Jerry’s Jaunt in Japan

Two weeks of travel in Japan before my new job starts.

A new country, a new adventure but the age old problem of how on earth do I get this damn ski bag through the airport!

My first day in December was spent on an All Nippon Airways plane bound for Haneda, Tokyo. The moment I saw Pokemon instructing me how to put on an oxygen mask in case the plane is broken apart from a Rayquaza attack… I knew I was in the right place.

Tokyo

Work started on the 16th of December so I had a lot of time on my hands to travel and familiarise myself with Japan. So my first 5 days were spent in Tokyo to explore the grand city with other travellers, get some of the residency admin out of the way and ship my ski bag to the resort so I didn’t have to lug it around.

I was staying in Taito City which was right next to the grand Saso-ji temple where people gathered to pray and wish for good fortune. For a 100 JPY you could receive a fortune of your own and mine promised that my *It is good to start a trip”, “Marriage and employment are both well” and “The lost article will be found but late” … these are some good promises for my new chapter, I hope they come true!

Mt Nokogiri

My first Japanese hike would be at Mt Nokogiri. I was made aware of the hike through a video of my favourite Japanese travel youtube channel, Currently Hannah. It’s an abandoned quarry in the Chiba Prefecture with whole mountain sides cut into large brutalism squares that’s now overgrown with bush. It was an awesome space to be and was made better by the largest sitting buddha placed on the backside of the mountain!

Mt Fuji – Motor Speedway

En route to Mt Fuji I just had to go to the famous circuit and check out their museum but christ was it a pain in the arse to get to via public transport! The museum had some amazing vehicles there from the birth of Japanese racing to some notable legends which include: John Surtees’ 1966 Honda RA273 F1 car (honda had only started making road cars 3 years prior and was the first Japanese constructor in F1), A Nissan Cam-Am Car with active aero, SO MANY GROUP B CARS (a Turbo, a Quatro, an Intergralle!), The Mazda 787B (the only rotary powered car to win Le Mans and best sounding. Please watch a video of it and listen to the scream!) and an NSX I saw waiting for the bus.

Mt Fuji – Fujiyoshida

After spending another 2 hours on a bus I made it to the town I would be spending the night in, Fujiyoshida. This cute town is dominated by the mountain. I exited the restaurant after my very tasty dinner and remarked that for a clear night there weren’t many stars… I then realised that I wasn’t looking at the black sky, I was looking at the silhouette of Mt Fuji and I needed to move my head further across to reach the sky. 

Yoshida would also be the location of my first of many onsens. I don’t like hot tubs and saunas because I have to shower afterwards but because showering is part of the process you leave feeling relaxed, clean and culturally satisfied all at the same time.

To be “publicly” nude, to cleanse and relax yourself with strangers and friends is a unique experience for westerners I feel. Being nude around strangers in the west to be seen as a niche alternate nudist that lays at the beach sunning your balls or frolicking with unkempt hippies in a remote river community. In Japan, it’s normal, encouraged and a way to bond with your compatriots. 

Work, eat, bathe together.

I rose early that morning to climb a neighboring hill of Mt Tenjo to get some good views and pics of Mt Fuji with my camera – oh I think I forgot to mention, every single day I’ve had, has been bright blue bird and this day has no expectations. 

I would spend this 5km walk going “woah, so cool” *click* every time the winding path would point me in the direction of the mountain. The trail would end at the Arakurayama Sengen Park with its iconic pagoda (you know the photo) which I wasn’t expecting, so it was a nice surprise! As was the fried dango with a sweet sticky soy sauce I got from a food vender. Eating dango is like opening your mouth and having a dog lick the inside… but you enjoy opening your mouth and having a dog lick it’s inside. My mouth is watering for do- dango as I write this.

Osaka

Since being in Japan I’ve been hearing great things about Osaka, so bugger it, let’s check it out!

I actually had to travel back to Tokyo (Yokohama to be exact) to get on the shinkansen to take me there. As soon as you fall out of the urban Japan regions which string together the metropolises with the efficient, simple, rapid “futuristic” systems like the bullet trains, you’re met with the Japan that time forgot. The trains are slow and clunky, the buses have erratic routes and are often delayed and everything looks 20 years behind. One of my clients described Japan to me as “a place that’s been in the 2000’s since the 1980s.” 

The silver lining to this however is that the old fashioned systems are authentic and satisfying: you talk to the man, he points to the platform, you hand him cash, he gives you a ticket, you feed the ticket into the machine, it goes burr, clunk, the train squeaks and trundles as it moves through cabbage farm villages whose station is a meer concrete block long enough for 5 people to stand comfortably. I feel back home there’s a search to return to more analogue things; reading a physical book, jotting notes in a diary, retro fashion, grinding coffee by hand. Life is complicated, 20 years ago when we were kids, it didn’t feel that it was.

Sorry for getting side tracked, back to Osaka…

Osaka’s trains are better than Tokyo’s. Not because they’re faster, smoother or less crowded, I like them because the seats are plaid, the handles are round and the station’s jingles sound better (every metropolitan station in Japan has a unique jingle, each city has a collective theme. Osaka’s is synth and Tokyo’s are forgettable).

I was on my way to the Osaka Castle that overlooks a large park in the middle of the city. However this park was once a massive battle ground of the Summer Siege of Osaka of 1615, the final and decisive battle that led to the fall of the Toyotomi clan, the period of warring states known as Sengoku and ushered in 250 years of peace under the Tokugawa shogunate during the Edo period.

The Castle was now a museum that was dedicated to the fine details of the siege and the families that ruled the castle. With scale models of the battle, biographics of key players, diagrams of clan flags, displays of helmets and armor and most impressively, a recount of the siege through the highly detailed 17th century painting by Kuroda Nagamasa which pointed out said key player, flags, helmets and armor. When I reached the top of the castle and stepped out to the patio I was now able to imagine the scene that I must have been with the smoke of fire, the clashing of metal and the roar of men that pivoted the Japanese course in history.

Dotonbori

I wanted to do some night photography that evening. I don’t have much experience but I thought Dotonbori in central Osaka would be a good place to give it a go! Dotonbori is best described as Shabuya with a canal. Massive LED signs, music, food vendors, shops and bars. It’s a crazy place to be and is that “futuristic urban Japan” that makes these cities great! I propped myself up on a bench with some fresh octopus (pancake) balls and a can of a brand new Asahi seltzer which premiered tonight and watched the oval shaped ferris wheel rotate around another massive Don Quixote department store. It was a fun night trying long exposures, people watching and snacking and drinking my night away.

There was a lot of good eating in Osaka, especially in terms of Okonomiyaki, the savoury Japanese pancake made out of cabbage with a special BBQ sauce. I mistakenly walked into the wrong restaurant that the hostel receptionist recommended to me and the chef gave me a confused look when I asked for the dish. Fortunately he was happy to comply and make it just for me! I felt very special. I made friends with the man sitting next to me and we shared stories and motorbike pictures (do you remember my pitiful Honda wave from Vietnam?) He was an inventor and he showed me how he’s designed a snowmobile attachment to fit onto the back of his Kawazaki sports bike! Plus a number of camping tools like clippers and fire pits. It was a great night and now whenever I eat Okonomiyaki I think of the chef and the inventor.

Okunoin Cemetery

My second day in Osaka was spent visiting another site recommended by Currently Hannah. I actually bought her guide and spent that night plotting all of her destinations nearby places I wanted to go. After a 2.5h train, cable car and bus ride I ended up in the small rustic mountain town of Koya-san (Mt Koya) that was filled with grand temples, pagodas and other buildings straight from the Edo period. There was a strong spiritual energy in this place, especially when my destination was the ancient cemetery of Okunoin. Why, you may ask, am I travelling 2hrs to see a cemetery? Because Hannah said so and if Hannah says, “Let a dog lick the side of your mouth,” you’ll see my best carnival clown impression.

Okunoin is considered Japan’s largest cemetery and has over two hundred thousand graves dating back to 835 AD. Each head stone is uniquely shaped from cubes, prisms and spheres and has been slowly overgrown by the tall forest full of shrubs and lichen; the more overgrown it is, the more hundreds of years it’s been there. Okunoin is a surreal place to be in as it has been used as inspiration for many fantasy landscapes, especially in anime, heightening its magic and made me evermore cautious not to disturb a golem or a wraith that might be hidden amongst the tombs.

One tomb I did come across by surprise was the family plot of the Toyotomi clan, the former rulers of the Osaka Castle who were still fresh in my memory after reading all about them the day prior and were probably put to rest after battle. What a full circle experience that was.

My tour of the cemetery was finished in the modern section where I was introduced to the practice of “corporate graves” where companies will buy plots for their executives and their families and as part of of the tomb stone would be the logo or representation of the company such as a Nissan logo, a Yakult bottle or a Saturn V rocket. Even in death they can’t escape the demands of the workplace.

Leaving Okunoin I realized that it’s more than just a spiritual cemetery, it’s a museum showcasing 2000 years of human history. A continuously growing exhibition where the relics are made of real people with real stories sat and preserved till the land overtakes them. Where else in the world can you find a medieval samurai and a DvD executive sitting relatively next to each other? The history of Japan’s greatest legends, encased in marble and ghost.

Jigokudani Yaen-Koen – The Wild Snow Monkey Park

Moving back into the mountains before I settled at the resort I arrived in Nagano and got my first witness of Japanese powder as my first morning I woke up with a fresh fluffy blanket of snow at my hostel doorstep. It was gonna be a very good day, especially when it aligned with the day trip I had planned!

In 1963 a little monkey chased a rolling apple into an onsen, to its surprise it released water that was warm and wonderful to be in! It gathered its troop to join in and since then the Japanese Macaques of Nagano started regularly bathing in onsen pools and led to the creation of the Jigokudani Yaen-Koen, Wild Snow Monkey Park.

After an hour’s bus ride and a 2km walk through the snowy forest I reached the monkey’s own personal pool (so they would stay away from the human one) and through the crowds I got to watch the snow monkeys lounge and groom. It was fascinating to see the human qualities in them especially in their facial reactions like curiosity and relaxation. Best of all, they’re very cute and very photogenic with their thick fluffy coats, bright red faces and bits of falling snow settling on their fur. I really enjoyed watching them and taking their photo.

My favourite part of the trip is visiting the lodge just a couple hundred metres down where for a pricey 1500 JPY ($15ish AUD) you could bathe outside with the monkeys in that original onsen pool. It was a once in a lifetime experience to be outside snowing, nude in a hot bath where on the other side is a wild monkey doing the exact same thing. I won’t forget it and I recommend it to anyone that visits, just make sure you thoroughly wash yourself afterwards, god knows what horrible things are in that water!

Togakushi Shine Okusha

My Final destination in Nagano would be visiting the Togakushi Shrine. It was another recommendation of Hannah but it wasn’t the shrine that she was recommending, it was the humongous cedar trees that line the pathway! These trees made for some fantastic photo opportunities especially contrasted against the surrounding snow and with the silence of the forest it was a really peaceful experience, the shrine was cool too. 

I would continue my walk to Kagami Ike Pond which translates to Mirror Pond and boy was it a mirror! With a thick layer of powder snow laying on top of it it was nearly the same colour of the cloudy skies above! Some excerpts from my diary from that day: “…it was fun discovering the place as I didnt know what to expect.” “The lake trail was empty, and I had the whole place to myself! On the way there was a corridor of Torii gates [like the famous shrine with the 1000s of torii gates] & ate lunch overlooking the lake listening to the wind blow through the trees.”

I remember sitting there munching on my onigiri, studying the trees and the mountains in the distance, listening to the russels and creaks of the trees and watching the snow being kicked up, swirled and resetting on the frozen pond in front of me. I kept repeating to this statement to myself, “Fuck big boy jobs… life is good. Life is good!” 

Work was starting soon, I had no idea what to expect. I would have a video call with my boss later that night, so that little extra time I spent at the lake just taking in the serenity became really valuable to me and an experience I hope to reflect on for a long time. I was surrounded by forest and mountains, I had no responsibilities, due dates, people to answer to or a rush hour to commute back home in. I had the independent freedom to do whatever, whenever. And I used that freedom to hike through the snow to a random lake that a youtuber mentioned on the side, I was content and having the best time.

Life is good, 2024 started rough and uncomfortable, there was a rollercoaster in the middle and I’ve come to the end of the year happy. Fuck big boy jobs, Life is good.

Palcall Tsumagoi

I stepped out of the train in the town of Ueno and snacked on a meal of dumplings, soup and yakitori while I waited for Clayton to come by and take me to Palcall, my new home and office for the next few days.

Clayton and I instantly got along and we spent the hour’s drive having a lively chat about New Zealand vs Japanese skiing, the club fields and what it’s like to live here. It definitely calmed my nerves about starting the job although Clayton leaving the day after to go back to NZ didn’t help, I now needed to be professional, a businessman, a Snow School Team Lead.

(how the hell are we going to get this school set up…)

My next 3 days at Palcall were spent working with the Japanese hotel staff, learning how to operate the booking systems and organising the orientation for the young Kiwi instructors that would be joining the team. 

So much walking! Being in a proper leadership position was hard work jumping back and forth from my superiors to my team and so forth. It was quite frantic at some points and the days grew long. I had a lot to learn, this wasn’t just another ski season of ski first work second, I’ve got responsibilities now… I think I have a big boy job…

Madarao

We arrived in the dead of night to the Xplore lodge after a frantic escape from Palcall. Half the hotel crew were from Albury-Wodonga and the others a mix of Melbourne, England, Ohio and Thailand. The ski season had finally started! Queue the bar crawls, the crew rides and pulling yourself back together for work the next morning. I’ve been putting a big effort in supporting myself to make sure I’m comfortable and healthy, mentally and physically. Ski seasons can put me at risk of injury and burn out my social battery. I want to have the best time here but it’s gotta be on my own terms. I need my Rory days, I need to relax and I need to ski. It’s been snowing nearly every day so far and there’s a ton of different runs, glades to explore that will keep me hungry all season.

And so far everything has been working out….

Merry Belated Christmas. Who knows where I’ll be in December 2025 (Exciting isnt it?)

Yours, forever and always,

Rory