Scouting trip up Hakusan

(click on slide show for additional viewing options and to download the pictures)
On my quest to hike the three sacred peaks of Japan, I made a scouting trip to number two on my list yesterday, Hakusan. I hiked Tateyama with Adam and Katya last year on a spectacular day and hope to duplicate that experience with Hakusan.

I drove out by myself to the furthest point possible, 市ノ瀬 Ichinose parking lot. I had to hike up the road to the 別当出合 Bettoudeai trailhead which took me about 75 minutes, maybe three miles. Along the way I spotted folks coming down from the mountain. Some were day hiking like myself, others were camping and some had passed me on mountain bikes with skiing gear on their backs!

The trail was pretty steep, but could be hiked with my old day-hiking shoes. I'm not so confident about a full push for the summit, but I'll make do with taping my ankles and using a hiking staff. I have a feeling that I'll also need to support my knees as well. I made it up to the 中飯場 Nakahanba waypoint about 4.5km from the summit before the snow was too thick to hike on with my gear. I hit my return-time anyhow so I headed back down, but not before the enjoying the scenery. It was fantastic and I was even blessed with a wonderful view of two amazing waterfalls not far from one of the ridges. I can't wait to return!

Shirone Kite Museum

Hyunjoo and I just returned from a short trip to Niigata city. On our way up, we stopped by a fantastic kite museum. They even have facilities for children to make their own kites and test them in an indoor wind tunnel! The vast majority of kites were hand made, even the gargantuan kites in the atrium.

Shaken!

We did it!
Over the last week, Hyunjoo and I have been working on updating our shaken (safety inspection for automobiles). We drove out to the auto center today and finally took the test and passed inspection!

Biking through the bamboo forest

Please click to listen to the audio slideshow
It was a perfect day to go for a bike ride. I went up to the local bamboo forest (JPN010) to get some exercise. There's some pretty steep terrain and I vowed to get to the top of the foothills on my rickety 3-speed without stopping. I just barely made it in the horrible shape I'm in. Once on top I took in the view and enjoyed some quiet time before dashing at breakneck speeds to the trailhead.

Kite Park

HJ and I went with Phil and Jessica to a new park JPN009 - Kite Park not too far from home. It being built off the new road behind our house. The park is perfect for kite flying as the hills catch winds coming off the city headed into the mountains. We flew a number of kites with various success. The big experiement was lauching his kite-camera to take pictures of the city. I attached my altimeter to the camera and found that it reached a height of 177 feet at its apex. Hopefully we'll get some good pix from the camera. We lost a bunch of exposures due to technical difficulties, but I'm confident we got at least one good shot.

Google'n with my Garmin

Where have I been you ask? (or may be not)... but in case your interested anyhow check out this link:
SAKURA - Picnic and Campsite
This is a local picnic ground up in the bamboo forest. We've gathered here a few times during good weather and I took these coordinates a couple of days ago when I went up there with Casey, Chieko, and Hyunjoo for some frisbee throwing.

I've combined Google's neat online mapping function with my basic GPS from Garmin to create a database of places around the world where I've been. Click on this link to check out more locations.