Autumn hike in Kamikochi
Early start today to move to Kamikochi, a location that can only be reached by bus or taxi. We drove to a big parking lot were people got on the bus. When bus was full, it departed over a winding narrow road to the bus station of Kamikochi, there it was full of busses. Also this seemed to be a popular destination for tourists from all over the world.
It was around 5 degrees and the visitors were differently dressed, some well prepared in warm hiking gear but others not so well prepared, wearing skirts and high heels. I was in the middle, prepared for some Dutch temperatures but the available space for this long trip made me drop my hiking shoes. After a quick breakfast we were ready to escaped the crowd and go for a hike.
The hike route took us along beautiful and breath taking sceneries of the Japanese alps. When walking the cold was not bad and the heating things in the pockets gave quite some comfort. I was a little amazed people camped here in tents overnight.
The route seems to be going around the river, going up and down. When we crossed a bridge on the turning point of the hike route a monkey also crossed the bridge with us.
We had a coffee at Cafe do Koisyo, an old style cabin were they served Creme Brullee and Caramel Cheesecake, so that is what we had with a coffee and tea.
After the coffee stop we had some kilometers left to return, another 3,7 kilometer with great views and beautiful fall colours and many pictures.
Close to the bus stop there were many people, many taking pictures without bother to hike and see its beauty only from there. There was clearly a problem with the flow of people, as it took us about 1,5 hours to get a taxi, the bus for which we had a ticket had a much longer waiting line. That also took away our visit to Matsumoto castle, which is famous for the black castle. The rental car needed to be returned before 8pm, so it was from Kamikochi the fastest way back to Hamamatsu. Anyway this was again an impressive side of Japan!
