Twentythree

The second day of a gorgeous getaway from the concrete jungle of Tokyo.

We recently made the decision to say goodbye to the skyscrapers of downtown Tokyo for a weekend and hello to the mountains of Nagano Prefecture. After two train rides and one on a bus, we were in Kamikochi, one of the most beautiful regions of the Japan Alps, for an overnight trip of nature walks and light hiking.

In Part 1 of our report we covered the details of how to get from Tokyo to Kamikochi (and also where we encountered wild monkeys while exploring), and today we’ll be taking a look at the historic Kamikochi Imperial Hotel and once again venturing out onto the trails of the river basin near Kamikochi’s Kappabashi suspension bridge.

As one of Japan’s oldest and most prestigious hotel groups, the Imperial Hotel name carries a lot of cachet. The Kamikochi Imperial Hotel was established all the way back in 1933, though the current building dates from 1977.

But while it’s technically a fancy hotel, the Kamikochi Imperial has a much more rustic feel than its downtown brethren, though still with an atmosphere of elegance. The indoor fire pit is an excellent example of this, as it’s both stately and cozy.

Similarly, the food we dined on was classy but unpretentious, from the sandwich we grabbed when we first arrived earlier in the afternoon…

…to the curry we had for dinner after our first day of nature walks…

…and the omelet we had for breakfast the next morning accompanied by locally sourced Nagano ham and drinkable yogurt.

That vibe extended to our guestroom, which had the air of a stylish country cabin

Since the Kamikochi area gets snowed in during the winter months, the Imperial Hotel is only open from late April to mid-November. Reservations for the year open in February and fill up fast, but we lucked out when we spotted a cancellation and snagged the room for ourselves.

On our first day, we’d walked from the hotel to the Kappabashi suspension bridge and the Dakezawa Wetlands. The morning of Day 2 met us with a light drizzle, but it wasn’t enough to keep us from going to check out Tashiro Pond, which is south of the hotel.

▼ Kamikochi Imperial Hotel to Taisho Pond

Like on the first day, the paths we were walking on are for the most part fairly flat and easily traversable without full-on hiking boots, though you’ll want to have footwear that’s comfortable to walk in and has grippy soles.

On the way to the pond you’ll pass through the Tashiro Wetlands and by Tashiro Pond. This part of the Azusa River basin has amazingly clear water, which was captivating to gaze into, and off in the distance the shrouds of fog at the top of Mt. Yakedake lent it a mysterious air.

▼ The trek to the peak and back is a popular day-hike that can be done from Kamikochi.

After about 30 minutes of walking, we reached Taisho Pond, where the surrounding mists produced a contemplatively mystical mood that was completely different from the liberating blue skies of the day before.

After that, we headed back to the hotel for a mid-afternoon cup of tea (and more importantly, some mid-afternoon sweets)…

…and then it was time to head back to Tokyo.

▼ With souvenirs such as the local Shinshu Roman microbrew beer and instant Nagano miso ramen.

As we mentioned above, Kamikochi shuts down to leisure travel during the winter, but there’s still time to sneak in one last visit this year, and if not, those mountains, forests, and waterways will be waiting next spring too.

Related: Kamikochi Imperial Hotel
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Parents want to raise baby in rural community, and community is happy to have her.

The town of Kaneyama in Fukushima Prefecture isn’t particularly populous, having less than 2,000 residents. Kaneyama’s Tarabu district, though, is an especially small community, with only 12 occupied households.

So it was a very big deal when Tarabu residents Dai and Emiko Aonuma welcomed a baby girl into the world, because not only is she the couple’s first child, she’s the first baby born in Tarabu in more than half a century, with the last recorded Tarabu birth being 52 years ago.

Neither Dai nor Emi are natives of the area. Dai grew up in Yamanashi Prefecture, and Emi in Kanagawa Prefecture. They did meet in Tarabu, though, with Dai coming to the community in 2020 while traveling around the country in a converted kei truck motor home after hearing about its hot spring waters, and Emi being drawn to the area to study karamushiori, a traditional method of reed weaving for making textiles, in the nearby town of Showa. The couple married in the summer of 2023, and their daughter was born that November via home birth in Tarabu, with the assistance of a midwife.

They decided to name their daughter Tara, naming her after Tarabu (though written with different kanji characters), and the community has shown the baby just as much love. A year after her birth, Tara is happy and healthy, receiving checkups in the town’s welfare center, which until now has primarily been used for treatment for Kaneyama’s senior citizens (over 60 percent of the town’s population is over 65 years old). Local grannies, such as 90-year-old “Big Sister Isako,” have helped Dai and Emiko adjust to both the local lifestyle and being parents, teaching them recipes to make use of locally available produce and how to use a traditional body-wrapping cloth called a sarashi to strap little Tara to their backs when the parents need to use both hands for tasks other than holding their adorable daughter. Another woman who moved to the community has also become Tara’s personal hairdresser, giving the girl trims as needed, as there isn’t a kids’ salon in the area.

Similar to Nozomi, the one-and-only first-grader at her school in a rural part of Ehime Prefecture, Tara is likely going to have a very unique childhood. It’s one her parents hope is filled with warm connections to their community, though, and it looks like that’s a feeling shared by their neighbors.

Source: Yomiuri Shimbun, Fukushima Television
Top image: Pakutaso
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After receiving rave reviews in South Korea, this sweet variety looks set to sweep the nation.

Pringles is a global brand sold in over 140 countries, but not all of its flavours are available everywhere. This makes the brand’s limited-edition varieties highly sought after, and now Japan has been chosen to receive one of those limited-edition flavours, with the release of the Pringles Butter Caramel.

This is exciting news for Pringles fans in Japan, as many of them have long been raving about the flavour after trying it in South Korea, where it became incredibly popular. The sweet flavour has become widely known through posts and videos on social media, so even those who haven’t tried the flavour before will now be able to try it once it lands in Japan.

Surprisingly, the flavour was previously available here, but only 10 years ago, so it’s now ready to be unleashed on a whole new generation of snack lovers. Upon first bite, the richness of butter and the sweet taste of caramel is said to spread over the palate, creating a luxurious, melt-in-the-mouth flavour that’s perfectly suited to the winter season.

▼ The snack is said to taste great on its own or as a side with alcohol.

After previously pairing a sweet treat with whiskey, we’re not entirely convinced that this will be a good partner for alcohol, but we’re still keen to try it when it’s released at stores around Japan from 11 November.

Source, images: PR Times 
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21-year-old college student arrived in Japan in September, had been missing since early October.

The body of a foreign tourist who had been missing in Japan since last month has been found.

German university student Claudio Worm arrived in Japan on September 21 and spent a little over a week sightseeing in Tokyo. On September 30 he left the capital to stay in Wakayama City, Wakayama Prefecture. During his travels in the country the 21-year-old Worm had been keeping in touch with his mother in Germany via social media messages, with his last contact with her coming at roughly 5 o’clock in the morning on October 10, when he was scheduled to check out of the lodgings he’d booked in Wakayama, with his classes in Germany starting on October 12.

▼ A post from the Osaka German consulate’s official Twitter account after it learned of Worm’s disappearance asking for anyone who had seen him to contact the police.

【#ドイツ人行方不明者 Claudio Wormさんを捜しています】

10月11日を最後に連絡が取れなくなっています
パスポートと携帯電話は和歌山市駅近くで見つかりました
何か情報がありましたら和歌山県警察本部人身安全対策課 073-423-0110・和歌山西警察署073-424-0110 へご連絡をお願いします#拡散希望 pic.twitter.com/V3xAdbm4u4

— ドイツ総領事館 (@GermanyinWestjp) October 21, 2024

However, Worm did not return to Germany. His parents, worried about their son and unable to get in touch with him, enlisted the help of a Japanese friend of the family who contacted the Wakayama Prefectural Police on October 16 and explained the situation. A subsequent examination of security camera footage taken in the vicinity of Wakayamashi Station in Wakayama City turned up images of a man fitting Worm’s description walking near the station on the night of October 11 at around 8:30 p.m. Worm’s passport and phone were later found in a public restroom located by the Kisogawa River, which runs along the north edge of the Wakayama city center, and on October 30 his suitcase, containing clothes and other personal effects, was discovered to have been inside a coin locker at Wakayama Station (another rail stop in the downtown area), though it’s unclear when it was placed there.

▼ It’s about a six-minute train ride, or a 40-minute walk, from Wakayamashi Station to Wakayama Station.

Then, on November 1, the local Coast Guard division received a report that a body had been spotted floating in the ocean, approximately 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles) off the coastline neat Tagurasaki, a point northwest of downtown Wakayama. The body, naked from the waist up, was floating face-up and badly damaged, leading investigators to believe that it had been in the water for quite some time. DNA testing has now confirmed that the body is that of Worm. The body had no immediately visible wounds, and the police are still investigating the cause of death and chain of events that led to it.

▼ Tagurasaki

It’s sadly too late for anything to be done for Worm. Hopefully the sad ending to his journey in Japan will be a solemn reminder that it’s important to keep track of the schedules of friends and family members who are solo traveling, especially abroad, and to contact the authorities at the first sign of worrisome silence.

Source: NHK News Web, Nitele News
Top image: Twitter/@GermanyinWestjp
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All-men carriage would have been organization’s first outside of Tokyo.

Many commuter train lines in Japan operate trains with women-only carriages on a daily basis during the morning and evening rush hours, as a countermeasure against gropers, or chikan, as they’re called in Japanese. Chikan use the crowded conditions onboard commuter trains as cover for their heinous acts, making it difficult to identify or confront the perpetrator before they exit the train and make their escape, and so women-only cars are offered as an option for female passengers who feel more at ease with no men in their vicinity.

However, a non-profit organization called the Japan Weak Men’s Center has, for the last few years, organized a men-only train. The organization insists that this is not a form of protest against women-only train cars, having previously issued a statement establishing its opinion on the matter as “Women-only cars are absolutely necessary so that they can feel secure and safe while riding. Such cars should be provided not just at rush hour, but at all times.” Instead, the professed goal of the Japan Weak Men’s Center’s men-only train initiative is to raise awareness that men too can be victims of groping and other forms of sexual harassment or assault, as well as the potentially ruinous effects of being falsely or mistakenly accused of groping.

The Japan Weak Men’s Center’s men-only trains run in November, in recognition of International Men’s Day on November 19. Since this is an event organized by the Center, and not an official policy of the rail operator, technically the men-only trains are trains that have been rented out in their entirety by the Center, which then invites interested parties to ride the carriage for free. The Japan Weak Men’s Center has also previously said that despite the “men-only” designation, in truth anyone is welcome to ride (provided there’s space on the train), so long as they’re sympathetic to the group’s cause.

The first four iterations of the November men-only trains were all on the Sakura Tram, also known as the Toden Arakawa Line, a streetcar line that runs in the northwest corner of Tokyo’s downtown area. Due to a scheduling conflict, though, this year the Japan Weak Men’s Center was unable to rent out an entire carriage during their desired time frame. So instead, in September they contacted a rail operator in Osaka City, making the decision to run their first men-only train outside Tokyo.

Initially, the organization’s application was accepted by the rail operator, which runs a streetcar network, but in October the operator contacted the Japan Weak Men’s Center and said the group would not be allowed to rent out a train. The Center had been braced for this, as a similar situation had occurred when it applied to run its first men-only train in Tokyo, requiring compromises and adjustments such as an increased security staff presence. After renewed negotiations with the Osaka rail operator, the Japan Weak Men’s Center was once again granted permission to rent out a train for their men-only ride, on the following three conditions.

● The Japan Weak Men’s Center is prohibited from mentioning the rail operator’s name in promoting the event.
● The display of “men-only” signs or placards inside the carriage is prohibited.
● Media organizations are prohibited from taking photos or videos of the train interior during the event.

That first condition might sound like a complete deal breaker, but it’s actually not as big an issue as it seems. In its announcement for the event, the Center simply told anyone wishing to ride its men-only train to meet at a pedestrian bridge near JR Tennoji Station on November 17 by 12:45 p.m., where event organizers would give tickets to the first 30 people to show up (remember, technically the Center is renting out the entire train, so from the rail operator’s viewpoint, it’s already getting paid directly from the Center). After assembling, the group would walk to the similarly named nearby Tennoji-ekimae Station and catch the 1 p.m. train bound for Hamadera-ekimae Station, where the train would then make a U-turn and come back to Tennoji-ekimae Station, with the whole ride lasting about two and a half hours.

▼ Rail route from Tennoji-ekimae Station to Hamadera-ekimae Station

However, on the night of November 5 the Japan Weak Men’s Center suddenly announced, through its Twitter account, that “the Osaka men-only train event planned for November 17 has been cancelled,” and that further details regarding the circumstance of the decision will be discussed at a later time.

As of this writing, it’s unknown whether the decision was made by the Japan Weak Men’s Center or the rail operator, but it’s pretty clear that the rail operator doesn’t want its name associated with the event. The only rail line connecting Tennoji-ekimae Station and Hamadera-ekimae Station, though, is the Hankai Uemachi Line on the Hankai Tramway network, operated by Hankai Tramway Co., Ltd., so it’s not like the company was going to be able to completely disassociate itself with the event.

▼ A Hankai Tramway streetcar

【夜のモ504号車】

夜の早い時間ですが、いつもの帰り道横を走行していました
前照灯、明るいですね#阪堺電車 pic.twitter.com/zIpgk4dW5B

— 阪堺電車【公式】 (@hankai_official) October 15, 2024

Meanwhile, for the Japan Weak Men’s Center’s part, not being able to showcase photos and videos of the event limits its effectiveness as an awareness-raising initiative, so it’s possible that both sides came to see that they weren’t going to be able to work with each other and mutually decided to call the whole thing off.

Source: Sankei Shimbun via Hachima Kiko, Twitter/@jwmc_or_jp
Top image: Pakutaso
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Getting there can be a little complex, but it’s all worth it once you see the views.

With the warmth of the summer sun having now faded away in Japan, it’s time to shift our outdoor fun destinations from the beaches to the mountains. Luckily Japan has plenty of places where you can enjoy beautiful alpine scenery, and one of the very best, Nagano Prefecture’s Kamikochi region, is where we recently headed for an overnight trip.

Kamikochi is part of the city of Matsumoto, located in the western part of Nagano. If you’re headed there from Tokyo, you’ll want to start by making your way to Tokyo’s Hachioji Station, where you can hop on the Azusa limited express train for the ride to Matsumoto Station, which takes a little under two and a half hours. At Matsumoto you can transfer to the Kamikochi Line and take it for 30 minutes to Shinshimashima Station.

▼ Some of the Kamikochi Line trains feature artwork of its mascot character Nagisa Endo.

Right outside Shinshimashima Station (which is the last stop of the line) is a bus terminal, and here’s where you catch the bus that’ll take you the rest of the way to Kamikochi. For nature conservation reasons, traffic is limited to buses and taxis on the roads leading into Kamikochi; no private cars allowed.

The bus takes about an hour, but it also treats you to some lovely views as you climb higher into the mountains, following the Azusa River for a stretch and passing by a series of dams, so you’ll probably want to keep your camera ready during the ride.

And when you finally do get off the bus? Kamikochi doesn’t waste any time making you feel like it was worth it, especially if you arrive on a day like we did where the sky is as blue as the crystalline mountain streams.

Kamikochi can be used as a staging area for long-distance hikes/camping trips deeper in the mountains, but the most popular area is the river basin around the Kappabashi suspension bridge, which has a number of nature walks, as well as lodges, stores, and other travel infrastructure. Since we were going to be spending the night at the Imperial Hotel, we got off the bus at the Teikoku Hotel-mae (“In Front of Imperial Hotel”) stop so we could drop our bags at the front desk, then headed out to explore.

We made our visit in early October, before the leaves started to change to their autumn colors, but the contrast between the green forest, blue sky, and white clouds took our breath away time and time again as we headed towards Kappabashi.

While in Kamikochi, you’ll probably spot depictions of Walter Weston, an English missionary who lived in Japan between 1889 and 1895. Weston’s proudly professed fondness for Kamikochi is considered to have helped establish alpine hiking as a recreational activity in Japan, and he was a founding member of the Japanese Alpine Club outdoors society. A monument to Weston, with a relief likeness of him, is in place on the western side of the river south of Kappabashi.

Though it’s high up in the mountains, this section of Kamikochi’s hiking paths is relatively flat. You wouldn’t want to show up in sandals or heels, but you don’t necessarily need full-on hiking boots. Comfortable walking shoes will do the trick, although you’ll probably want to have on a pair you don’t mind getting dirty or muddy.

From the Teikoku Hotel-mae bus stop it’s about a 15-minute walk to Kappabashi, and the bridge is every bit as picturesque as its reputation claims, stretching across the river and nicely framing the valley behind it that rises to the top of the basin.

▼ Imperial Hotel to Kappabashi

Near the bridge is the Kamikochi Bus Terminal, which is as far into Kamikochi as you can go by motor vehicle. This also makes it pretty crowded with travelers, especially if you show up on a weekend. With a campground, a couple of restaurants, food stalls, and souvenir shops, the area around the bridge is a good place to grab a bite to eat and stock up on snacks, or even to knock back a locally brewed beer if you’re already on the way back from your nature walk.

▼ Canned wild boar and bear meat

Having stopped to eat lunch, it was now about 3 p.m., but since we still had some daylight, we decided to check out the Dakezawa Wetlands, which are to the northwest of the bridge.

▼ Kappabashi to Dakezawa Wetlands

Certain sections of the trails are actually wooden planks built up above the brush, so you’ll want to watch your step, while also keeping an eye out for bears.

Since bear attacks are often caused by the animals being startled by the sudden presence of humans, rather than a genuine desire to attack or eat them, it’s recommended to affix a small bell or radio to your bag or belt when hiking in Japan, so that any bears in the area will hear you before they see you and not get spooked. Some parts of the Kamikochi trails also have larger fixed-in-place bear bells, which you’re supposed to ring as you walk past as a further auditory announcement.

The Dakezawa Wetlands are well worth the 15-minute walk from Kappabashi, with a ruggedly tranquil beauty that was further enhanced by the lengthening shadows of the late afternoon…

…and on the way back we got a special treat…

…when we encountered a group of monkeys! Apparently groups of them sometimes wander down into the river basin to forage for nuts and berries, and they’ve become somewhat accustomed to being around humans. They are still wild animals, though, so you shouldn’t try to pet or touch them, and avoiding eye contact is also recommended so that they don’t feel threatened and respond with aggression.

With natural scenery and outdoor activities being the draws in Kamikochi, there’s not much to do once the sun goes down, which is part of why we’d decided to splurge on a night in the Imperial Hotel, which has been in business for close to 100 years. We’ll be back soon with our report on the place plus more of the area’s outdoor charms with part two of our Kamikochi trip!

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