As the leaves continue to change colors, and the temperature finally breaches the 30s, I start to realize just how much I love the fall season. It won’t be long before all of the trees, save the evergreens, lose their beautiful colors. Last weekend, the great outdoors called my name for yet another round of adventuring in “Heartful Nagano.”
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I just like the way this picture came out...
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On Saturday morning, I met Karen at Shiojiri Station, and we took a westbound train to the town of Komagane for a day trip. The attraction that we were headed for was the famous Komagatake Ropeway. When I first came to Japan, I knew this was something that I wanted to do.
What I didn’t realize, though, is that the ropeway is not a very long ride, and it doesn’t take you from the ground all the way to the top. You must first grab a bus in the town below, and that will take you about halfway up the mountain. Begin complaining.
The bus ride was absolutely miserable, and I couldn't wait to get off. The bus was so crowded that people were sitting in the foldout chairs that occupied the aisles. I know it didn’t matter that much, but I felt as though I was trapped. I would compare the feeling to being in the third row of someone’s SUV, or worse, the back seat of a coupe. If the shit were to hit the fan, say the vehicle were to catch on fire, and everyone were to have to evacuate, the people in the front would have an advantage. They have doors allowing for easy access in and out of the vehicle. The people in that back seat, however, would have to clamber their way over the seat in front of them before even being able to think about leaving. So, it may not be an impossible feat to pull off, but it’s still unsettling. Just the way my mind works sometimes.
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How do I get out of this clown car?
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What made the bus trip worse, however, was going up the first half of the mountain. I know I love rides and all, but I have never been sicker in a moving vehicle in my entire life. The combination of the vibrant fall colors mixed with the oversized windows and frequency of back to back hairpin turns was enough to turn my brown face green. For this dreaded gaijin, winding mountain roads are romantic in theory, but nausea-inducing in practice. I was so happy to finally get off at the ropeway terminal. End complaining.
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Ropeway lower station
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As we approached the station at the top, a mysterious fog shrouded the cable car in a blanket. We couldn’t see very far in front of us, and it reminded me of being in the movie “The Mist.” We were well over a mile and a half above the ground, so I can safely say this was the highest I’ve ever been besides riding in an airplane. If you wanna see some stats about the ropeway, click here.
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"Expiation"
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I wasn’t too impressed with the views at first, because the mist was covering all but what was about 150 feet in front of us. We got a quick bite to eat at the cafe near the station, and then headed back outside for one more glance. The fog had cleared up, and it was quite a breathtaking view from above. “This is what I paid for,” I thought to myself.
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The awkward Halloween "costume" isn't going anywhere anytime soon, people.
It's here. It's weird. Get used to it.
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The photo hardly does the view justice...
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On Sunday, I left town again, but this time for an overnight-er. I was off the next day, Monday, and the trip had been arranged by Carolyn, a senpai JET who works up north. It was a two day guided tour through the Shin-etsu Trail, with overnight accommodations covered by her city tourism bureau. The point of trip was to increase knowledge of the area through the eyes of foreigners, and get genuine input from said foreigners about what was interesting, what could be better, and so on and so forth.
The hike was unlike anything I have done before. I’m not much into hiking, but after this trip, I can appreciate why nature buffs love this sort of thing. The trail itself is similar to the Appalachian Trail. It’s a “long trail” hike that involves skating atop the ridge of a mountain range, as opposed to choosing one big mountain to go from ground to summit to ground again.
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View of autumn leaves and mountains
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Since the hike was a two day experience, we were put up in a ryokan, or Japanese inn. I can only compare this to a bed and breakfast. It was kind of like a hotel, but kind of like staying at someone’s house at the same time. We slept on the floors in comfortable futons, and were served epic meals.
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View from outside the inn
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Lobby
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Where I slept
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Dinner...
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The second day of the hike brought rain and fog, so we had to finish the tour early. People were slipping and falling, I was getting mud and water in my shoes. It was freezing cold. In hindsight, I had a blast. Walking through the fog made me feel like that little kid from Limbo. Of course, there were no Aragog-sized spiders, but that didn’t stop me from letting my imagination run wild.
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Mist...
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...mist...
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...and more mist.
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