Japan day 14
Slept badly in the communal sleeping room, though that hasn’t really been a major problem for me before. Got probably four hours before I got up to watch a magnificent sunrise from the mountain ridge. In the far distant i saw a completely triangular shape but with the tip removed . It looked like a cardboard cutout, but a female hiker confirmed that it was in fact Mount Fuji.
Right after that, yes at five a.m. was the communal breakfast. It was mediocre, but for once I got to talk to some of the natives. They were out here to climb no less than three peaks, but agreed that the last part of Mount Yari was kind of sketchy.
Made my way down the other side of the ridge line as I was aiming for Kamikochi. The first part was rocky and uneven, but at least there weren’t steep drop offs and the views were nice.
Things went quite slowly as I was careful with my footings, but eventually vegetation started to reappear, which revealed a lush green valley with surprisingly steep mountains around it. An idyllic river was flowing at the bottom, and the temperature was pleasant. This was Kamikochi, which I guess you could call Japan’s Yosemite Valley, as it is both very popular and spectacular. The trail flattened and the going got very easy, so I soon made it to a bus stop and got back to Matsumoto.
