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.