I went to Kamikochi in Nagano Prefecture.
The clear Azusa River shrouded in morning mist, the steep Hotaka mountain range shining in the morning sun, and the unbelievably beautiful Myojin Pond.
It was my first time experiencing all of these things, and I was so engrossed in watching them that I lost track of time.
It was also great to be able to soak in a hot spring at the end of the hike. When I closed my eyes in the open-air bath, the scenery I had seen so far and the feelings I had on getting there came back to me vividly.
...Ah, I am spending my time in an incredibly luxurious way right now.
I thought to myself that maybe this was the peak of my life (incidentally, I tend to feel like I'm at the peak of my life several times a year).
But the road to that happiness wasn't a smooth one.
The path we walked in Kamikochi was not flat, but the road leading up to the morning of the day we reached the summit was also quite rough.
The person who came up with the idea for the trip was Mr. S.
Mr. S, a former Bokumo staff member and a friend of mine for over 20 years, is a travel expert.
"Hey, why don't we all go to Kamikochi sometime?"
This topic came up when the Bokumo alumni got together this spring, and before we knew it, Mr. S, who is also a Kamikochi master, had put together a schedule and the trip was made a reality.
According to the master,
"You can't enter Kamikochi by car, so even if you go by car you end up taking a bus, and it's a bit dangerous to drive long distances after being tired from hiking.
Considering the convenience and the time you will spend there, it is best to take a late night bus and come back by an evening bus."
Of course, I decided to go along with the master's plan.
However, if we were to make such a plan at the counter of Bokumo, everyone would
"Mr. Iwasu, you're so young taking a late-night bus."
"I don't think I could walk early in the morning,"
He says scary things like, "Your body is aching and you'll be feeling unwell for a week."
I was excited to have all my old friends get together and go on a trip, and that was the only thought that got me thinking, so I said, "Let's go." But then, after thinking about it, I started to worry that taking a late-night bus and then hiking long distances might be too much for a 47-year-old guy like me.
And so, I arrived at Nagoya Station at 11pm feeling half excited and half nervous.
The bus I got on had four rows of seats. As soon as we started moving, I thought this might be bad. The driver was rough. The bus was shaking and swaying.
Of course, I had woken up early that day, intending to sleep in the train. But this rocking... I knew I would lose if I got drunk, so I decided to get some sleep. But the more I thought about it, the more awake I became.
And then, I suddenly remembered.
That's right, when I was a university student, I often went skiing by late-night bus. I also had problems with car sickness then.
However, at that time, I came up with my own solution: I would turn my head as far to the side (it hurt my neck a little, but I could bear it), so that my body was sitting upright but my head was almost inside the futon.
For some reason, this makes my extremely weak semicircular canals a little stronger.
As a result, thanks to the side-of-the-neck strategy that I remembered for the first time in 25 years, although I was sleep-deprived, I was able to arrive at Kamikochi early in the morning, only feeling a little tipsy.
I felt truly relieved, as I no longer had to worry about getting sick and causing trouble for the other members.
And just as I was savoring the sense of relief, the magnificent natural scenery suddenly came into view.
Relief from tension. Squatting and then jumping.
Mountains, trees, rivers and ponds.
Everything touched me deeply. I was moved one after the other.
Even though my legs were getting sore from walking, I was so engrossed I took many photos.
but.
I realized that there was a huge gap between the magnificent panorama in front of me and the scenery captured on my iPhone.
What you see in your hand is just a small part of it. The view before your eyes contains much more.
For example, the emotional journey it takes to get there. The joy of seeing the same scenery with friends and sharing the excitement.
Those feelings, which cannot be reproduced and can only be experienced in the present, make the scenery in front of me even more vivid.
With these thoughts in mind, I trudged along the gentle mountain path.
The total number of steps walked in one day was 30,000.
To be honest, I didn't think I, a weakling with knee and hip problems, could walk this far. I think it was because of the combination of the other members, the scenery, the hot springs (which relieved the tiredness in my legs), and many other good things that I was able to walk.
I'll come back to Kamikochi. It was a really great place.
Thank you, Mr. S, for the wonderful coordination.
E-san, who came from Tokyo by bus, thank you for your hard work in the traffic jam on the way back. Apparently you watched the last episode of VIVANT on the bus. I watched it the next morning. I'd like to share my impressions with everyone again.
Now, where should we go next?
I hope I can experience another moment that I feel is the peak of my life.
