Due to the crazily heavy snow, we decided to rent a car and take a day trip to Daisetsuzan National Park, and more specifically Asahidake Mountain. The journey was a little sketchy, don’t think the our parents would have approved of the driving conditions! We headed to the Ropeway (aka cablecar) to take us to the crater at the top to see the famous views. However, it was not meant to be, the top of the mountain was in the cloud and the expensive round trip would have been a waste of money.
So, Plan B? Cross country skiing of course! Bear in mind that neither of us had done this before, the description of a baby giraffe on ice wouldn't be far off from describing how we must have looked. But we had the trail to ourselves with plenty of fresh snow and it was peaceful (save for the occasional shriek from me) and would have been rather romantic had steam not have been billowing out of our jackets and sweat pouring down our faces - its really hard work! We almost got the hang of it, that is, until we reached the hill at the end (the very same sweat inducing one we climbed up an hour earlier). Then, everything went tits up. I laughed so hard I had tears streaming down my face - in part from exhausted delirium, part from the shooting pain coming from my backside. We both stacked it, BIGLY. The problem with cross country skiing is that there really is no way of slowing down, as soon as you snow plough, its game over. Rob had “absolutely no other option” other than to just plough straight, head on into the snowy bank (which was as tall as him), much to the surprised horror of the friendly Australians just setting out on their perilous journey. I came hurtling down next, arms and ski poles akimbo, a horrifying uncoordinated blur. Ice met bum and we were done. We hauled our aching, bruised body parts back into the car and headed to a gentler part of the national park, Biei. Biei is famous for its patchwork fields of flowers and acres of lavender, sadly the winter snow scuppered that but it was still a lovely drive round and offered some amazing views. We raced down to Shirahige Falls which were quite amazing, never seen a frozen waterfall. Made a quick stop to visit the not so blue Aoiike Blue Pond, which sadly was a white snow pond. Oh well, next time! The search for a blue lake continues. |
AuthorsRob & Charlie's travelling adventures on their long journey back to London after living in Hong Kong. Four continents, twelve countries, lots of experiences. Archives
July 2017
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Robert Ware & Charlotte Nunn |