The one thing that was missing from the Japanese Alps were Germans. Aside of one American who was the teacher living in Tokyo and a couple from Hong Kong it appeared as though the mountains were almost exclusive to the Japanese. Germans like to hike and they always know where to go. It wasn’t until I was about to board the bus in Kamikochi to return to Matsumoto that I noticed two tall fit hikers looking very European.
I knew right away they were German and asked where all the Germans were. They laughed and said they were wondering the same. They told me at one hut the hosts said they usual only see one group of Germans a year which the even they thought was kind of strange. Like me the Germans were on a 3 week trip around Japan and were mixing it up with hiking. We talked on the bus and they gave me some good ideas on places to see and things to do. They went all out by purchasing a full 3 week JR rail pass which allows travel on high speed trains and were really packing it in.
Back in Matsumoto they headed towards Fuji. I hopped a local train the other direction to Hakuba. Hakuba had my interest as it’s a ski town and was a host venue for the 1998 winter Olympics.
I had one transfer with an hour layover and wandered over to a restaurant with a statue of a pig. When I entered I was enthusiastically greeted as is the case whenever you walk into most any shop, restaurant, convenient store, hotel etc. in Japan. The greeting is usually followed by some degree of bow and smiles. Since I can’t understand everything that’s being said I keep it simple with two words, “Konnichiwa”, (Hello) and “Arigato” (Thank You). These two words mixed with bows and smiles along with common sense and intuition seem to be working well for me. Japan is a fairly formal culture with lots of customs and attention to manners, however, as a tourist I am given a lot of leeway. As with any culture I believe if you are at least trying it goes a long way.
The first thing I did when entering the restaurant was remove my shoes. If you see a shoe rack by the door, that’s your cue. I then sat at the counter and browsed the menu. In most of Asia menus have photos so even if you can’t read the text you can point to what you want. In Japan I’ve found that some restaurants will have an abbreviated menu in creatively translated English. Usually ordinary numbers are shown for the price so that’s not an issue. Since there was a pig in front of the restaurant I assumed I’d be having something with pork. I pointed to a dish marked, “Most Popular”.
Shortly thereafter I was served up a large bowl of noodles in soup broth with some vegetables and pork slices. The pork was a little fatty but very good. A couple of business men were having the same thing and were slurping away which is perfectly acceptable it seems. Keep your conversation low but slurp all you want.
I finished my lunch, paid, was enthusiastically thanked and made my way back to the train station for a slow ride into Hakuba.
The cloud level was low so I couldn’t see the mountains but I could see the bottom of the ski runs and the Olympic ski jumps. I was feeling quite tired when I got off in Hakuba so I went into a tourist information office where the attendant spoke basic English. I requested a reasonably good cheap place to stay for the night. He made a couple of calls and located a room for 4,000 yen ($40). I paid right there and he gave me a voucher and map with the name of the place written in Japanese.
Less than 10 minutes’ walk and I arrived at a building I probably would have just walked by without knowing. It turned out to be a Ryokan. Yes, a hotel but in real Japanese style. I removed my shoes at the door. The woman running the place spoke hardly any English as she showed me around. There was a hot springs fed bath, laundry facilities, a drying room, and my room with reed Tatami Mat Floor and futon. There was also a low table with mats to sit on and supplies for tea.
A Ryokan is usually relatively small with about 6 rooms or so. Facilities are shared and the family owning or running place usually lives on site. The result is a very homey feeling. For a little extra they will usually provide meals. If your seeking a true Japanese experience staying in a Ryokan is the way to go.
Although it wasn’t really what I had in mind for the night it was perfect. My gear was wet and disorganized from the hike so I spread in all out and took the wet stuff to the drying room. I then took a hot springs bath and threw in a load of laundry. The place was really quiet so I more or less had everything to myself. It was perfect for getting sorted. Afterwards I took a walk up the road to see what a Japanese ski village looks like.
The clouds still hung very low so I really couldn’t see the mountains as I walked up to the Happo base area. Everything was very quiet. Very quiet. I roamed around a bit and most everything was closed. Buildings looked worn and un-interesting. Of course, like most any ski town in the northern hemiphere, it’s now off season but Hakuba was totally dead from what I could tell. Maybe there were more interesting parts of the valley to check out. Things did appear spread out. Perhaps having spent several years living in the World Class ski resort of Aspen has my standards set too high but Hakuba was not impressing me. I didn’t see any reason to stay longer than one night. Especially with the poor weather. I returned to the Ryokan and slept well.
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