Cap de setmana als Alps!! - Weekend in the Alps!!

Ara que ja tenim l'estiu a tocar no hi ha res millor que una escapada a la muntanya per oblidar la calor i xafogor asfixiant de Tokyo i gaudir d'aire pur i naturalesa. I no serà per muntanyes en aquest país, diuen que al voltant d'un 70% del territori és muntanya!! Aquest cop doncs amb uns amics vàrem decidir explorar els Alps del nord a la regió de Kamikochi, ubicat a la prefectura de Nagano, no molt lluny de Matsumoto. Kamikochi és un parc natural al voltant d'un riu en un entorn meravellós al cor dels Alps. Des d'allà es poden fer multitud de rutes, en el nostre cas vàrem fer una ruta simple per pujar al Yake-dake, una muntanya que de fet és volcà i a sobre està actiu. L'ascencs, en dues parts, el dissabte més suau i boscós on el temps no ens va acompanyar i va estar plovent bastant, o sigui que no veiem el moment d'arribar al refugi.  El diumenge però ens vàrem llevar amb un dia radiant per acabar de pujar a la cima, que sense ser res d'altre món (2500m) es va transformar en un recorregut molt més ferèstec, rocós i exigent...sobretot quan perds el camí i acabes pujant per un lloc completament alternatiu, gairebé escalant :) Finalment vàrem arribar sense problema, i va pagar la pena doncs les vistes eren acollonants, realment em vaig teletransportar als Alps Suïssos amb la diferència que al girar el cap tenia un cràter fumejant! 

Feeling the summer already here, there is nothing better that an outing to the mountains to forget about the hot and humid Tokyo weather and enjoy the fresh air and nature of these country. And in Japan this is not a problem, with about 70% of mountainous territory, this country is great for hiking! This time, with some friends, we decided to head to the Northern-Alps, at the region called Kamikochi, in Nagano prefecture, not far from Matsumoto city. Kamikochi is a natural park along a river and surrounded by a wonderful environment at the heart of the Alps. From there there are plenty of hiking routes, we took an easy but interesting one, climbing Yake-dake, one of the few active volcanos of the Alps. We split the ascend in two parts, first on Saturday, quite easy and mostly into forests but we didn't have that good weather and was raining almost all the time, so we were really looking forward to get to the hut, which ended up being a cozy and comfortable place to overnight. On Sunday, luckily we woke up with a wonderful day ready to head up to the summit, which although not that high (2500m), it became a much more rocky and demanding....particularly when you loose the path and end up taking an alternative path almost climbing :) Finally we made it without major issue and it was really worthwhile since the views from the top were gorgeous, it reminded me my times in Switzerland, with the difference that when I turned my head, there was a steaming crater !  

















  



















I després de recuperar forces amb un bon plat de soba i un bany termal miraculós, camí de tornada a Matsumoto per agafar el tren cap a Tokyo, abans però visita obligada al famós castell de Matsumoto (Matsumoto-jo), un dels tresors nacionals del Japó i considerat un dels castells tradicionals més bonics del país...i sens dubte ho és.

And after recovering strength with a yummy meal of soba and relaxing in an Onsen, we headed back to Matsumoto to take the train back to Tokyo, before however there was a mandatory stopover to see the Matsumoto castle (Matsumoto-jo), one of the National Treasures of Japan and considered one of the most beautiful traditional castles remaining...and so it is!