Author: COLO

Memories of Hiroshima (Originally posted on 2023-Sep-24)

Back in June, I had to visit Hiroshima Prefecture. It was during the rainy season, so I was not fully excited, but it was fixed. Still, I made a small room to adjust my itinerary according to the weather.

There is an old town called Tomonoura in Fukuyama City, east side of Hiroshima, where I had been interested in visiting. It is a small old port town with an old lighthouse.

I decided to make an overnight stay at Tomonoura, take a boat to Onomichi, and from there take a scenic train on the Kure Line along Seto Inland Sea to Hiroshima Station. Although it was initially a short weekend trip only from Saturday to Sunday, I would be able to enjoy much of Seto Inland Sea if the weather is good.

As usual, I looked at the weekly weather forecast many times and found that the weather for Friday was supposed to be good but the weather for the weekend might not. I considered to forcefully change the original plan and started with a visit to Itsukushima Shrine in the afternoon on Friday.

Except for a short visit to a bar in Onomichi about 20 years ago on my way to Shikoku Island, this was my first visit to Hiroshima Prefecture in about 40 years. I remember seeing the Atomic Bomb Museum and Itsukushima Shrine and looked forward to riding “Blue Train,” a sleeper train, back to Tokyo when I was in elementary school. Even after digging up those memories, I have a few recollections, including the oddly long ride on the streetcar from Miyajima-guchi to Hiroshima City.

Anyway, for this time, I found that high tide at Hiroshima Port would be around 2:00 p.m. on the Friday. This was matched to the time of my visit. With expected sunny weather and high tide, besides I was in Hiroshima Prefecture anyway, I decided to go to Itsukushima Shrine.

The Itsukushima Island was full of tourists. When I looked the famous torii gate on the Sea, there were many buildings behind, on the other side of the Inland Sea. Not sure what I really expected, but Itsukushima Shrine was in a suburb of Hiroshima, which was a big city. Still, the view of the large torii gate on the sea was spectacular, and the background buildings could be removed by Photoshop.

As I was sitting on a bench and looking the torii gate, I imagined that my family had not checked the tidal condition when I first visited here. It might be difficult to completely forget the beautiful scenery at high tide. On the other hand, I heard that I could walk to the torii gate when the tide is low, which would have left me with some strong memories. From the fact that I do not remember any at all, I must have come here at a halfway time. As a result, all I recall in Hiroshima were that horrified memory at the Atomic Bomb Museum and long streetcar ride, but nothing on Itsukushima Shrine.

With these thoughts in mind, I paid my respects at Itsukushima Shrine and took pictures and then headed to Tomonoura.

It was cloudy in the early evening at Tomonoura but cleared up just before sunset. The entire sky turned pink just after sunset and gradually became dark blue. Because it was on a weekday, there was no tourist, locals do not seem to care. I enjoyed very colorful yet quiet evening.

I took a bus back to Fukuyama City center and visited to an old bar “Akatsuki”, which I had visited its Onomichi branch about 20 years ago. I recalled they had operated two bars back then. I have heard that the Onomichi branch was closed few years ago, but the Fukuyama branch was still in business. To my surprise, the bartender was 80 years old running his bar day-by-day.

It was a very satisfying day.

The next day was cloudy as predicted, and I continued my trip as planned. I drank sake while eating sushi lunch in Onomichi, drank cocktails on a scenic train which had a bar, and ate okonomiyaki with whisky highball in Hiroshima City. They were what I could not been achieved as an elementary school student. 40 years are long time. Some of years may have been wasted in my life, but I am glad to become an old man.

Although there are no Blue Trains anymore, I was able to fully enjoy Hiroshima Prefecture after the 40 years.

COLO’s Traveler Guide: Tateyama (Originally posted on 2023-Dec-31)

Times listed are the timetables at the time of the visit.

Day 1

Tokyo 0616 (Shinkansen Kagayaki 501) >> Toyama 0823

– Tateyama Alpine Route

Dentetsu Toyama 0853 >> Tateyama 0948
Tateyama 1000 >> Bijyodaira 1007
Bijyodaira 1020 >> Murodo 1110

Overnight stay: Hotel Tateyama

Tips for Day 1
– I stayed two nights in Murodo. For most of the people traveling Tateyama Alpine Route, Murodo is a place to stay for a few hours max. This time, I had clear skies from the evening of the second day till the morning of the last day, so it made sense to stay two nights. Murodo is full of tourists in the daytime, but it is a quiet place in the mornings and evenings. I have a feeling that one night would have been enough if only the weather had been better though.

Day 3

– Tateyama Alpine Route

Murodo 0800 >> Midagahara 0815
– Trekking at Midagahara
Midagahara 1055 >> Bijyodaira 1130
Bijyodaira 1140 >> Tateyama 1147
Tateyama 1200 >> Dentetsu Toyama 1304

Dinner: Sushi Ei Hanayagi

Toyama 1940 (Shinkansen Kagayaki 516) >> Omiya 2131
Omiya >> Yokohama

Tips for Day 3
– Sushi Ei Hanayagi is my favorite restaurant in Toyama. My favorite sake “Kachiuma” was on the menu. I drank 4 cups. Thanks to this, the Shinkansen train back to Omiya took only a few minutes from Toyama.
– I bought some “pressed sushi” at Junpu-ya in Toyama Station. I could take it home at room temperature.

Memories of Murodo (Originally posted on 2023-Dec-18)

This summer was unusually hot probably due to El Nino. When I was a child, it was on news when maximum temperature exceeded 30 degrees Celsius in Tokyo, but it is not unusual even the temperature exceeds 35 degrees Celsius in these days.

Despite such climate, it is probably not a good idea to go up north for a summer vacation. I heard that it was hot even in Hokkaido Island this year. Maybe I could be in cold weather in North Pole. Alternatively, it would probably be able to find a cooler place in Siberia, but the current situation in Russia makes it difficult. I need to find somewhere realistic.

On the other hand, I have heard that it was cool at climbing entrance of Mt. Fuji even in this summer. Of course, this is not in the Arctic or Siberia, but in just outside of the Kanto area, Shizuoka and Yamanashi Prefectures. There are cooler places in Japan if you look for them. It is likely cooler going up in three-dimensionally rather than going northward in two-dimensionally.

In the meantime, I happened to get a reservation at a hotel in Murodo on the Tateyama Alpine Route. The altitude is around 2,450 meters, which is about as same as the climbing entrance of Mt. Fuji, so it should be cool weather in Murodo.

During the peak season, the hotel in Murodo is difficult to book and the schedule cannot be changed at last minute. Even if the weather is not good, you cannot go wrong if you think it as a summer getaway.

On departure day, it was the time when a typhoon was approaching Kanto area. I booked the first Hokuriku Shinkansen train so that I could leave before the typhoon reached, but it was not a clear day even if I went across mountains further to Sea of Japan side of the country. It was good that it did not heavily rain though.

Murodo was cold due to the strong wind blowing from the Nagano Prefecture. I walked around in the light rain until check-in time. After that, I snuggled under a blanket in my room. Not enough from a photographic point of view, but it was supposed to be perfect as a heat retreat.

As a photographer and blogger, I got up before sunrise in the next morning. However, Mt. Tateyama was in the clouds. The night before, I had three glasses of whiskey at the hotel bar, and I had hungover, perhaps because the high altitude affects the circulation of alcohol in my system. Waking up early does not do any good to me. I immediately returned to bed.

I woke up again before the noon. It was still cloudy, but there was no point in staying in my room. I went for a walk.

As it is said “every dog has its day,” I was able to see a family of rock ptarmigan. This alone was worth the trip. Moreover, the weather started to improve in the afternoon. The next morning looked promising. Since I am not a dog, I went to bed without going to the bar to ensure I could wake up early in the next morning.

Indeed, it was clear and sunny. I took my camera and walked to the place I had spotted the day before. I was able to enjoy quite a nice sunrise.

Having enjoyed Murodo, I decided to go down the mountain early. On the way down, I got off the bus at Midagahara for trekking. I then returned to Toyama Station in the early afternoon.

The altitude of Toyama Station is about 7 meters above sea level. With altitude differences of 2,440 meters, the temperature should have been around 14.5 degrees Celsius higher, and it was actually 32 degrees Celsius in Toyama City.

As expected, it was not much different from the heat of Tokyo although I went up north. I walked around in Toyama City in the extreme heat until time for evening sushi restaurant reservation.

I learned that the key to avoiding the heat was the altitude. However, I spoiled my body by escaping from the heat, and I began to suffer from summer fatigue from the day after I returned home. It seemed that effects from extreme heat I had endured in all summer came at once, and the malaise continued for more than a month, until mid-October.

I am unaccustomed to extreme heat and I am unaccustomed to heat retreat. It is difficult for a middle-aged man to live comfortably in summer.