There was a New York Times article about Mt. Takao that called it "a mountain of tranquility." This is a little like saying the subways are really spacious and it's easy to get a seat - sure, at 5 am. Mt. Takao is a vast expanse of meditative natural surroundings, say, on a drizzly Wednesday. If you want to go at a time that's sort of mainstream convenient, like a gorgeous holiday weekend, congratulations. You just had the same good idea as 5 million of your closest friends.
We got in line and filed up a paved switchback, stood in a few lines for icecream and gave up without getting any, and then came back down a trail that was more of a trail. It felt like some kind of forced evacuation through the woods. Lots of kids had wooden walking sticks with bells on them to scare off bears. I'm sure any bears in a 20-mile radius were cowering in their caves waiting for the holiday weekend to end. There were also a few misguided trailrunners all geared up in high-performance spandex and camelbacks trying, comically, to weave through the throngs.
We relaxed later at an onsen that was a free shuttle bus ride away from Takaosan-guchi station. We were early and were lucky to get seats instead of standing for the 20-minute ride through traffic. The baths were nice, after a 10-minute line at the front counter. The place subscribes to this odd Japanese notion that adding "pi" or "pia" to the end of a word makes it sound fun, so it was called "Takao no Yu Furo-pi," which sort of roughly translates as "Takao Hot Spring Bath-y!" They rendered it in "English" as "Froppy." The baths were a bargain at 800 yen, and, after the initial wave of senior citizens washed up and went upstairs to pass out in TV recliner chairs, spacious and relaxing - a rare quality for anything worth doing during a holiday weekend.
If you know of anything else that's not maddening to do when the whole country has off at the same time, please leave your suggestions in the comments. Today, I'm going to roll the dice with a trip to Costco. I'm thinking maybe everyone else is crammed onto a mountain somewhere.
3 comments:
Just so you know, I went to the Costco in Shin-Misato today and it was very very packed. The food area and the exit and entrance were especially chaotic. But once you get inside it's not as bad. Put up with a little hassle and you should be able to pick up what you need no problem.
I was there in late April 2008 and it was quite pleasant. Trails weren't that crowded, plus there was some kind of Children's festival with parents and children walking up to the temple. Enjoyed it immensely. Better luck next time at Mt. Takao!
Thanks! Yes, my Costco strategy is to get there about an hour and a half before it closes. Lines are totally empty by the time we get to the register.
I enjoyed Takao a lot during the fire festival in the spring. I'll go back sometime when it's a less obviously dumb time to go. :)
Post a Comment