It was a humbling experience.
Old folks spotting Goretex boots and heaving 50-litre Lowe Alpine packs marched passed us. Up ahead women old enough to be my granny skipped and shuffled over the boulders towards us, having apparently completed their morning stroll up Mt. Kurodake.
As we stand aside to let them through, these courteous Japanese would invariably bow slightly and greet us.
Each time i’d bow back, soaked T-shirt and all, and smile sheepishly from behind my fogged-up glasses, trying to tell them this was my stroll in the park. With sweat cascading down my face and streaming off my chin, i doubt i looked convincing.
Sounkyo Spa was one of the first places i included in our Hokkaido itinerary. It is located in Daisetsuzan National Park which claimed to have the most beautiful scenery in Japan. And of cause it is conveniently located at the foot Mt. Kurodake which was how i ended up in that sorry state.
Mt. Kurodake isn’t the highest and most famous peak in Japan – Mt. Fuji has a monopoly on that. But it’s location at a popular spa resort meant that most people who come to Hokkaido would probably have heard of it. Many, like me, would attempt a climb.
What better as a good workout before soaking inside the natural hot spring that Sounkyo is famous for?
It’s height at 1,984m wasn’t too intimidating either – at least on paper.
Let me assure you that on that muddy, boulder-strewn path, “1,984m” became, well, meaningless. In that 1.5 hrs (yes it was only that long, see my next entry for more elaboration), i had looked up many times with hope, only to see the path meander on up the luscious slope before disappearing in the mist.
Before long, looks of hope gave way to furtive glances of dread.
Read on…
