Kyoto branch of the Yodabashi camera, fashion, alcohol and umbrella shop is impressive in size. Inside there was a russian family, with a very angry, very tall father. I could not work out what he was so angry about.
At one stage he pressed the button for the lift and when the doors did not open immediately he decided to bash on the doors and yell at them until they opened.
I wanted to record the Russians unexplainable (inexplicable?) antics with this retro stereo pinhole camera, but no one alive knows how to use such a thing.
Yodabashi has about 20 pinhole cameras to choose from, including some in wooden boxes and cake tins. When did this become a thing?
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jenny on 2016-10-27 said:
Yes the underground tunnel is very convenient to get half way back to kyoto station. Don't know why pinhole cameras would be popular either.
mother on 2016-10-27 said:
What a cheapskate, the garden looks very exciting.
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jenny on 2016-10-25 said:
Sounds like Kanazawa is worth a few day's visit. Last time we were just there for a day trip from Takayama. Should have done it the other way round.
adriana on 2016-10-25 said:
I see it is the shichigosan festival - last photo - children of those ages are taken to the shrine to pray for health and long life.
Did you read my email. I have suggestions for interesting excursions