In which Roz and Layla take to the hills and become the Speedy McCampions

By Roz

After our successful Nara day trip we had a lengthy but ultimately highly successful session making loads of train reservations for the rest of our trip in an extravaganza of Japanese language use (including a comedy scenario where they told us a particular train was sold out, then realised I was in fact a girl despite having short hair, and were able to allocate us to special ‘lady’s seats’), we had planned to go to a fab sounding izakaya (Japanese pub) which was enthusiastic about vegetables.  Unfortunately we weren’t quite fabulous enough for it (I blame our fleeces and hiking boots) and couldn’t get a seat.  So to our shame, we ended up in an excellent pizza joint (which we very much enjoyed) and reassured ourselves vigorously that since we live here there’s no obligation to have Japanese food for every meal…  Our final stop of the evening was a delightful wine bar.  I’d read about it in a guide book and, after a few false turns and a bit of detective work and a long stroll down a street of sordid lady bars (hopefully not the same thing as lady seats on the train), felt very pleased with ourselves indeed to be on the fourth floor of an unmarked building drinking pinot noir and delighting in the black and white film that was playing silently (a film I know I’ve seen and felt most cross with myself for not remembering the name of – my mother would never have forgiven me). We felt very cool. Well, other than Layla trying to steal all the chocolate coins that were inexplicably on the bartop… The place was called Akibako Hanare in case anyone else wants to try hunting it down…  

Next morning we had a slow start, since Layla decided – like the hero she is – to finally embrace the challenging issue of making our phones work in Japan without the delightful portable wifi device that our Kyoto apartment provided us with, in advance of our post-Kyoto travels. We were amused that the SIM card kit included not just a special piece of cardboard sporting a beautiful Japanese scene which it encouraged us to display in our home, but also origami paper and instructions on how to make a crane.  This accomplished (the SIM activation, not the crane construction) – much to my surprise – we decided to head out on a hike. 

Described in the guidebooks as one of the top five hikes in Kyoto, we were mystified at the paucity of practical information online about the Takao to Hozukyo riverside hike.  And after multiple buses, ending in a bus terminal in the middle of nowhere, we reached the trailhead and were bemused by the paucity of people.  Usually when I say that kind of thing, my next sentence reveals the reason why no-one else is doing what we are (usually we are doing something silly that everyone else turns out to be too sensible to do).  But bizarrely, this didn’t prove to be the case in this instance.  It was a lovely walk along a river – mainly flat, gloriously scenic, and entirely delightful.  We paused for lunch and felt super happy at the prospect of lots of delightful hiking in our future life in Japan. 

The hike didn’t take us as long us the guidebook said (clearly they’ll be calling us Speedy McCampions) and so as we stepped off the train back into Kyoto we mused on our best plan.  In the end, the lure of a super cool coffee shop which the author of a Kanji learning website (which we are devoted to – to the extent that one can be devoted to a method of learning Kanji) had recommended.  This proved to be in an uber obscure location involving a train and a wander down an alley which turned out to mainly have tiny warehouses selling plants but which also had a warehouse / industrial space that was also a coffee shop called Clamp / Cramp (the name depended on which sign you looked at).  Coffee, orange juice and muffins consumed, and hipster coffee vendors with dungarees, beards, and the like duly appreciated, and a little read of our books later, and we set off on the (substantial) walk back to our corner of Kyoto, Gion.  And then, time to pack (a more substantial task than one would think since we seem to have brought more things than are strictly necessary and had thrown them all up in the air in a whirl of jetlag).

Post packing we went to a different wine bar for a speedy dinner before what unexpectedly proved to be the highlight of our trip to Kyoto: the illuminations.  Lots of temples in Kyoto are lit up in the evening at certain times of the year, and every night of our stay we had half planned to go and explore an illuminated temple – and then had got distracted by delicious food or some such.  It was fun to walk up a low-lit temple staircase and into the temple complex.  There was a special lighted path to follow which took us past beautiful trees, tasteful shrine lights, and then into a special area where they had a protected moving illumination show which was a clearly a famous traditional tale related to the temple (alas one I didn’t know), involving dragons and the like.  It was so lovely that I watched it three times before Layla managed to drag me away (humph).  It felt magical to continue walking on the temple path through the woods - including an illuminated bamboo mini-forest  - as though at any moment an old lady would pop out from behind a tree and offer me three wishes. 

Next morning, we were up early for a train to the depths of the Japanese countryside for a three-day hike on an old pilgrimage trail, called the Kumano Kodo, sister to the Camino de Santiago in Spain.  I felt simultaneously excited and fearful.  Excited because it sounded fab.  Fearful because I wasn’t absolutely sure that walking into the Japanese countryside would necessarily end up with us finding the guesthouses we’d booked since I’d shunned the offer of a guide plus I was anxious that all the uphills would defeat my lovely wife (who has a penchant for walking on the flat).  All my anxieties turned out to be nonsense.  The brilliant tourist office gave us all the information that we could want and put us on a bus to the right place to start the hike.  Even better, they gave us a card to collect stamps to show the different shrines we’ve visited and the joy of the collecting experience has almost made Layla forget her lack of enthusiasm for going up hills.  And even better than that, when we got off the bus we were greeted by a very enthusiastic, waving Japanese man holding a card with my name on it: our luggage service for the next three days.  It turns out I love a luggage service.  A wee man pops up at the start of the walk, takes your luggage and deposits it in your accommodation and then keeps popping up every time you don’t want your luggage and transports it.  Hooray. 

The walk was short on our first day – only a couple of hours – and took us through cedar forests and past shrines.  Every now and then there’s a tasteful sign to (a) tell you that you are going the right way and (b) provide some information about a random pilgrim from the 1100s who had a particular experience in that spot which meant it’s been named after him.  All charming.  And can I mention again how much we both love collecting the shrine stamps?  It feels like a reward.  (I think I shall tell my next set of Japanese teachers to opt for a system of gold stars / stamps if they want me to cooperate!)  We meandered into the tiny village in which we were staying and found our accommodation without difficulty.  The nice owner (whose English was even worse than our Japanese, which is saying something) showed us round our mansion.  Somehow I’d managed to book us into a giant and beautiful Japanese-style house with what seemed like endless rooms, tatami mats, tasteful Japanese decorations.  Indeed, for our whole time there I kept asking Layla if she remembered where x room was…  Our nice landlady had said she’d take us to a supermarket a bit later, so I went into one of the many beautiful rooms and did some yoga whilst gazing at the sweeping views of rolling hills. 

Brilliantly, I forced Layla into the front seat when we drove to the supermarket, meaning the burden of small talk fell on her.  (Am still smug about this manoeuvre.)  I bought a random collection of things for dinner (the nice landlady was palpably bemused about what on earth I was going to do with the items – a concern I kind of shared).  I then whipped up a fairly pleasant dinner and felt pleased with myself for having cooked for the first time in my new home country. 

I’d anticipated that the villages we would be staying in on this walk might not be that hip hop and happening (as Layla’s mother would say) and brought some DVDs with us as a precaution in the event of them lacking an array of sophisticated entertainment.  So we spent the evening watching Made in Dagenham huddled under a Japanese electric blanket (they don’t go in for central heating and we’re in the mountains!).  A thoroughly successful day. 

This morning, we woke after a surprisingly comfortable sleep on tatami mats and futons (which is how Japanese people traditionally sleep).  When I say surprising, I should perhaps note that I had used three futons, whereas no Japanese person would ever use more than one so perhaps it shouldn’t be that surprising.  The princess and the pea lives again…  Having had a little yoghurt and coffee for breakfast, I cunningly went to do some yoga in the same beautiful room (necessitating Layla to do some packing).  Our nice luggage man turned up – this time brandishing a sweet Union Jack origami crane that he’d made for us (and instructions on how we could also create such an item).  We were even more charmed and set off on our walk giggling with cheeriness. 

Today’s walk was even lovelier than yesterday’s.  Less uphill and past lots of babbling brooks and such like.  There are hardly any people on the route, which seems insane given how beautiful it is, but which adds to its charm.  We stopped numerous times for snacks and such like but still ended up at today’s stopping point surprisingly early (the Speedy McCampions strike again).  Today’s accommodation is also a mansion (I’m not exactly sure how this ended up being what I booked, but never mind!).  It has a beautiful garden with a little water feature and so we spent the afternoon sat out there reading (me) and applying for a job (poor Layla).  I interrupted my reading of Wilkie Collins’ Armadale with a brief cycle to the shops to ensure we have sufficient provisions for the evening.  The bike was one of those little old lady upright bikes with a basket on the front and I felt a strange combination of Miss Marple and a Japanese lady going about her business as I did so…  And now, as I type this, I’m sat at the kitchen table in our mansion as dusk falls and wondering how I can be so lucky as to be having so much fun.  Hooray for #thelonghello and #mccampionsmeetJapan.