Finally a sunny day in Japan! Today is hiking day in Japan Alps National Park (Chubu Sangaku National Park). Early in the morning I took the bus to Shinhotaka Onsen, where the Shinhotaka Ropeway (cable car) is located. The bus company offers a package that includes a 2-day bus pass, access to the cable car, and access to a hot spring for just 5000 Yens ($50), a pretty good deal as one round trip plus cable car fare would already be 7000 Yes. The ride in the bus follows a more rural setting than my ride to Shirakawa-go the previous day. We went through countless rice fields being planted for the season (some by hand, some by machine). This was definitely a backroad day. I didn't see a single Westerner from the moment I left Takayama, to the moment I came back.
The cable car station is a 3 minute walk uphill from the bus stop. There are two segments in the cable car. The first one, on a small gondola, takes you from 1117m to 1305m in 4 minutes. The second one, starts at 1308m and ends at 2156m in a very fast 7 minute ascent. The second cable car is unique as it has two floors for a total capacity of 121 people. The ride up is narrated in Japanese and judging by the number of ohs and ahs from the Japanese tourists, it must have been a very good one. At the top cable car station (named "Top of the World"), there is a restaurant, souvenir shop, and a wonderful observation deck (named Mount View Point).
My plan was to hike from the top station to Kamikochi, but all information I had was a single sentence from Lonely Planet states: "From the station, it takes about three hours to walk down to Kamikochi". Unfortunately, at the station, the information center didn't have any hiking information and the mountaineering center was closed. The shop also didn't have any decent maps, so I was starting to reconsider my plans. Also, a board with the area trails didn't show any to Kamikochi, but it showed a 1.9Km trail to Nishiho Sando, a mountain refuge on the ridge crest of the Japan Alps. I thought it was worth going there, at least for the views, and in addition this was the likely way down to Kamikochi.
I found the trailhead for the Mountaineering trail and started heading up. The conditions surprised me immediately, the snow started patchy and very soon was solid. Also, it was quite cold, about 5C at the station and probably lower than that where I was. I was hiking in a mixed forest of pine trees and deciduous trees which afforded very few views. The first half of the trail goes up and down, basically following a minor valley. After about 3/4 of a mile, I abandon the "Summer" trail (marked with white signs) and starting following what I think it was the"Winter" trail (marked with much higher orange signs).
The trail got really steep and I started ascending very carefully. The snow was slippery, just soft snow to kick small steps, but hard enough to make this not an easy task. Not to say, I wasn't going really fast. By now, I decided, that descending this would be tricky enough and abandoned my plan to continue to Kamikochi as I didn't know what I was going to find in the other side.
After 1 hour and 15 minutes of hard work... success. I was at the top of the ridge and near the Mountain Hut with views of the Kamikochi side of the Japan Alps. The mountain hut was huge, with 3 floors, private rooms, dormitories, cafeteria, vending machines selling beer, and even an outdoor hot bath. There were just a few groups up there, all very well equipped with fancy gear, crampons, and ice axes. I was asked if I was climbing "solo" and I got the same look that I give to people hiking in Jeans in the Sierra Nevada...
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After relaxing at the top, I started heading down to the cable car station. I don't feel too bad abandoning the plan of going to Kamikochi given that it was my first time there, the trail was covered with snow, I didn't have a map, and I couldn't understand any of the signs on the trail. I think Shin Hotaka to Kamikochi would be a wonderful trip later in the season on a real trail.
The trip back to the cable car station was quite slow as the steep snow-covered slopes were even trickier in the way down. The snow has soften a bit more, making it very slippery. After an hour of hiking and sliding down, I got back to the cable car station.
From the "Top of the World", I took a last view of the Japan Alps while having a small lunch. I took the cable cars down and in no time, I was back at the bus station. There, while waiting for my bus, I started talking to a Japanese man that just finish climbing Mt. Yarigadake (3180m). He was very happy but also very tired from the climb. He told me that he and his friends were waiting for a Taxi to take them to his car and then he was going to drive to Tokyo, an ambitious plan given how tired he looked. I wished he good luck and bided him farewell as I boarded my bus.
My next stop was Hirayu Onsen, a place famous for its hot springs. There are many spa resorts in town, all of them advertising the purity of its water and offering free "foot baths." I had a free ticket for one of the small ones, but I was advised to try one of the upscale ones that offered day passes for just 500 Yens ($5). The one I went advertises in the Takayama office with the statement: "Hot water that White Monkeys had found." It kept me wondering what they meant by that... perhaps it was a reference to Westerners being able to find the hot springs... (actually, later I learned that in the area there used to be Snow Monkeys that used the hot springs in the winter. Also, the minerals in the water crystallize in long white filaments that look like monkey hair).
This spa (a 2 minute walk uphill on the road to Takayama) was amazing. It starts with a luxurious entrance where one takes off the shoes. Then, one can buy a ticket from a vending machine (I couldn't figure out the machine, so I bought it from a person). Towels were not provided or rented, so I had to buy a small wash cloth for an extra 200 Yens. Then, on tatami floors, I headed to the spa area. That's the only place where there was an English sign, under a blue banner, there was the word "Gentleman", and under a pink one, "Ladies." I disrobed in the locker room and headed to the washing area. You clean yourself completely there as the hot springs should only be used when clean. After that, there were 5 different pools at different temperatures and with different concentration of minerals. After enjoying close to two hours of soaking and cleaning myself, it was time to head back to the train station for my hour long trip back to Takayama.
In Takayama, I went for a stroll on the main street and then headed to my ryokan. After another fantastic dinner (this time the main entree was salmon), my room was changed into a bedroom, and after some computer work, it was time to go to bed. Tomorrow, I'm leaving Takayama and heading to Kyoto.
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