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Memories of Gunma

Last summer, I stayed at Yubiso Onsen and took Tanigawa Ropeway to Tenjindaira for trekking. Unfortunately, Mt. Tanigawa was hidden behind by clouds. I heard that Mt. Tanigawa would be crowded with people enjoying the autumn leaves, so I was thinking of revisiting during the late-lying snow season.

Taking the ropeway to see Mt. Tanigawa up close is not bad, but trekking to Ichinokurasawa allows to see the majestic rock walls of Mt. Tanigawa, which is said to be a breathtaking view. The road to Ichinokurasawa-deai, the entrance to Ichinokurasawa, is closed during the winter. It would be re-opened from late May. That should be in the time of May sunshine season before the rainy season in June.

After returning from trip to Mexico, I read an online article that Japanese National Railways’ EF58 locomotive on display at a railway preservation facility in Yokokawa had undergone repainting. Since she was displayed outdoors, I wanted to take photos while the paint was still beautiful. Both Yokokawa and Mt. Tanigawa were in Gunma Prefecture, it seemed a good one-day trip plan.

I kept checking the weather forecast of Gunma Prefecture almost every day. Perhaps because the rainy season front moved northward earlier in this year, the weather was consistently unfavorable. I finally found one day in mid-May that looked promising, but even that day did not seem to be entirely sunny. Considering the possibility that the weather might not be improved even if I waited until the end of May, I decided to visit Yokokawa first.

The day looked promising was Tuesday. If I cleaned-up all of my work on Monday, it would not be too busy at the office on that day. Considering wake-up time, taking the Shinkansen to Takasaki is ideal, but as an old man with claustrophobia who cannot stand crowded trains, I can only take commuter trains early in the morning on weekdays. I took the first regular train on the Tokaido Line from Yokohama and rode all the way to Takasaki, stopping at all stations.

I transferred to the Shinetsu Line at Takasaki and arrived Yokokawa. I then found that the railway preservation facility was closed. I was aware that Yokokawa’s famous kama-meshi (rice cooked in a pot) restaurant, Ogino-ya’s main shop was closed on Tuesdays. I had wondered why another branch along the national road in Yokokawa was also closed on Tuesdays, but I thought I finally understood the reason. I realized that the world did not revolve around me, but it was already too late. To prevent further damage, I returned to Tokyo using Shinkansen and worked from home in the afternoon.

The weather remained unfavorable for several days, but in the following week, forecast predicted good weather on Wednesday and Friday. However, the clear skies were expected only until mid-morning on both days, so I still had to split my plan into two occasions. Since the trekking road to Ichinokurasawa-deai was scheduled to reopen on that Friday, I decided to revisit Yokokawa on Wednesday.

From there on, it was basically as same as the previous week. Yet, I was able to take some satisfying photos and ate kama-meshi at the Ogino-ya’s main shop as originally planned.

Even though I am who I am, I can supposedly learn something. While waiting for a train on the way back, I called the tourist information office of Minakami Town. I was told that due to possibilities of avalanche, the trekking road would remain closed for some more time.

Indeed, I learned that the world did not revolve around me.

COLO’s Traveler Guide: Yokokawa

Listed schedule is based on timetable at the time of visit.

Yokohama 0525 (JR) > Takasaki 0750
Takasaki 0804 (JR) > Yokokawa 0837

– Usui Pass Railway Culture Village
– Kama-meshi Ogino-ya

Yokokawa 1110 (JR) > Takasaki 1141
Takasaki 1152 (JR) > Yokohama 1413

Memories of Guanajuato

When I lived in Los Angeles, I was often mistaken for a Mexican by Mexicans. I have considered Mexico as my second home country since then. In this Japan’s Golden Week holidays, I planned to return the home for the first time after the COVID-19.

This blog always consists of my frustration for the weather at travel destinations, but it is not the case this time. It was the dry season in a country where cacti thrive, there was nothing to worry about. After all, it was sunny every day.

Even though I call Mexico as my second home country, it is only because there are similarities in appearance. I do not have an understanding of Mexican culture. I gave up on learning Spanish within a short period of time, so there is the language barrier as well. Besides, I cannot avoid safety issues in Mexico. Indeed, they are what I should worry about rather than weather. Since it had been a while since my last visit to Mexico, I decided to choose a safe tourist destination. It was an old city called Guanajuato, where I have visited before.

I used to fly to Mexico using All Nippon Airways’ red-eye flights on its Tokyo-Los Angeles service, but I was not able to find good connecting flights at Los Angeles in this year. I had no choice but to pick flights that depart and arrive Tokyo during the daytime. Japan Airlines (JAL) has launched its latest A350-1000 to Dallas, so I decided to transfer American Airlines flights at Dallas. Airfare was high due to the Golden Week holidays, but I was able to adjust schedule to avoid peak dates.

Guanajuato was still a beautiful city. The old town was as if it were studded with jewels. As long as I took reasonable precautions, there were few safety concerns. I was able to enjoy leisurely stroll through the back alleys.

I was enjoying safe stay in the beautiful city, but challenges arose on the third day.

Tequila is often thought to be a product of Jalisco State, but there is a distillery in Guanajuato State which officially call its product as tequila. I wished to visit the tequila distillery, I asked the hotel if they could arrange a taxi for me. It was a little more expensive than Uber, but since it was not a place where I could easily find a return car, I requested to arrange the taxi for a round-trip. However, upon arriving at the distillery, it turned out there was a waiting fee incurred. The waiting time alone was equivalent to the one-way trip, so it ended up a significant expense.

I pulled myself together and went out for dinner. My hotel was located on a hill overlooking the old town of Guanajuato. The cable car that going up the hill had already suspended its operation after the dinner. I had heard it ran until 9:30 pm, but apparently it closed early on Sundays. I had to return to the city center and call an Uber back to the hotel. It was a day filled with unexpected transportation issues.

However, it was not over yet.

While I was dozing off, thinking about taking a shower, I received an email from JAL. Due to severe weather in Dallas area, my flight back to Japan would be delayed by 10.5 hours, arriving at Tokyo Haneda Airport around 1 am. It was already late at night, and there was little I could do at that hour. I lost the energy to take a shower and went to sleep.

Sleeping would not solve anything. In the next morning, I called JAL in US while I was still half asleep. Originally, I had booked a flight departing Guanajuato-León Airport around 5 am. The layover at Dallas would exceed 12 hours, which was simply too harsh. There was an American Airlines’ Dallas flight departing Guanajuato-León at 3:50 pm, which would connect to the JAL flight in about 2.5 hours, so I requested a change.

It was obvious if I thought of it calmly, but later, I received an email from American Airlines stating that free flight change was accepted due to possible delay to/from Dallas. I had finally made research what would be happening in Dallas, I found that there were severe thunderstorm and flood warnings issued in the area.

American Airlines allows to track status of previous flight of the aircraft to be used. Aircraft of the 3:50 pm flight would make a round trip of US domestic flights from Dallas before she would fly to Mexico. Three takeoffs and landings at Dallas Airport in bad weather would have high risks of delay. One flight before the 3:50 pm flight was scheduled to depart Guanajuato Airport at 10:45 am. While this flight would make connection time of about 7.5 hours on schedule, the plane would fly a one-way flight from Washington D.C. to Dallas before heading to Mexico. Therefore, the risk of delay could be lower and there would be ample time for the connection in case of delay.

After considering them for a while, I contacted JAL in Tokyo late at night. It took time, but being able to communicate them via a messaging app was helpful in terms of phone costs. I managed to secure the last seat on the 10:45 am flight and everything was finally settled at 2:00 am.

I took a short sleep and went out to see the last sunrise in Guanajuato. If I had taken the original 5:00 am flight, I would not have been able to see this view. Luckily, I was able to enjoy the most beautiful sunrise during my stay.

I took an Uber to Guanajuato-León Airport and checked-in for American Airlines. In the end, I arrived at Dallas Airport about 2 hours late. The 3:50 pm flight was also significantly delayed. Since I needed to go through US immigration at Dallas even for an international connection, I would have missed JAL flight if I kept the 3:50 pm flight.

Yet, it still meant 5.5 hours of wait in Dallas. Since I was able to clear the immigration fairly smoothly, I thought I might have time to go to Dallas or nearby Fort Worth. I would go to Fort Worth if sunny, but considering the thunderstorm with a flood warning, which was severe enough to delay many flights, I decided to stay inside the airport. Since it had been some 30 years since I last visited Texas, I thought about going to a Texan barbecue restaurant. It was unfortunate that the airport prices, inflation, and the weak Japanese Yen were a triple-whammy, I gave up the idea. To enjoy an American taste slightly, I made bourbon whiskey highball at the American Airlines lounge and killed time reading my company’s email while watching the planes.

The JAL flight was delayed as planned, arrived at Haneda Airport around 1 am, which was, in a way, on time. I took a taxi from Haneda Airport back to Yokohama. JAL made compensation up to JPY10,000, and the remaining amount I had to pay was not much different from the cost of returning home normally. Additionally, I received JPY24,000 as a “consolation payment” from my travel insurance. I had already handled work emails during the waiting time at Dallas Airport, and I had set to work from home on the day I returned, so there was no loss in any way. I even got to see the sunrise that I was supposedly not to see, so I should consider as pennies (or consolation payment) from heaven.

I tend to think “a glass of half empty of water” but I felt like “a glass of half full of water” at the end of this trip. So much so, Mexico is truly my second home country.

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.