This summer was unusually hot probably due to El Nino. When I was a child, it was on news when maximum temperature exceeded 30 degrees Celsius in Tokyo, but it is not unusual even the temperature exceeds 35 degrees Celsius in these days.
Despite such climate, it is probably not a good idea to go up north for a summer vacation. I heard that it was hot even in Hokkaido Island this year. Maybe I could be in cold weather in North Pole. Alternatively, it would probably be able to find a cooler place in Siberia, but the current situation in Russia makes it difficult. I need to find somewhere realistic.
On the other hand, I have heard that it was cool at climbing entrance of Mt. Fuji even in this summer. Of course, this is not in the Arctic or Siberia, but in just outside of the Kanto area, Shizuoka and Yamanashi Prefectures. There are cooler places in Japan if you look for them. It is likely cooler going up in three-dimensionally rather than going northward in two-dimensionally.
In the meantime, I happened to get a reservation at a hotel in Murodo on the Tateyama Alpine Route. The altitude is around 2,450 meters, which is about as same as the climbing entrance of Mt. Fuji, so it should be cool weather in Murodo.
During the peak season, the hotel in Murodo is difficult to book and the schedule cannot be changed at last minute. Even if the weather is not good, you cannot go wrong if you think it as a summer getaway.
On departure day, it was the time when a typhoon was approaching Kanto area. I booked the first Hokuriku Shinkansen train so that I could leave before the typhoon reached, but it was not a clear day even if I went across mountains further to Sea of Japan side of the country. It was good that it did not heavily rain though.
Murodo was cold due to the strong wind blowing from the Nagano Prefecture. I walked around in the light rain until check-in time. After that, I snuggled under a blanket in my room. Not enough from a photographic point of view, but it was supposed to be perfect as a heat retreat.
As a photographer and blogger, I got up before sunrise in the next morning. However, Mt. Tateyama was in the clouds. The night before, I had three glasses of whiskey at the hotel bar, and I had hungover, perhaps because the high altitude affects the circulation of alcohol in my system. Waking up early does not do any good to me. I immediately returned to bed.
I woke up again before the noon. It was still cloudy, but there was no point in staying in my room. I went for a walk.
As it is said “every dog has its day,” I was able to see a family of rock ptarmigan. This alone was worth the trip. Moreover, the weather started to improve in the afternoon. The next morning looked promising. Since I am not a dog, I went to bed without going to the bar to ensure I could wake up early in the next morning.
Indeed, it was clear and sunny. I took my camera and walked to the place I had spotted the day before. I was able to enjoy quite a nice sunrise.
Having enjoyed Murodo, I decided to go down the mountain early. On the way down, I got off the bus at Midagahara for trekking. I then returned to Toyama Station in the early afternoon.
The altitude of Toyama Station is about 7 meters above sea level. With altitude differences of 2,440 meters, the temperature should have been around 14.5 degrees Celsius higher, and it was actually 32 degrees Celsius in Toyama City.
As expected, it was not much different from the heat of Tokyo although I went up north. I walked around in Toyama City in the extreme heat until time for evening sushi restaurant reservation.
I learned that the key to avoiding the heat was the altitude. However, I spoiled my body by escaping from the heat, and I began to suffer from summer fatigue from the day after I returned home. It seemed that effects from extreme heat I had endured in all summer came at once, and the malaise continued for more than a month, until mid-October.
I am unaccustomed to extreme heat and I am unaccustomed to heat retreat. It is difficult for a middle-aged man to live comfortably in summer.
