オクラ｜Okra

庭のオクラ｜Okra in the garden

オクラを育てるのは今年で２年目。花も楽しめて、形も好き。オクラの実はすぐ大きくなって固くてサクサクになってしまうのでちょこちょこ様子を見ながら収穫をするようにしてる。

It's the second year I've grown okras. I like growing them because the flowers are so pretty and I like how the fruits grow. Last year I only had one plant that survived so just got to harvest one at a time. This year I have a few plants growing so I can harvest a few fruits at a time. Better for cooking. Must watch out for them every few days because they grow pretty fast and overgrown okras are hard not as tasty in my opinion. 

えびの高原｜Ebino Kogen

韓国岳から｜From Mt. Karakuni

７月の半ば、韓国岳の麓にあるキャンプ場にテントを張ってえびの高原で５日間過ごした。時間に余裕があったので、池巡りコースと韓国岳を２回登り、甑岳と高千穂の峰にも行ってきた。

１回目に韓国岳を登ったときは雲のなかでなにも見えなかったけど、２回目は高千穂の峰の方までみれて嬉しかった。池巡りコースもゆっくり楽しめたけど、高千穂の峰はなんだか結構前に富士山を登った時を思い出させるようなガラガラ道できつかった。

やっぱり厳しい登山より楽しめる登山が好なのかなー。

Last month, I spent five days at Ebino Kogen. I stayed at the campsite just at the foot of Mt. Karakuni. It's quite a big campsite but during the week it was pretty empty so I got to know the friendly guys who work there well.

Since I had a lot of time, I went on Ikemeguri trail twice, which takes you on an easy 2 hour walk around the lakes. Hiked up Mt. Karakuni twice and to went to  Mt. Koshiki and Mt. Takachiho-no-mine.

I got the best views from Mt. Karakuni. Ikemeguri trail was also a relaxing leisurely walk.  Climbing Mt. Takachiho-no-mine with all the little rocks that are hard to climb up and scary to climb down reminded me of the time I went up Mt. Fuji, which was not enjoyable to be honest. Which kind of confirms that I'm not that into serious hikes but just like spending time out in the wild.

みょうがの甘酢漬け｜Pickled Myoga Ginger

みょうがの甘酢漬け｜Pickled Myoga Ginger

みょうがの甘酢漬けをつくったら、奇麗なピンク色。酢と砂糖を同じくらいの量で漬けたけど、ちょっと甘いので砂糖半分くらいでいいかも。

I made some pickled myoga. Myoga is a kind of ginger and it goes well with cold noodles in summer. Once pickled with some vinegar and some sugar, it turns into a beautiful colour and it's good to eat on its own. 

天狗棚 井山展望｜Tengudana, Iyama

天狗棚展望台｜Tengudana viewpoint

もみじいちご｜Bramble

井山展望台｜Iyama viewpoint

先週末は豊田市の稲武町に行ってきた。名古屋を朝８時頃出発して、天狗棚の展望台まで登る。途中で何もなさそうな所でカメラを持った夫婦に会った。何を撮っているのかと聞くと、

「そこにマダラクワガタがいるよ。」

「えークワガタ？どこどこ？」

木の上にとてもクワガタとは思えない小さい虫が。体長１センチもない。こんなクワガタもいるんだ。

そのあと井山展望台でお昼。風が強くてお弁当が飛ばされそうになる。井山展望台までの道に黄色い木苺がたくさん。もみじいちごというのみたい。味は甘酸っぱいくて美味しい。水分は多めな感じ。

Last weekend some friends and I went to Inabu, which is a town that is now part of Toyota city. We left Nagoya around eight in the morning and went on a pleasant walk up Tengudana. We were lucky with the weather and got some clear views. We had lunch at Iyama but it was so windy that some of my lunch flew off my chopsticks! We ended up taking a short nap staying close to the ground to avoid the strong winds. Along the path up to Iyama viewpoint, there was a lot of wild raspberries so we had some for starters and for dessert. 

屋久島宮之浦岳(３日目) | Mt. Miyanoura (Day 3)

バス停までの道　(Walking to the next bus stop)

淀川小屋－紀元杉－ヤクスギランド

一晩中雨は降り続けて、朝もまだ雨。外に出るとテント場は水びたし。小屋で寝てよかったー。３日目は淀川小屋から紀元杉のバス停までの長くても２時間位。余裕を持って出発したら、バスの時刻の１時間前にバス停に着いてしまった。雨の中、紀元杉を見に行ったり紅茶を作ったりして時間をつぶす。ところがバスの時刻の２０分経ってもバスが来ない。仕方なく、とりあえず次のバス停まで歩くことに。２時間くらいでヤクスギランドに着いた。

大雨でヤクスギランドから紀元杉間の道は通行止めになったとのこと。ヤクスギランドまでの道はまだ平気なので次のバスを待つことに。バスの時刻の１時間位前になったとき、ヤクスギランドまでの道も通行止めになったとのこと。もう一つ下のバス停まで歩くことに。

また歩き始めたとき、ありがたく車が止まってくれた。朝、淀川小屋で会った夫婦だった。わたしたちが、案房まで降りようと一日掛けている間にその夫婦は宮之浦岳まで登って帰るところだった。

Yodogawa hut - Kigensugi - Yakusugi Land

Third day of the hike would have been an easy hike to the bus stop. It would have just taken us 2 hours at the most if it wasn't for the torrential rain. The plan was to catch the earlier one of the two buses that goes from Kigen-sugi to Anbo.

After a whole night of heavy rain, we woke up to more rain and we were glad that we slept in the hut as the camping ground was flooded. We set off around 7.30 which gave us more than enough time to get to the bus stop in time. We walked to Yodogawa trailhead which was basically like walking in a stream after all the rain. We continued our walk to the bus stop with more than an hour to kill in the rain. We checked out Kigen-sugi and made some tea waiting for the bus.

Finally it was the bus time. But twenty minutes passed with no sign of the bus. With no phone reception and no radio reception, we had no choice but to continue our hike down to the next stop to Yakusugi Land, which was another 2 hour hike. There, we found out that the road was closed because of the heavy rain but the second bus of the day was still scheduled to come to Yakusugi Land, so we decided to wait for the second bus just after three.

About an hour before the bus time, one of the staff came and told us that the second bus was cancelled but there was another bus we could catch down at the next stop. A few minutes into another walk down to the bus stop, a car stopped for us. It turned out to be a couple that we met at Yodogawa hut in the morning when they were on their way up to Mt. Miyanoura. The whole time we were trying to get to Anbo, they had gone up Mt. Miyanoura and back. 

屋久島宮之浦岳(２日目) | Mt. Miyanoura (Day 2)

宮之浦岳 (Mt. Miyanoura)

新高塚小屋－永田岳－宮之浦岳－淀川小屋

２日目は５時頃テントをしまって出発した。わたしたちが出発一番最後の方だったかな。景色がよく見える場所ががいくつかあるので楽しみながら登れる。前の日に高塚小屋で「永田岳は天気は良かったら登った方がいいよ」と教えてもらったので、登ることにした。

永田岳からは　永田のいなか浜までよく見える。そこからは、天気は下り坂で、宮之浦岳の頂上に着いたころは、雲の中。淀川小屋に着いたころは、雨も強く降っていた。淀川小屋では雨もひどかったので、テントではなく小屋で寝ることに。途中の花之江河も奇麗な感じだったので、また行く機会があったらそこでももう少し時間をとってもいいなー。

Shin-takatsuka hut - Mt. Nagata - Mt. Miyanoura - Yodogawa hut

On the second day, we set off around 5am. Most of the other hikers had left by then. We had another sunny morning and got some magnificent views. We heard from some hikers that we met on the way that the view from Mt. Nagata is beautiful so we decided to take a short detour and I'm glad we did. You could see down to Nagata beach where the sea turtles come and lay eggs.

That was the last bit of sun we got that day. As we made our way to Mt. Miyanoura, thick clouds started rolling in and by the time we got to Yodogawa hut it was pouring. There is a beautiful marshland on the way, Hananoe. I wouldn't mind going back there and spending some time exploring that area. 

屋久島宮之浦岳(１日目) | Mt. Miyanoura (Day 1)

縄文杉 (Jomon-sugi)

白谷雲水峡－縄文杉－新高塚小屋

先月友達と宮之浦岳を登りに行った。台風の次の日で晴れた一日で景色も奇麗に見えた。朝宮浦からバスに乗って９時頃白谷雲水峡に着いた。

白谷雲水峡から辻峠までは写真でよく見る屋久島らしい苔の森や滝などを通って楽しめる道。辻峠から太鼓岩まで登って、少し休んでからさらに歩いて、トロッコ道にでる。この道は楽なのだけど、とても長く感じる。後から地図を確認したら近道があるみたい。

そこから、ウィルソン株で一休みして、高塚小屋にでる。この小屋は新しく建て直されてていて、新高塚小屋より新しいみたい。縄文杉からさらに登って新高塚小屋でテントを張った。小屋は混雑していたみたい。

白谷雲水峡と、トロッコ道から縄文杉まではゴールデンウィーク後の平日だったのに、かなりの人通りでびっくり。できるだけ、休日は避けたほうが楽しめると思う。

Shiratani Unsuikyo - Jomon-sugi - Shin-takatsuka Hut

A friend and I went to Yakushima to go hiking up Mt. Miyanoura last month. It was a day after the typhoon had passed so we were lucky to have clear skies. We caught the bus from Miyanoura to Shiratani Unsuikyo. It's a thirty minute bus ride from the town and gets us there at around nine o'clock.

It's a pleasant hike from Shiratani Unsuikyo to Tsujitoge. Going through the moss forests. At Tsuji toge, we went up to Taiko Iwa where we got a magnificent view. After that we got to the railroad tracks which goes on forever. Apparently there is a shortcut going over the hill instead of following the rail tracks all around.

After a mini break at Wilson stump and a long hike uphill, we got to Jomon-sugi. There were quite a lot of people on the trail even though it was a weekday after Golden Week holidays. So I would avoid weekends and holidays as much as possible. Old Takatsuka hut just by Jomon-sugi has now actually been rebuilt so it is newer than Shin-takatsuka hut.

We got to Shin-takatsuka around four thirty and camped there to make the second day of our hike more manageable.