大杉谷〜大台ケ原｜Osugidani~Odaigahara

１１月の始めに大杉谷から大台ケ原に行ってきた。ちょうど桃ノ木山の家のあたりまで紅葉していて、景色をゆっくり楽しみながらハイキング。途中のシシ淵は夢の世界みたいだった。山奥深い場所にこんな場所があるなんて不思議な気分になる。泊まった桃ノ木山の家はお風呂もあって居心地がいい。次行くときは大杉谷登山口に降りてくるのもいいかな。大杉谷登山口から桃ノ木山の家の景色があまりにも特別だったから。

At the beginning of November, my friend and I went on a hike from Osugidani to Odaigahara. It was a two day hike, staying at a very clean and comfortable Momonoki Hut. We set off pretty early to catch the bus to the entrance of the the path. A police officer got on the bus on the way to warn us to watch our step. Apparently there has been some incidents where people fell while admiring the view. We quickly understood why. Just in time for the autumn leaves, it was easy to just be in awe and not see where we were going. We decided to take it slow to take in the view, stopping every time. After a while, we figured that places where chains  were in place, were the places where we had to take care of the most but at the same time the scenic spots.

The day of the hike is very pleasant with some slippery paths but the best part of the hike in my opinion. Walking along a river the whole time, we get to Shishibuchi, I must say, is one of the most beautiful places I've been. Beautiful pool with a waterfall in the distance. It's like something from a fantasy land. From there, it's about an hour and a half to the hut. The hut serves hot meals and there is even a hot bath.

The second part of the trail is also beautiful but not as special as the first part, I might consider returning the same way back next time. Especially as the second part is more strenuous gaining more than 1000m. 

ひよこ豆の味噌｜Chickpea Miso

一昨年の１２月ひよこ豆で味噌を作ってみた。そして秋にいい感じにできあがり。ちょっとしょっぱめだけどおいしい！豆と麹と塩で簡単に出来るので、今年も作りたいな。ひよこ豆がまだ少し残ってるし、今回は大豆とひよこ豆味噌にしてみようかな。半年くらいかけて少しづつ成長していくのを観察するのも楽しい。

Not last December, but two Decembers ago, I prepared some miso paste with chickpeas. And here it is ready one year on. It was the second time making miso. The first time was at a workshop and it turned out so well that I decided to make some again but with chickpeas this time since a friend who left the country gave me bags of them. 

I'm satisfied with the result except it's a little on the salty side. Less salt next time I think. It's so easy and the waiting process is fun too. Having homemade miso is great! I'll definitely try making another batch this year. All you need is beans, salt and koji. 

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.