Eighth day in Japan

Happo-ike pond

How it looked from our hotel room window as we prepared to set out on Monday morning:

Amber fills up her bottle with some free natural spring water just outside the hotel:

Walking in the direction of the Japan Alps 日本アルプス:

The Hakuba Ski Jumping Stadium 白馬ジャンプ競技場 in the distance. The village played host to ski jumping, alpine skiing and Nordic combined events during the 1998 Winter Olympics, where were held in Nagano 長野:

 

On this day the two us aimed to reach the Happō-ike Pond 八方池, a small lake on the ridge trail to Karamatsu-dake 唐松岳 (2965 meters/8842 feet). To get there required taking the Happō Adam gondola and two upper chairlifts:

The second of the chairlifts deposited us at an altitude of 1830 meters/6004 feet, and from which we made our way to the pond, a walk which took us almost 70 minutes:

There were still patches of snow on the ground in places:

The pond is located at 2060 meters/6759 feet above sea level. The water reflects the surrounding peaks on clear days, but this Monday we were in the midst of the mist. Amber felt the foggy conditions gave the pond a mysterious appearance:

Occasionally the clouds would ease up enough for quick glimpses of the surrounding terrain:

Time to return to the chairlift station...:

...but not before my daughter contributed a cairn:

A signboard reminded me of what we were missing:

A gyūdon 牛丼 lunch before climbing onto the first of the two descending chairlifts:

Another break before the final leg down on the gondola:

By the time we arrived back at the hotel in the middle of the afternoon, I (at least) was a sweaty mess*, necessitating a quick cooling-off shower in our room, and the washing of our hiking-related laundry. Tomorrow requires an early start, so after some rest, we went out to buy a half-dozen artisanal doughnuts from the Snow Peak Land Station Hakuba スノーピークランドステーション白馬 coffee shop for our crack-of-dawn breakfast on Tuesday morning. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped off at a charming little restaurant (Pochi Takoyaki ポチのたこ焼き) doing interesting variations on one of Japan's most famous street snacks. It's the existence establishments like this one that play a major role in bringing me back time and again to Japan:

The explosion in the last few decades in craft beer 地ビール is also a factor:

Tomorrow morning, we bid farewell to Hakuba 白馬 and continue our travels through the Chūbu region 中部地方. Until next time, おやすみなさい...

*I suspect Monday's short hike might have been my last. Atrial fibrillation and two TIA's have made even relatively easy jaunts like the one to the pond much more difficult than they would have been just a few years ago. It's a pity as hiking in Japan and Taiwan has been one of my greatest pleasures in life, but I'm still ambulatory and relatively clear-headed. Relating to Amber all the accidents I've experienced while in the great outdoors makes her think it's a miracle I'm still in one piece at age 60. With all the walking we've been doing so far on this trip, I'll be shocked if I find I haven't lost any weight when I get back to China.

Well, there is all that beer, but...

Seventh day in Japan

Another day comes to an end in Hakuba 

On Sunday morning we prepared to check out of our Matsumoto 松本 home away from home, the Matsumoto Hotel Kagetsu 松本ホテル花月:

Amber started her day off with a "morning curry" at the hotel's cafe:

My fare was more inside the box:

Getting ready to bid farewell on what would be the warmest (and most humid) day of our trip so far:

Back to the Nawate Shopping Street なわて通り商店街 and its popular frog statue:

It turned out Sunday was also the occasion of the かえるまつり, and many turned out in their frog-finest fashion despite the heat:

Of course, my daughter also had to get an amphibian, "for Timi":

Reluctantly waiting to depart Matsumoto, a city in which I'd spent so much time in the past. This may have been my last visit:

Next stop was Hotaka Station 穂高駅 in Azumino City 安曇野市:

Many years ago (more than I care to remember) I had come from Matsumoto to Hotaka to rent a bike and visit a wasabi farm. This day Amber and I would do the same:

The area is famous for its dōsojin 道祖神 statues lying along roadsides and pathways (see explanation below):

It wasn't that long ago that we were ensconced in the center of the world's largest megalopolis. Now we found ourselves cycling through the countryside, or what the Japanese call inaka 田舎:

We arrived at the Daiō Wasabi Farm 大王わさび農場 around lunchtime, which meant on a summer Sunday people were lined up outside the few restaurants at the tourist attraction. So, we made do instead with wasabi burger croquettes and wasabi-flavored dangō purchased from the onsite food court:

After lunch we spent some time strolling around one of the country's largest wasabi farms:

Rainbow trout were being raised in a small pond:

It's de rigueur for visitors to have wasabi ice cream. Years ago, when I first visited, the soft cream was just plain vanilla dyed green. Now it's the real deal. I was expecting to taste some fire, but instead the initial burst of flavor was akin to that of eating a root vegetable:

From the farm, we made our back to Hotaka Station on a leisurely circuit, passing by more dosojin 水色の時道祖神:

At the end of the ride what better to battle the 29°C/84°F conditions than with a cold one from the Azumino Brewery, located just beside the train station:

The train arrives to take us to our next destination, Hakuba 白馬:

Disembarking at Hakuba Station and making our way to our lodgings, we passed by the Yakushi-no-yu footbath 足湯薬師の湯:

The surrounding Japanese Alps 日本アルプス provided a stunning backdrop:

Not many establishments were open late on a Sunday evening, but my daughter found a restaurant called Grill Kōya グリルこうや that specialized in the anything-but-humble omurice オムライス. Amber's was demiglace, while mine came in a mentaiko sauce:

Being at 703 meters/2306 feet above sea level, the temperature was much more comfortable, which I delighted in donning a light sweater in which to torment my wife, who is suffering through record heat back in Beijing 北京:

Hakuba is the first stop on this tour that I've never previously visited in all my travels around Japan. So I'm especially looking forward to what discoveries the next few days will bring. Stay tuned...