In the Japanese Alps - no more contrast possible

You can't make a change of location more different. We went from the largest city in the world to the mountains - the Japanese Alps. Our pension was located in Hakuba, known for the 1998 Winter Olympics. This place is still a popular destination for winter sports enthusiasts and hikers. We stayed there for a total of 4 days. The weather wasn't perfect on the second and third day, as it rained from time to time. But we still went out with our funny-looking rain poncho. In the evenings, we enjoyed ourselves in the on-site whirlpool. The accommodation, a mountain hut, and its owners were very friendly.

On the first day, we explored the area. At first glance, you might think you're in Switzerland or Austria. But when you look at the houses, you realize that you're in the Asian region. The vegetation is also different, despite being at the same altitude. For example, you can see blooming cherry blossom trees next to snowy areas. Our accommodation was located in a small forest near the ski resort, which was well visited.

On the second day, the weather put a damper on our plans as expected. We were in pure nature and initially wanted to go hiking. But in order to also experience the Japanese rural life, we ended up walking for 5 hours. We decided to take a rainy walk to Hakuba. It was a good decision because we could already organize our onward journey to Kyoto. Reminder: Golden Week traffic = Almost everything is fully booked. It was a bit of a struggle (when no one speaks English in a tourist place again...) until we got our tickets. Believe it or not, there were only two seats left on the overnight bus to Kyoto. That was great! What was less great was that Nadine decided to take a foot bath in a puddle. As if we hadn't showered enough that day. But you have to take it with a sense of humor... After this eventful day, we treated ourselves to a traditional Japanese meal in a restaurant before slowly heading back to the pension. On the way back, Nadine had the idea that she could still buy some warm clothes (Note: The shopping fever came over her. It wasn't just about warm clothes, despite being reminded several times that the backpack only has limited space). When we arrived back at the accommodation, we spent the rest of the day relaxing.

The third day was relatively uneventful aside from a small hike in the ski area. However, we had come to appreciate our whirlpool by now and were able to enjoy the day despite the not-so-nice weather.

On the fourth day, sunshine was forecasted. And we were not disappointed! After breakfast, we immediately headed up the mountains. We were rewarded with a wonderful view. We would have gone even further up if it weren't for the increasingly larger snowfields that were not suitable for walking with sports shoes (as backpackers, we unfortunately don't have proper hiking shoes. Hiking shoes don't have a place in our backpack). When we arrived back in the valley, we made our way to the train station. On the same day, we wanted to visit Matsumoto, which is known for its castle (Fukashi-jo) and its unique black painting, which was declared a national treasure.

The rest of the day was filled with the hope of having a somewhat peaceful night on the overnight bus to Kyoto. Well, that didn't happen.

To be continued...