Day 4
Tuesday
We started our day with On Sen.
They exchanged bath houses for men and women over the night.
Short red and blue curtains over the top part of doors were swapped.
The part of On Sen allocated for women this morning was bigger and extremely aged.
A narrow rectangular space met me with indiviudal showers and stools at right
and two big tubs at left which opened to a bigger square section with wall sized windows
at both sides.
There were two big bath tubs and two small round tubs inside.
Espeically the main tubs were made of ancient wood which felt a little slimy on my feet.
I saw old fashioned fluorescent lights were precariously dangling at the high ceiling
with rust marks here and there.
I might have seen that some undefinable particles were floating
on the water surface and old wood made water look slighly brown colored.
But I dismissed this paranoia and tried to focus on their good quality of real original hot spring.
Always simply dipping in hot spring water miraculously made you feel refreshed afterwards.
Your skins shone and felt amazingly smooth.
Typical Japanese style breakfast was set for us at the dinning hall where we had dinner last night.
Separately they had a table on which we could get salad,fruits and drinks as much as possible.
After breakfast we drank coffee from a machine which was prepared at a different room near On Sen.
We left Hotel around 8:30am for Asahi Dake hike.
It took only 5 minutes from our hotel to Asahi Dake Ropeway station.
It was fairly quiet at the station.
Only a few cars were parked.
After a few days without doing any physical activities I started feeling real excited
looking the views down from the moving cable car window.
When we arrived at the top staion suddenly it started pouring with rain.
Almost too soon it became very bleak with strong winds and heavy rain.
People working at the information centre didn't encourage us for hiking to top of Asahi Dake.
They tried to convince us to do a shorter stroll observing ponds and sulphurous vents along the
craters.
They threantened us about getting easily lost at the top with this terrible weather and bears etc.
In fact there were reports about bears' appearances in Daisetsuzan National Park until recently.
However we were highly experenced hikers with rain gears and warm clothes.
Plus bear bells!
(Eddie was very upset I only purchaed two instead of three, especilly not the one he liked.
It was too big.)
We were unpertubed....almost.
Except bear part in my mind.
We sat inside the small shop patiently looking outside the window waiting for the rain alleviate.
It was crowded with animatedly chatting people.
I was not sure what those people were up to.
Were they waiting for the rain to stop to go climbing Mt Asahi Dake like us?
Eddie went to look what it was like outside on the trail and came back a little later to fetch us.
He confirmed it would be ok.
So we walked out to the wet track tentatively at 10am.
Rain was softer than before actually.
We soon passed a stone hut from where we started climbing up the hills.
Rain stopped miraculously by that point and we were able to relax and look around the environment.
I could see a few people down around the ponds but no one was climbing up except us.
Surrounding lower part of mountains were green.
But our trail was desolete filled with rocks,stones and dirts where no plants could survive like tyical volcanic
mountains.
Down left were seen lakes and alive volcanoes made big eruptive noises splashing tall white clouds and
sulpur smells all over.
You were more likely to have this misconception at that point that the walk to the peak would be an easy one
looking up the not so difficult looking shape of mountain.
We forgot about all the tensions we had at the station waiting for the rain to stop.
We walked on .
When we passed almost two thirds of the hill we came across a man.
He was swiftly walking down.
I saw him down at the top station and he looked anxious walking around in his blue thin jacket.
First I thought he's already been to the peak.
But it couldn't be that quick.
We couldn't see his foot prints nor anyone else's from the top of a lower hill.
We were certain we were the first ones who reached the peak of Asahi Dake that day.
With the snow covered on the trail it was easy to conclude.
Track rounded when we got the top of a hill into a slightly flat curve to the left.
Weather was dramaticlly changed again.
Winds freezingly blew to us and snow was already heavily stacked on the trail.
We covered ourselves with beanies,scarf and thick gloves and moved our steps staggering.
Soon steep inclines waiting for us.
I couldn't see where the mountain peak was.
I got scared immediately.
I wanted to stop based on this sudden overwhelming uncertainty and insecurity.
This was my first time when I wanted to stop in the middle of hiking.
I was suddenly reminded of what the rangers said.
Blizzard and bears...getting lost, dangerous...etc
Eddie told me to turn around and he could catch up with me soon.
I expected Suze was with me but this time she was determined to complete the task to my surprise.
She soothingly told me, mum it's only 100 metres(?), we're there in no time, we can do that.
I knew I could do that.
But for a spilt second of time I was possesed with an undefined phobia.
I started moving my feet to up not to down.
My anxiety was still there but my decision was made.
Also the strongest gale suddlenly softened after the hell point(?)
and I wondered to myself why I got that scared stupidly.
Like a child.
I told Suze thanks millions of times for encouraging me to keep going.
Unlike Eddie, she was my angel.
Usually I did that to her but this time she actied like a mum.
We were at the top of Ashai Dake.
As soon as we got there exptremely thick fogs started emerging from no where.
At least we had a clear view for a short time over the mountains.
But then everything was covered with this opaque scary thing too quickly.
We tried to wait a little to see if this deep mist would be scattered soon.
It didn't show any sign to go away so we decided to climb down.
Fog tenaciously wrapped us so thick we couldn't see anything around us.
It's like we were confined in deep sea of fogs.
Eddie suddenly started singing all sorts of strange songs randomly.
Loudly.
Urged us to do so with him.
I thought he got scared of any possibility of meeting bears or so
which made me shiver and goose bumped.
We tried to quicken our steps as much as we could trying to escape from the fear
zone.
Soon we found ourselves in the lower part of a hill and fogs kept scattered and reassembled
by turns.
We saw a couple of young people coming up wearing unsuitably thin and short clothes
for the weather especially for the last part of the track.
I was shocked and concerned.
Finally we were at the fog free and anxiety free zone near the foot of the mountain.
We met a few more people coming up leisurely.
I felt amused when I saw unconcerned people down there with the peaceful clear weather
oblivious about snow stacked mountain top with precarious weather changes.
What a dramatic short hike with consecutive shock elements I had today I thought.
It was 1:40 pm when we arrived back at the shop of Top Ropeway station.
Many people were strolling around ponds and craters.
Never did these people know about my morning's suspense and mountain tops' extreme
dramas.
I thought to myself.
All's well that ends well.
I forgot about every dramas and predicaments I came across today easily.
And allowed willingly myself to enjoy after-hike-euphoria.
Thanks Suze once again.
Thanks to you I'd been able to be at the peak of Asahai dake today.
Love you.
