Kamikochi (Paradise)

Kamikochi
From Takayama we took a day trip Kamikochi to do some walks. 

Kamikochi is a valley within the Hida Mountains range in Nagano Prefecture and part of the Chubu Sangaku National Park. It is sometimes compared with Yosemite Valley, California. The mountains bordering Kamikochi reach 3,190 metres and include Mount Yake, an active volcano. Lake Taisho was formed by the Mount Yake eruption of 1915.

The stunning landscapes that greeted us were simply spectacular and not what I would necessarily have pictured to find in Japan. (Just from simply not knowing enough about Japan!) The Azusa river has beautiful clear, sparkly water and there are breathtaking views throughout the valley. Hopefully our photos capture even a tenth of its beauty.

The area was previously used for logging until the mid-19^th century. It is now heavily protected. Private vehicles have been restricted from entering the park and there is only modest development within it. (The public transport in is also on the pricey side.) These factors combine to make for some very peaceful walking. The facilities that are present are of a high quality and it is a nice atmosphere. It would be great to come back and do some mountain hiking and perhaps camp for a few nights. 

Tips for Kamikochi:

Website: www.kamikochi.org - really good English resources on how to get there

Opening season: Mid/late April to November 15

Climbing peaks: mid June and mid September

Getting there: 4900JPY return bus from Takayama (transferring at Hirayuno-Mori), takes about 1h45m.

Walking around

There is a park visitor centre with maps to purchase and information. Simple map below.

Recommend including Taisho Pond in your walk (either getting off the bus there early or walking there). The last bus left from Kamikochi bus terminal at 17.00 when we were there and went past Taisho Pond approximately 17:10. 

Suggestion to go to Hirayuno-Mori Hot Springs (we didn't but looked great)
Open 10am-9pm 500JPY bathing fee

General map of the park

Relaxation and regeneration at a ryokan

Arriving in Takayama we were both excited and a bit nervous about our first foray into Japanese bathing. We had read up on etiquette for the unique experience (for example see this tourism bureau site) and felt at least somewhat prepared to bathe naked with strangers! 

A number of friends recommend we visit a ryokan during our stay in Japan both for the bathing, meals and service. In fact, it made it into our list of travel dreams. A ryokan is a traditional style of accommodation that originates from the Edo period- a time of peace that meant travel was safe. A ryokan usually makes use of Japan's geothermal energy by way of an onsen (hot spring).

We chose Oyada Yamakyu which came highly recommended by our friends, Scott and Bianca. After hearing their descriptions, I was especially keen to try some of the local food.

A complimentary ryokan shuttle from the train station brought us up the hill to Oyada Yamakyu where we were shown to our room for a tea. After enjoying our tea and small snack, I wanted to get into my yukata and then the baths as soon as possible. 

Despite our pre-reading efforts I still was not one hundred per cent sure on the procedure. I was however certain that I would not try and balance my towel on my head (the traditional way) because I would likely drop it in the water. This would make it unclean and is definitely frowned upon. Rob and I went our separate ways, wishing each other an enjoyable bath! 

In our gear

It is important to shower before entering the water and before getting there I was a bit unclear on where the showers were located in relation to the baths. Luckily everything was very self-explanatory when I got there. The first area, a changing room, was well equipped with an amusing cartoon explaining the "do's and don't's". Finally mustering up the courage to take off my yakuta, I stepped into the shower and bathing area to find...absolutely noone! 

Not the actual cartoon from the ryokan but the general idea
Source: Travel Japan

Rob and I found each of our three baths a very peaceful and relaxing experience. Possibly me more than him because I always seemed to get the baths to myself! Although, it must be pointed out that it was Rob that apparently had an uncontrollable urge to sleep after his first bath. It wasn't long before he was knocked out on the tatami mats!

Hard work those baths

Both the men's bathing space and the women's had a large indoor bath and a smaller outdoor tub. As each space was different from the other, they swapped the men's and women's and midnight so you could experience both. The baths were lovely but too hot to last in there very long. 

Post-nap walk to the ryokan's garden in our outdoor coats

A highlight of our stay, as promised, was the amazing food. I enjoyed trying so many different foods and was surprised that I liked almost everything I was given. Rob did well to sample things he perhaps would not usually even look at. We were a bit slack with the photos but I did capture Rob enjoying dinner mid-meal at dinner and breakfast. The sake was also fantastic.

Huge variety at our ryokan dinner

Breakfast times

The Japanese are exceptional at utilising small spaces both efficiently and in an aesthetically pleasing manner! It is not often I rave about bathroom doors (and toilets for that matter!) but this was something special. We are really enjoying the often simplistic but beautiful designs inside Japanese rooms. Not long after dinner our "tea room" was converted into our bedroom, all ready for us after our second bath for the day. 

Tatami mats are our new best friends

The ryokan had great little touches like this laptop booth!

We had a great stay at Oyada Yamakyu and found it excellent value. It was certainly a unique and relaxing experience that left us feeling like the cleanest we had ever been!

Kinabalu National Park and the Poring Hot Springs

Still holding onto various symptoms of illness, on Saturday 17^th, we moved in a haze to the Kota Kinabalu bus station hoping to both find an ATM and buy our tickets to the “D’Villa Rina Ria”, our accommodation which we knew to be somewhere near the gate of the Kinabalu National Park.  I say somewhere near the gate, because D’Villa’s website did not really provide an address as much as it did directions on how to get there.  I don’t like directions so much as I like to look things up on Google Maps and understand where they are.  In this case, D’Villa was in either of 2 places, one inside the park, and one outside a few kilometres from the park entrance – should the map be believed. 

In standard Dolphin Sands Road style, there was a problem.  Every ATM within coo-ee of the bus station was out of order and the bus left in 15 minutes.  We didn’t want to take a later one as we actually had quite a lot planned for the day, so on we hopped with about 40 Ringgit left to our names.

The bus was one of the most comfortable I have ever travelled on, even on the top floor along those ridiculously windy roads.  Kat had no sign of her travel sickness and my back pain was starting to subside. It would have been lovely to take that bus all the way through to Sandakan, but after only 1.5-2 hours we had arrived at the Kinabalu National Park gate.  The conductor told me we were the next stop and we prepared ourselves.  It turned out that the next stop was about only 500m down the road.  Before we knew it, we were standing next to a tiny little shop with one of those funny kids’ toy dispensers at the front, with our bags at our feet in a gathering cloud of dust as the bus started to push on the remaining 5 hours to Sandakan.

At this point, Kat said “well, we’re obviously in the wrong place”.  I laughed at her and then grabbed this photo as the bus departed and cleared the view across the road.

Finding D'Villa Rina Ria

After dropping our gear we bee-lined for the Kinabalu NP to look at some of the walks.  We had already decided against attempting to summit the famous Mt Kinabalu due to cost, our pending visit to Nepal and our lingering illnesses. While it would have been quite the spectacle, there’s also a lot of trails to investigate down below, and only a small number of tourists to share it with. (Most appearing to prefer to take photos with the sign outside rather than walking in the park!)

Mt Kinabalu from the top (what we missed!)

 

We chose to do the Pandanus and then the Kiau View trails.  Rather short walks on their own.  As we were now much higher than the muggy Kota Kinabalu, it was refreshingly cool and the mist floated through the trees giving our walk a mystical appeal.  Here was where we really started putting the camera through its paces, as the sounds of the cars, buses and trucks faded away, we were alone in the jungle. 

When jungles attack

All this we managed to achieve before lunch which we decided to take in Ranau, after finding an ATM to pay for it.  Here’s where the next problem developed.  We needed to get to Ranau first. 

Most of the buses travelling through this road are going to Sandakan, and most have already passed through by 11am.  We spent a solid 90 minutes from 12.45-1.15 waiting for a “mini-bas” or “bas ekspress” that didn’t exist to come, because we were too stubborn to pay for a private bus, or a taxi (and we couldn’t afford it at this point anyway).  This waiting was not uneventful, as we were joined by a limping American (who had also explored the trails at the base of the mountain) and wanted to see “how the transport system actually worked” – I don’t know that we were really suitable subjects for his study.  Not only that, but Kat took the opportunity to STEAL A BABY! (Not true, the woman below asked Kat for a photo with her baby, while I was taking another photo for a group of guys, I turned around and BHAM!  Kat had a baby). 



Stealing babies

Eventually we hitched a ride with a lovely young guy called Benny.  Or at least he seemed lovely, he wasn’t that talkative, I wonder if perhaps he just pulled over to have a story of two strange Australians he picked up on the road to Ranau. 

Successfully extracting cash from a helpful hole-in-the-wall, we enjoyed a yummy lunch of Tom Yum soup and Nasi Goreng and then attempted the next challenge, getting to Poring Hot Springs.  Being 2.30 in the afternoon, saying that we were already pushing it would be an understatement.  Long story short (too late), without being able to find a bus headed in that direction, our only real option was to hire a taxi both to get us to Poring, and then hang around for the return trip to D’Villa, which he promised to do for less than any bus service available at Poring.  The driver was a cheerful guy named Steven, whose car was a mobile advertisement for Apple (with stickers all over it), although I noted he used a Samsung mobile phone.

The development of Poring Hot Springs was actually influenced by the Japanese occupation (from 1941-43).  They are also the site of an amazing canopy walk and butterfly park.  We enjoyed the canopy walk before relaxing in the deep and very simple-to-use-except-for-the-plug baths. 

A view of the forest canopy

We met a number of other tourists either just there for the day or who were recovering from the mammoth climb up and down Mt Kinabalu. 

Successfully pulled out the plug

All in all, we would have liked to:

a) Been a little more savvy about the travel arrangements, paying more than you need for taxis just makes you feel a little silly. This whole adventure would have been easier with our own car/motorbike, or even with a larger group of people that could keep costs down. (Mind you, this area is not really set up for independent travel.)

b) Do more of the lower altitude Kinabalu NP walks, we could have allowed a little more time for this and not been sick.

c) Remembered the limping American’s name (he had been living working in China for the last 4 years and sounded like he has some interesting stories to share).

 Costs worth talking about:

• Bas Ekspress – RM30 – KK >> Kinabalu NP.
• Taxi - RM40 Ranau >> Poring Hot Springs.
• Taxi - RM60 Poring >> D’Villa Rina Ria (Kinabalu NP gate) – Steven gave us RM10 off his quoted price, because he was nice or over-quoted us in the first place, you decide which.
• Kinabalua NP entry – RM15 (also gets you into the Hot Springs if same day).
• Poring Canopy Walk – RM10 + RM10 camera fee.