Kamikochi Travel Guide

tired and muddy we arrived to a place where the trekking path gradually became more horisontal and ahhh....what an amazing view awaited us there....the valley of kamikochi with its wide river of turqoise waters, and the ever so majestic mountains on the background....that very moment we forgot all the dirt and pain...and walked by the river to a nearest place that had something edible to offer :)) it was maybe 12 pm and we`d started 6 in the morning....very nice day trek/slide!!!

the descend proved to be more demanding than the ascend, first it felt like a decent nut to crack but after a while of pooring rain, it turned into a lovely mud slide!!! hihiii!!! it was slippery with vertical muddy drops that were impossible to do unless sliding down on ur bum!!! and the mud was all over me :)) hehe but why would you care, just slide and have fun!!! it was not as fun for the people who were climbing the track up!!! in our last moments we met a group of four who seemed desperate trying to ascend the steep mud slide slopes :)) they had hope though, after this difficult journey they would be rewarded at the peak above the clouds with a great clear sunny view of the beautiful mountain range....and they asked us "is there sun at the peak?" and we oh so unwilling to lie, let them know that as a matter of fact the peak seemed to be in a thick layer of fog :D hehe!!!

finally we reached a camping ground near the top where hikers were just starting collect their stuff and getting ready for the days journey. at that point, the peak of shin-hotaka is about 40 minutes hike away. we decided not to ascend to the top due to the unstable weather conditions, the peak was in a cloud and there would be near 0 visibility. from there, the only way for day hikers is down, and so we started to descend, accompanied by an evolving rain storm :)) we got on our rain gear and headed for the valley of kamikochi on hotaka-dake`s other side....here we come nagano-ken!!!

so as we had only one day to spend on hiking, we decided to use the cable car to go up a bit, otherwise a hike to the other side of hotaka-dake would be impossible in one day. at the final station we took a hiking trail leading towards the top near 3000 meters. we hiked up about one hour a practically vertical ascend. the views were fantastic, but the weather was unfortunately unfavourable; it had been raining and the fog was occasionally blocking the view and the trail was slippery and muddy...however, the beauty of the nature won over with its luscious greens and mountain streams :))

well we drove all night from kobe city up to takayama, and when we arrived there in the early morning we took a short nap in the car after a morning coffee at a local joint :)) then the whole first day we spent exploring the pretty city of takayama (see my takayama pages coming up very soon!!) in the evening after dinner, we followed the narrow mountain roads to the hot spring resort of shin-hotaka :)) we slept there until 5 in the morning when the shin-hotaka cable car station opens and takes the early risers up towards the top of hotaka-dake 3190meters :))

this is what everyone comes to do; either gentle one day walks/hikes or demanding 3-day trekking around the Chubu National Park, of which kamikochi is a part. the treks lasting more than a day are demanding, so do not get out there without appropriate equipment and guidance!!! and without adequate physical condition!!! sometimes you really find a wall in front of you to conquer!!!