Hirayu Japan
Saturday
15th October 2016
It
wasn’t a surprise to me at the fact I woke up cranky and uncomfortable from a
so-called night’s sleep on a small couch. Craig was awake too looking quite
uncomfortable from his couch but optimism drove us forward as we were leaving Kanazawa’s
suburban life for the beautiful countryside buried within the Japanese Alps.
What was great was that Garu offered a lift for us to get to the train station
so we did not hesitate with his generosity. At 7:30am, we left Garu’s apartment
one last time with our heavy rucksacks hauled into the back of the car
including myself. We set off for the train station with Craig and Garu trying
to talk to each other through the streets of Kanazawa. It was nice to be driven
around again but it would be short lived, we soon pulled up outside the station
raring to get inside. We thanked Garu for everything as well as saying farewell
to him as we watched him drive off to work.
With
the heavy rucksacks on our shoulders, we slowly walked into the station and straight
to the JR lines looking for a way to get to our final destination; Takayama. After
a small moment of studying maps and routes, we realised we could use the
shinkansen bullet train to head to a place called Toyama where we could connect
to another train bound for Takayama. We wasted no time in getting to the right
platform, yet we did have time to buy cookies for the journey to the Alps. The
train was not due to leave for another 20 minutes so, we decided to have a
quick walk to witness the train realising how jet like it looked. We also had a
quick glance of the famous gran class but we could not see any elderly women
lining up to get on. We took the long walk back to the non-reserved carriages
immediately climbing aboard and taking our seats for quite a short journey;
when I say short journey on a bullet train, it was still going to be miles of
ground to cover.
We
were slowly pushed back in our seats waving goodbye to Kanazawa heading for
Toyama. Time went on as we ate our cookies enjoying the country views along the
way before the call came out for Toyama. Without wasting time, we headed for
the necessary platform for our connecting train. We were kind of walking
blindly to the platform, as we couldn’t make out the specific location. We
tried to get information from train drivers and station guards but all were
providing different locations. It took a while until we finally figured out
where the platform was but luckily, we had another 30 minutes to use up before
it arrived. We tried to conserve our energy so instead of walking anymore, we
sat at the quiet platform in peace enjoying the sounds of distant trains
leaving there platforms, Japanese chimes and announcements across the whole
station.
Our
peace would be broken when our train elegantly arrived at the station as we
clambered aboard immediately heading for Takayama. In an instant of leaving the
train station, the scenery was phenomenal with the sight of Japanese Alps everywhere
we looked. It was a hell of a lot more greenery and with the sun now beaming
out, it provided us with the heat we thoroughly needed. Studying the route we
were taking, we soon realised this was going to be a long journey on a slow
train but my god the scenery was heavenly to lack care in how fast we were
going. This was definitely my type of area with tree-covered hillsides, mountains,
fast flowing green rivers and autumn colours glistening across the land with
small valley openings; I genuinely couldn’t keep my eyes away from the window
and Craig felt the same too as he would claim that ‘it’s alreet this like’.
This was immediately marked down as one of the greatest views I had ever seen
on a train journey.
The
sound of the wheels clunking at the tracks was very therapeutic as well as the
slight swaying of the train. We encountered countless tunnels but exiting each
one was quite thrilling to say the least as more breathtaking views of nature
graced us both. Time went on as we passed a few stations enjoying life until we
finally arrived in Takayama. Off the train, we went with our rucksacks looking
for the station stamp and necessary information for camping in the Japanese
Alps. Originally, we were planning to find a discreet forest area in Takayama
to make a temporary camp but what was great was that a coach trip away was a
great camping area at a place called ‘Hirayu’ deep in the Japanese Alps.
We
did not hesitate and headed outside to the coach station to pay for our fare.
We still had plenty of time to use before getting on the coach so, we decided
to take a quick tour around Takayama hopefully to grab some food along the way.
It wasn’t long before we stumbled across a small bakery which seemed to be a
god send to us as we couldn’t get enough of them. It took a while before we
came back out again filled with sweet bakes already wolfing them down like
hyenas. Back to the bus station, we went and what was great was we were first
in the line. 20 minutes went by and the queue was building up right behind us
but finally, the large coach arrived right at our feet. Confirming that this
was the right coach, we soon hopped onboard straight at the front seats. With
everyone aboard, we set off for another small adventure to Hirayu.
As
expected, the scenery was incredible with the same scenario as the train
journey of autumn coloured trees. This was a 15-mile drive so we had many views
to store into our memories. A while later, the call came out saying that we
were approaching Hirayu and so we readied ourselves to get off. After retrieving
our bags from the hold, the coach left and I soon realised I had left my
sunglasses onboard. I was angry with myself but it wasn’t the end of the world.
A heavenly view was right in front of us both, autumn trees surrounding us on
the hills with a huge mountain dead centre. With the fresh Japanese air in our
lungs, we took the walk across the road to where we thought the campsite would
be.
We
were heading in the right direction as we stumbled on the main site house for
the camping ground. We entered thinking we would have to pre book a plot but it
was as easy as renting a bike at Kanazawa. What was fantastic for us was all it
cost for 2 nights pitch was equivalent to £8. With everything sorted, we were both
told to pitch our tents at any numbered area up the nearby hill so we took a
walk with great smiles on our faces. With an area picked out, we got down to
work building our temporary homes. Although it wasn’t a race, I managed to
complete my tent already setting my bedding by the time Craig finished his. We
were enjoying the thrill of camping and then it hit home to me that I was
camping with my cousin in the Japanese Alps; this was truly a special moment
and as Craig had put it, ‘it’s alreet this like’.
Once
everything was sorted, we left the campsite heading for Hirayu village that was
only 5 minutes down the road. Constantly, we would gaze upon the magnificence
of what nature provided us. We also noticed that it was becoming that bit
colder but not too much to bother us. The first place we came across was a
place called Hirayu no-mori that was an onsen spa. With all the time in the
world now, we entered inside as curiosity got the better of us both but once
again, we had to take our shoes off as we were on the beautiful tatami mats. We
soon realised that it was a private spa area the deeper we walked in to the
place so we didn’t spend a great deal of time there. We did notice at the
entrance was a type of onsen where people could place their feet inside.
Instead, I stuck my hand in to feel the temperature and I couldn’t believe how
hot it was. The other thing I noticed was the strong egg type smell lingering
in the air. We soon realised this was produced by the sulphur from the
geothermic grounds of Japan.
We
continued down towards the bus terminal that was home to more than just drivers
and tickets. It housed a shop, restaurant and indoor onsen at the top floor. We
walked into the busy area browsing around, picking out things to buy later as
we headed into the restaurant. Like Kyoto, we had to order our food with a self
service machine but we became master Jedi at this point as we soon awaited our
food to be ready. Pork cutlets, egg and rice was on the dish today and we
thoroughly enjoyed every bite. With everything eaten, we browsed around the
shop one more time grabbing a few snacks for the late evening at our camp.
We
left the bus terminal now taking a small walk into the tiny village where we
came upon another small novelty shop but what was better was the onsen water
feature. Inside one section was 2 bowlfuls of eggs that were being boiled by
the natural hot spring which we found very interesting.
With
not much more to see at the small village, we headed back to camp and along the
way we came across a unique dog that looked very beautiful indeed and became
quite friendly to me. The cold air was hitting us now resulting in my hands and
nose feeling like blocks of ice. It was great to be back at our tents
immediately putting all our thermal clothes on feeling the warmth already.
With the light
quickly fading away, the insects were becoming relentless so we both headed
into our separate tents, even the spiders were trying to get into my tent; no
chance of that happening. We spent the rest of the evening inside our tents
with head torches on, as we laughed the night away and joking on. As I was
safely in my tent, I could hear Craig outside trying to create fire with great
difficulty. So instead, he returned to his tent where a slight bit of peace
fell across the land as I read my book, ate my snacks and hearing the river
nearby. It was truly nice to sit and relax but really, I was hoping for a
pleasant and comfortable night’s sleep.
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