COLO’s Traveler Guide: Sichuan Province

Times listed are based on the schedule at the time of visit.

Day 1

Chengdu East 0645 (China Railway C5782) > Huanglong-Jiuzhaigou 0824
Huanglong-Jiuzhaigou Station 0900 (shared van) > Jiuzhaigou 1100

・ Jiuzhaigou

Accommodation: Steigenberger Jiuzhaigou Valley

Day 1 Tips
• I booked China Railway train tickets through Trip.com, securing reserved seat tickets were challenging. Even Chengdu-Chongqing route connecting two major cities of Sichuan Province, which I traveled for work-related reasons, it was extremely difficult to book a desired train. Yet, the trains were sometimes empty when I boarded.
• It seemed that Jiuzhaigou entrance tickets could not be booked on Trip.com, I asked a friend who had a Chinese bank account to book them for me.
・Both the train and the tourist attraction entrance tickets are real-name system, passport information is required for reservation. It is also needed to have passport for entrance.
• I also booked the transfer from Huanglong-Jiuzhaigou Station to Jiuzhaigou on Trip.com. I chose a minivan that offered hotel drop-off. I thought it had been all set, however, I became nervous because I could not find the driver at the meeting point stated on the reservation confirmation. I used photos and WeChat automatic translation for the driver to find me instead. It was an analog experience in digital ways.
• The entrance to Jiuzhaigou is IT-enabled and “civilized” as Chinese government may say, but the bus stop was a dog-eat-dog world of olden China.

Day 2

・Jiuzhaigou

Day 3

Jiuzhaigou (shared van) > Huanglong

・ Huanglong

Huanglong (shared van) > Huanglong-Jiuzhaigou Station
Huanglong-Jiuzhaigou 1812 (China Railway C5798) > Chengdu East 2039

Day 3 Tips
• I had initially booked a later train in case of delays during the journey to the station, but it turned out I could easily make two trains earlier. Upon checking on Trip.com, I found there was one seat available in first class, so I changed my reservation. Even if I had to pay the cancellation fee, it was crucial not to give up the train ticket until the very last minute.

Memories of Chichibu (Originally posted on 2021-Nov-01)

Few years ago, I had a plan to visit Chichibu with a friend of mine, but for some reasons, it never materialized. Although there are streams where you can go rafting in Chichibu, they are on the Arakawa River, and even it is said that Chichibu has rural scenery, it is in Saitama Prefecture just next to Tokyo. I was not very interested.

Due to travel restrictions owing the COVID-19, I visited Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture this year. The downside of the trip was that I saw regular commuter trains of JR Tokaido Line at Odawara Station, just 15 minutes from Hakone Yumoto Station, on the way back. It immediately brought me back to reality (tentatively named as Tragedy of Odawara), but I was quite satisfied overall. I was also able to photograph the old-fashioned mountain railway train.

If I can be satisfied in Kanagawa Prefecture where is located next to Tokyo on its west side, I also should be able to be satisfied in Saitama Prefecture where is located next to Tokyo on its north side. Compared to Hakone, where I only saw the mountain railway, Chichibu might be more enjoyable with its river rafting and steam locomotive (SL) train. Since Chichibu would be crowded during summer vacation, I made a reservation of an onsen inn just before it, hoping that the rainy season would be over by then.

As expected, the rainy season ended before the trip. It was summer.

First, I took the Tokaido Line commuter train from Yokohama Station to Kumagaya Station. At Kumagaya, I transferred to the SL train and headed to its final stop, Mitsumine-guchi. At Mitsumine-guchi Station, there is a park where you can observe the maintenance of the SL. The weather was clear, perfect for photography.

However, it was hot. Indeed, it was extremely hot. The sunlight was also strong, rather it was harsh.

When it comes to places with extreme heat in the Kanto region, Kumagaya is on par with Tatebayashi and Maebashi. While the elevation becomes slightly higher moving toward from Kumagaya to Chichibu, it is still not in the mountains. Rather, it should be considered the edge of Kanto Plain, so it remains quite hot. Upon checking later day, the highest temperature in Chichibu during my stay was 34°C. This was nearly the same as the 35°C recorded in Kumagaya on that day.

The next day was also sunny, and I went to river rafting in Nagatoro. It was still sweltering hot, but there was a cool breeze on the river surface. However, the boat ride only lasted about 15 minutes. The rest of the day had to be spent under the blazing sun of Kanto Plain.

It might be cooler in the mountains. It was a bit far, but I decided to take a bus to Mitsumine Shrine. At an altitude of about 1,100 meters, it was slightly cooler and occasional breeze blew.

Yet, Chichibu was Chichibu. Walking around the Shrine made me sweat profusely. Besides, waiting for the return bus in the parking lot under the intense sunlight was unbearably hot. The bus had ventilation measures in place due to the COVID-19, the air conditioning did not work well. It was also fairly crowded.

One of the purposes of my trip was photography, so I had no right to complain about the sunny weather. If the weather was bad in Chichibu, I might have just gone home without seeing anything.

Having said, it was extremely hot. It was just after the rainy season ended, so my body was not used to the intense heat. Even though Chichibu is said to have rural landscapes, it is a part of the developed Kanto Plain, so there are not many places with tree shades.

During this trip, I was able to drink beer at restaurants in Chichibu. Once that happened, I had no choice but to keep drinking ice-cold beer from early in the afternoon. In elementary school days, I was told that I should not drink too many cold soft drinks during summer vacation. On the other hand, I can drink alcohol freely now. I was glad that I was an old man.

I spent two days in Chichibu and returned home. To avoid the Tragedy of Odawara, I took Seibu Line Limited Express via Ikebukuro on the way back. This way, I did not have to take the JR regular commuter train all the way back to Tokyo, and I could enjoy the afterglow of the trip for longer time.

I did not walk around that much, but when I got home, I was exhausted from the extreme heat. Besides, maybe because I drank too much beer, I felt sick with my stomach.

While I was feeling weak, I recalled that I had booked the onsen inn in late April. It was the season of fresh greenery and a gentle breeze. I had just escaped from cold winter and was filled with optimistic hope. At the time, I could not have imagined that summer in Chichibu would be so harsh.

This is Tragedy of Chichibu.

COLO’s Traveler Guide: Chichibu

Day 1

Yokohama (Tokaido Line/Takasaki Line) >> Kumagaya
Kumagaya (SL Paleo Express) >> Mitsumine-guchi

・SL Turntable

Mitsumine-guchi (Chichibu Railway) >> Chichibu

Accommodation: Araki Kousen

Day 1 Tips
・The turntable at Mitsumine-guchi operates around 1:30-1:40 p.m. Until then, I was able to watch the maintenance work.

Day 2

Chichibu (Chichibu Railway) >> Nagatoro

• River rafting

Nagatoro (Chichibu Railway) >> Ohanabatake
Seibu Chichibu Station (Bus) >> Mitsumine Shrine

• Mitsumine Shrine

Mitsumine Shrine (Bus) >> Seibu Chichibu Station
Seibu Chichibu (Chichibu Limited Express) >> Seibu Ikebukuro
Ikebukuro (Shonan-Shinjuku Line/Tokaido Line) >> Yokohama

Day 2 Tips
• Took a bus to Mitsumine Shrine. The ride is long, so it can be tough if you cannot get a seat. Better to arrive early to wait for the bus, but the driver will not let you on until about five minutes before departure at the first stop.

Memories of Huanglong

On the second day in Jiuzhaigou, it started raining heavily in the evening. The forecast for the next day was rain followed by cloudy, and I had to leave for Chengdu by evening.

If I walked about 45 Kilometers, I could reasonably say that I had seen all of Jiuzhaigou. A friend who had a bank account in China reserved Jiuzhaigou ticket for my third day, but I decided to discard it.

The gateway to Jiuzhaigou by the high-speed railway is Huanglong-Jiuzhaigou Station. First part of the station name, Huanglong, is also a World Heritage Site. I managed to book shared van service from Jiuzhaigou to Huanglong-Jiuzhaigou Station via Huanglong at the last minute, and I asked the friend to secure an online ticket for Huanglong.

Huanglong has stunning views of ponds, but probably due to differences in the geological layers, the water has a different color from Jiuzhaigou. Also, Huanglong has steeper sloops along the way. Thanks to these slopes, it is possible to take photos without the sky in the frame. As long as not raining, I thought photos would be fine.

Jiuzhaigou was at an altitude of 1,800–3,000 meters, and the overall atmosphere was like early spring. However, Huanglong was at an altitude of 3,100–3,500 meters, and the scenery was still winter-like. I chose to take the ropeway on the way up and walk down on the way back.

After getting off the ropeway, it was about 3 Kilometers to Five-Colored Pond at the farthest point. Since I had already walked enough in the past two days, I paid an extra fee to take an electric bus. Even so, I still had to walk uphill for a short distance. When I reached the Five-Colored Pond, there were emerald green ponds spread out in the snowy landscape. It was a breathtaking view.

Most tourists seemed to be taking the ropeway back, but I had a mission to take photos, I decided to walk down as planned. While I continued walking, I saw a sign that suggested “Do not be disappointed because of the low water level at this time of year.”

The Five-Colored Pond seemed to have enough water, so I was quite satisfied with the scenery. If that was disappointing, I wondered how much water there would be at peak season.

Without understanding the intent, I passed through the forest and arrived at a point where I could look down on the next pond. The scene was shocking.

There was no water at all. To be precise, there were a few puddles here and there. There were also quite a few areas covered with snow. Either way, they were white or yellowish brown, too far from emerald green.

The signboard crossed my mind. It said “Warm Notice” in Chinese, but under the cold sky, content of the signboard seemed not warm. The phrase “at this time of year” implies that there would be sufficient water at “other” times of the year. in fact, the photos I saw when researching Huanglong showed numerous emerald green ponds. It also came my mind that ticket I had obtained the previous night was at low-season rate. Compared to Jiuzhaigou, Huanglong was relatively empty and there was no need to book tickets in advance.

In the end, I walked over 10 kilometers for almost no reason, but I finally realized something. Even with my lack of scientific knowledge, I could understand that the low water levels were due to the snow not melting. Besides, I could also understand that lower elevations have higher temperatures, so the snow melts earlier. Furthermore, I knew that water flows from the mountains to the sea, in other words, it ran from high elevations to low elevations.

There is a contradiction here. Contradiction is written as “矛盾” in Chinese (and in Japanese), it literally means spear-shield, which is based on the Chinese old story of an arms dealer selling the strongest spear that pierces any shields and the strongest shield that blocks any spears at the same time.

At an altitude of 3,500 meters, the Five-Colored Pond in the deepest and highest part of Huanglong holded emerald green water, yet the ponds at lower altitudes were almost drought. This must be contrary to the laws of nature. At the same time, since Huanglong is a World Natural Heritage Site, I should assume that nothing had been done to alter the natural environment.

It is like the spear and the shield. In the age of role-playing games, there must be a weapon shop, who sells both a spear that can pierce any shields and a shield that can block any spears, on the way to the end-stage monster’s castle located at a high altitude in the steep mountains. Besides, the castle must be equipped a ropeway and electric bus in its backyard.