石鎚山
So after going to bed around 3:15 yesterday morning, I woke up just after 6 to go climb the tallest mountain in western Japan, Ishizuchisan (石鎚山). If I remember correctly (I wasn't the one driving), it's on the border of 愛媛県 (Ehime Pref.) and 高知県 (Kochi Pref.), a bit over 2 hours away. Climbing it took about 3.5~4 hours on the way up and maybe around 2 on the way back. Of course I like climbing mountains, but this one was especially fun because there were some places that were just basically a wall of rock with a metal chain hanging down against it that you could climb up. Of course there was the normal route (which mainly consisted of metal platforms and stairs build around the outside of the mountain to bypass the chain sections), but a few of us did all of the chains on the way up and all of us did at least one! Some of these were pretty crazy, and had sections where you basically had to hold on to the chain and pull yourself up it along an almost-vertical section of rock. One of them also had little metal triangles on the chain itself that you could use for footholds, but you had to take some pretty big steps to use them.
The first one we did actually happened to just be a trial/practice chain. We didn't read the sign closely enough and thought it was a shortcut, but it happened to be better off that way. It was a great way to learn that the chains can also be used for going down. Going up was a little scary, and when we got to the top, there was hardly anything up there. Mind you, we were basically enveloped in the mist of the day that didn't clear off until maybe 3:00, so we couldn't see much beyond the rock we were standing on. There was a little monument which is either a small shrine or a "congratulations, you got up here" monument, not really sure what. Anyway, we looked around and didn't know where to go. There was another chain faintly marked for down-use, and Hojin said we go down there. I asked "Are you sure?!" maybe about three times before we all went down, and not without good reason. Climbing up was one thing, climbing down (at least this first time) was bloody scary. It's amazing how well you can actually hold on when it counts.
We also took a harder chain route up at one point by using the chain marked for down on the way up (we were debating it since there were about 1000 people using the up-chain and the line resembled an amusement park but we had no idea it was harder).
Once we got to the top, there was a shop with really really expensive food and drink, and a little shrine (can't believe they actually built that thing up there - must have taken forever!). But that wasn't the actual top, you have to do a little bit more scrambling over rocks to get to the true summit. A couple of us made it the whole way, and I made it most of the way but stopped when I had to cross a section of rock about as wide as me, with forboding mist clouding the seemingly-bottomless drop to my left and rocky tumble to the right. I didn't exactly trust my footing up there (oh yeah, most of the mountain was wet from the mist, and maybe earlier rain, which made climbing and walking up/down much harder), so I didn't go any further. That was basically scary enough for me and I don't have a fear of heights either. If you do, I don't particularly recommend trying this, since there were some points that were scary for those of us not afraid...
Anyway, a couple of us did one more chain on the way back down because they were that much fun, and everyone had their share of slips-and-catches because of the wetness.
Afterward, most of us went to this family's house near こんぴら (Konpira) who apparently enjoys taking care of foreigners in Japan. They basically adopted Hojin for the three years he was living out there as a JET and offered us some dinner, of which I think we all ate too much. Plenty of rice, tenpura, and a huge plate of sashimi of a fish they'd caught too much of the week before. Fell asleep on the train home, got back, and fell asleep again and didn't wake up until about 12:30.
All in all, great mountain, fun day, but I'm certainly feeling it today (mostly in my calves). Gonna go to the gym in about an hour to do upper body because I'm just that much of a glutton for punishment.
The first one we did actually happened to just be a trial/practice chain. We didn't read the sign closely enough and thought it was a shortcut, but it happened to be better off that way. It was a great way to learn that the chains can also be used for going down. Going up was a little scary, and when we got to the top, there was hardly anything up there. Mind you, we were basically enveloped in the mist of the day that didn't clear off until maybe 3:00, so we couldn't see much beyond the rock we were standing on. There was a little monument which is either a small shrine or a "congratulations, you got up here" monument, not really sure what. Anyway, we looked around and didn't know where to go. There was another chain faintly marked for down-use, and Hojin said we go down there. I asked "Are you sure?!" maybe about three times before we all went down, and not without good reason. Climbing up was one thing, climbing down (at least this first time) was bloody scary. It's amazing how well you can actually hold on when it counts.
We also took a harder chain route up at one point by using the chain marked for down on the way up (we were debating it since there were about 1000 people using the up-chain and the line resembled an amusement park but we had no idea it was harder).
Once we got to the top, there was a shop with really really expensive food and drink, and a little shrine (can't believe they actually built that thing up there - must have taken forever!). But that wasn't the actual top, you have to do a little bit more scrambling over rocks to get to the true summit. A couple of us made it the whole way, and I made it most of the way but stopped when I had to cross a section of rock about as wide as me, with forboding mist clouding the seemingly-bottomless drop to my left and rocky tumble to the right. I didn't exactly trust my footing up there (oh yeah, most of the mountain was wet from the mist, and maybe earlier rain, which made climbing and walking up/down much harder), so I didn't go any further. That was basically scary enough for me and I don't have a fear of heights either. If you do, I don't particularly recommend trying this, since there were some points that were scary for those of us not afraid...
Anyway, a couple of us did one more chain on the way back down because they were that much fun, and everyone had their share of slips-and-catches because of the wetness.
Afterward, most of us went to this family's house near こんぴら (Konpira) who apparently enjoys taking care of foreigners in Japan. They basically adopted Hojin for the three years he was living out there as a JET and offered us some dinner, of which I think we all ate too much. Plenty of rice, tenpura, and a huge plate of sashimi of a fish they'd caught too much of the week before. Fell asleep on the train home, got back, and fell asleep again and didn't wake up until about 12:30.
All in all, great mountain, fun day, but I'm certainly feeling it today (mostly in my calves). Gonna go to the gym in about an hour to do upper body because I'm just that much of a glutton for punishment.