The past nine months have been filled to the brim with new sensations, culture, people, music, nature, food, and travel. And as much as I enjoy every bit of our journey, I sometimes feel a sense of saturation creeping in. A sense of: Enough awesomeness. Maybe, the prospect of going home and living a steady life isn’t too bad after all? At that point, when I thought it couldn’t become any more dense, after the last concert of the tour was played, the video equipment was packed, and the data backed up for the last time, I was not quite aware, how much more Japan still had up its sleeve for us.
Up until recently, I used to refer to Rome as the largest open-air museum in the world. Well, this was before I had set foot into Kyoto, the old capital of Japan. The number of temples, shrines, palaces, and gardens is somewhere in the thousands and way too much for a lifetime of exploring, let alone a three-day city trip. But as impressive as the historical architecture may be, the crowds have become so overwhelming in recent years that in certain streets (in Gion district), it is forbidden to take photos. Yes. In a country where both photography and hospitality are deeply rooted in society, the behaviour of foreign tourists has become so much of a burden that city officials had to take these drastic measures. Provoking Japanese to that point is really not an achievement anybody should be proud of. With this in mind, our visit to the Gion district was short and awkward, but luckily, there is so much else to see that ultimately, Kyoto is still a place worth visiting.
Just a short train ride from picturesque Kyoto is Osaka, Japan’s second largest metropolis and a foodies’ paradise. We rented a tiny old house not too far from the centre and spent most of our time searching for the next fresh oyster, local takoyaki, or hearty ramen. At some point, we had had enough of flashy shopping streets, camera stores, and MSG-heavy food, and it was time to prepare for our last camping trip.
In Japan, nothing is done half-heartedly. Craftsmanship, attention to detail, and a deep love for tools and gadgets is seen not only in manufacturing, gardening, and cooking, but also in camping. There are a whopping 3000 campgrounds scattered all over the islands, and depending on the season and the time of the week, they can be pretty crowded. Foreigners are the exception here, especially families travelling with their own wee tent. It is mostly Japanese folks taking to the lakes, mountain forests, and beaches on the weekends. The amount of stuff many of them bring is staggering. By default, they would erect a tarp and secure it with a gazillion of stakes. Underneath, they would arrange a vast array of tents, stools, chairs, tables, benches, fire bowls, barbecues, lanterns, axes, wood piles, gloves, boxes, and other amenities. Never in my life have I felt “underdressed” on a campsite, not in terms of clothing, but in terms of equipment. In Japan, however, squatting on the ground making instant noodles on a simple stove and eating them straight from the cup in the trunk of our car felt almost inappropriate. Another peculiarity on Japanese campgrounds are showers: While toilets are usually plentiful and nice, showers seem to be more optional. In some places, they are coin operated (PITA) in other places, there are no regular showers at all. To clean yourself, you need to book yourself into an Onsen, a traditional bath house, and use their facilities. Great for everyone longing for a hot bath, annoying for everyone who wants to quickly rinse off the day’s dust. Anyway, in total, we had a good time camping out in scenic forests and along marvellous beaches; crowds were mostly moderate (except at a lake with a direct view of Mt. Fuji), and hiking options were amazing.
There is a big culture of hiking, mountaineering, skiing, and camping in the Japanese Alps. In this respect, we felt right at home! However, there are a few differences to hiking in Austria:
- A great number of high mountains are active volcanoes. Exciting!
- There are bears roaming freely, and you are advised to use bear bells when out and about.
- Popular hikes such as the ascent to Mt. Fuji are closed except a short period between July and September (and people adhere to the closure!).
- Some scenic alpine roads are closed to private vehicles; a reliable bus service operates instead. Great!
To give you a very brief outline of our itinerary: We left bustling Osaka by train, rented out a handy minivan on the south coast, drove down to Ise Shima, ate seafood grilled by diving grannies, took the ferry to Toba, camped at a lake across Fuji-San, climbed to Hoei crater and then to the 7th station, hiked the ancient Nakesendo Trail, tasted artisanal sake, crossed a snow field on our way to the summit of Norikura-dake (3026m), photographed monkeys in Kamikochi, ate a giant king crab on the north coast and excellent Soba near Nagano.
In an eerily empty skiing resort in the middle of the Japanese Alps, on a patch of grass next to the community kitchen, we packed our camping gear for one last time, got rid of the clutter that has been building up in our car and for the first time became aware that our journey was about to end. We returned our car in Nagano, took the Shinkansen back to Tokyo and prepared for our trip back to our Alps. One last excellent conveyor belt sushi, one last bowl of ramen in the same shop we had our first one a few weeks back, and then it was time to say goodbye. Farewell to an episode in our lives that will leave a mark on our personalities forever. Time to go home, reconnect with our loved ones, and time to process.
