From mountain vegetables to mountain peaks... one weekend!

I owe so many people a catch-up note that I decided to take the easy way out and just write a blog post.  Sorry guys.  May isn't looking any better schedule-wise, so how about we plan a catch up around early June?:)

All of our goodies!

One of the main reasons I wanted to live in the inaka in Japan was I thought that it would allow me to get a better glimpse of traditional Japanese culture.  So far, that hasn't been the case, so when I heard about an opportunity for a wild mountain vegetable gathering tour hosted by a local couple, I jumped at the chance.

Mmm, lunch!

Apparently springtime was traditionally a time when Japanese people gathered many wild vegetables from the mountains because it was too early to plant a garden.  We were hosted by a Japanese couple recently returned to Nagano in their renovated former-warehouse home built over 100 years ago.   Currently, they keep a small farm of apple and pear trees, as well as two rice paddies.

They introduced us to three main types of wild vegetables: wild onions; udo, more commonly known as mountain asparagus; and something that sounded like "jelly" which I was not interested in because there are two types--poison and not poisonous--and A and I both had a hard time telling which was which and were terrified we'd picked the wrong kind and poison everyone.

Picking wild onions.

After we finished picking the vegetables, we returned to their home and helped cook lunch.  I finally learned how to properly make tempura without spattering myself with hot oil, and we made 3 different kinds of salad using only miso and sugar.  I couldn't eat the salads, but the tempura was delicious, and it was a great opportunity to learn about traditional Japanese culture and practice our Japanese conversation.:)

Snow walk.

The next day we took the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route.  Here's the link here: http://www. alpen-route.com/en/  Basically this route goes over the mountains between Nagano (our prefecture) and the prefecture on the other side, Toyama.  We only had time for a day trip (and staying was cost-prohibitive) so we went to the halfway point near the Tateyama mountain range.  It's perhaps most famous for the giant snow wall that is dug every year on one of the roads near the halfway point, Murodo.

Walking around the base of the Tateyama range.

Mt. Tateyama is a very well-known mountain in Japan, and it's highest accessible peak, Mt. Oyama is just over 3000 meters.  I really wanted to summit it, but unfortunately the route required both crampons and an ice axe, which I'm not very comfortable with.  So I set a new goal for next year--find a group or guide to help me do some winter mountaineering!

I want to climb.....:(

The Tateyama area is also well-known for it's skiing, snowboarding (no lifts, obviously!) and winter campground.  Why you would want to do any of those things when winter just ended is beyond me, but to each his own I suppose.  Most of the trekking courses are meant to be done in summer, as they feature ponds, flowers and wildlife that are not present this early in the year.  But the trek in winter is eerily quiet,
despite the small pockets of people, and everything looks clean and sharp.

Hot springs.

We did get to trek around some sulfurous hot springs, which (as the numerous signs warn you)
have poisonous gases so you are not allowed to get too close.  We took advantage of the highest onsen (hot spring) in Japan at 2410 meters and peeked into one of the calderas of Tateyama.

The last section (or the first, depending on which way you're going) of the route takes you by the Kurobe Dam, which I think is the tallest (or maybe the highest) dam in Japan.  To get there, you take the longest single span ropeway in Japan.  It's a journey full of notables.:)  At any rate, the ice was just finishing melting off the lake, and the early morning light gave us some gorgeous views to start our travels.  Clouds moved in on the way home, so we were very thankful for our perfect morning weather.

Kurobe Dam and Kurobeko.

The Alpine Route is also fairly unique because you take many different kinds of transportation.  Just to get to Murodo, we first took a trolley bus, then a cable car, a ropeway, and a trolley bus again.  There are many stopping points along the way, or you can just muscle your through the 500 Chinese tour groups and get to where you need to go.  Nothing against Chinese tour groups, I just found it odd that almost everyone there appeared to belong to such a group.  Everyone else--Japanese people, Westerners, other Asians, etc.--were in the minority, which is so far unique in my experience in Japan.  I guess we tend to stay away from such popular attractions, so our exposure to tour groups and the like is fairly minimal.  At any rate, I recommend the Alpine Route from Ogizawa to Murodo, with an added bonus of free and convenient parking at Ogizawa to offset the rather expensive cost of the Route ticket.

Ropeway car looking down towards Kurobe Dam.

Jeju-do Olle Trails

Follow these ribbons to find the trail...

The Olle Trails are the best thing about Jeju Island, especially if you're a budget traveler like us.:) See this website for details about all the trails on Jeju:  http://english.jeju.go.kr/index.php/
contents/ Tour/MasterpieceJeju/
walking_hiking/jeju_olle_trails

We stayed in a lovely inn at Seogwipo Harbor, one of two cities on the island.  If you're ever on Jeju, I highly recommend staying at Tae Gong Gak Inn, which you can find here:http://www.lepotel.kr/ It's right along the airport bus path and near many of the most popular tourist sites.  Views over the harbor are also lovely, and Seogwipo downtown has a great local market and many restaurants and coffee shops to

Sunset from the roof of TGG

explore when you tire of all the nature.:)                                                                                            
We were right along the path for both Olle Trail 6 and 7.  Our first day on Jeju, we knew it was going to be pouring rain, so we suited up in our rain gear and headed to the first stop on the trail, Oedalgae Rock.

The Jeju Olle are a relatively new addition to Jeju, I think they were finished in 2007.  They run along the coast of the entire island and showcase some of the best places in Jeju.  They are also FREE!   Most you can do one-way on a day trip and catch the local bus back to your place of origin.  The two I hiked required a relatively good level of fitness, especially if you intend to hike the entire 12-18 km of most trails.

Suited up and ready to go in front of TGG.

Olle 7 is one of the most popular Olles on Jeju.  Despite the pouring rain, the trail was crowded with loud tour groups of high school boys and older women, which was surprisingly uncomfortable.  This trip was our first trip out of Japan in over a year and a half, and it's amazing how you become accustomed to the quiet and polite atmosphere that surrounds most places in Japan. These tour groups literally hurt my ears with their high-pitched squealing, and I was offended by their unapologetic aggression; pushing and shoving without heed for those around them, blatantly taking chairs or viewing spots if you stood up or moved for even half a second.  Japanese people are rarely so rude.  In fact, I was on a crowded train from Matsumoto at rush hour just the other day and a girl who was sitting down got up to throw her trash away in a bin on the platform.  Two ladies took her spot, but when she returned to the train, they got up apologetically and offered her the seat.  I offered the girl the spot next to me, and the two ladies gratefully sat down,with much thanks.  That's how we roll here.:) 

At any rate Oedalgae rock is undeniably phallic.  There are many phallic rocks on Jeju that have been turned into sightseeing spots, and whether or not that has any meaning I will leave for you to decide.  There are many legends about their formation, generally involving people turning into rocks for various sad reasons.  Oedalgae Rock is nice, but a huge tourist trap, so if your goal is secluded nature, I don't recommend stopping here long.

Oedalgae Rock

When not pouring rain, I think this trail would be lovely as it walks along the coastline showcasing some beautiful rock formations, cliffs, and spring flowers. Additionally, though you feel like you are out in nature, you are actually very close to civilization, so it's easy to pop to a shop for a coffee or snack or bail on the trail entirely and hike a small ways up to the main road and catch the airport bus.

It is quite difficult however, because there is a good 30-40 minutes spent clamboring over slippery wet rocks along the coastline.  As it's crowded you can usually just follow the line ahead of you, but if there's no one around there are very easily missed paint marks on the rocks to guide the way. If you're lucky you can see some of the women divers with their buoys working out in the sea gathering sea creatures.  People on Jeju are very proud of these women.  Everyone asked us if we'd seen them yet, and told us where possible viewing spots were.

Also (and my information is second hand) apparently they are building a military base in the middle of this trail (you can see and hear the construction), so part of the trail is closed.  I believe there is a detour, but we chose not to hike that far.  We stopped at what we dubbed the "Poontang" resort because we couldn't pronounce the actual name.  It starts with a P and has some oo's in there, no disrespect intended.

Black sand beach, Soesokkak

My favorite Olle was actually the first half of Olle 6.  A chose to stay in Seogwipo and hit up the coffee shops, so I hiked this one solo.   I had the bright idea to try and hike it backwards, which is not advised.  Olle 6 starts at Soesokkak estuary, which has a beautiful black sand beach and is generally quite a good spot for relaxing.  So because we were already in the middle of Olle 6, and we'd already seen the end (Oedalgae Rock) hiking backwards seemed not only logical but also a beach would be a good place to rest and recover at the end of a long hike.  However, not only myself but several other groups of hikers got misdirected after leaving Jeongbang waterfall and ended up doubling back through downtown Seogwipo.   I then caught a taxi to Soesokkak for only $7 and hiked the trail from the beginning.

This trail is perfect if you are looking to avoid people (as I usually am:).  It is less popular than the other trails, and though the two main tourist sites on the first half (Soesokkak estuary and Jeongbang waterfall) are a little crowed, most of the trail I hiked alone.  It's also the perfect trail if you want to experience almost everything for which Jeju is famous.  It has a beach, flowers, the sea, waterfalls, oreum, traditional markets and phallic rocks.  The only thing missing is a lava tube.

You begin at the black sand beach at Soesokkak estuary.  Though all the tourist guides recommend taking a boat ride there, I wouldn't bother.  Enjoy the sand and the sea and continue on your way.  The next stop on the trail is a small oreum, or parasitic volcano.  After climbing to the top of the oreum, the trail winds through traditional villages with old rock walls all along the coastline.  Many people were working on the rocks and in

The sun came out for the first time in 2 days!

the sea gathering sea creatures and fishing.  Just as you're about to break a sweat, cool breezes arrive to cool you off.

This trail does not have much difficult terrain, even the hike up the oreum is well developed and fairly short.  That being said, I would still hike this trail in appropriate hiking gear (boots, pants, backpack etc.) It is much farther from "civilization", so bring plenty of water and snacks.  It's also about 8 km until you circle back towards the main road, so once you start the hike you have to be committed.

Big Jeongbang Waterfall falls into the sea.

Little Jeongbang waterfall also falls into the sea.

This trail also includes Big and Little Jeongbang waterfalls, which are both very peaceful and beautiful if you are lucky like I was and missed the large tour groups.  Just before the trail to Little Jeongbang, this trail winds back up to the main road, which at the moment is under construction, so take care with the signage.  If you are tired, you can catch the airport bus from the front of the KAL hotel.  Otherwise, you will hike back along the main road to tour through downtown Seogwipo and end at Oedalgae Rock. 

Comparing Jeju-do, Korea to Iriomote in Okinawa (where we went last year), Jeju wins in every category.  Iriomote was too remote; very difficult to get around if you didn't rent a car, with most areas being inaccessible without paying for a guided tour.  Jeju has a wonderful bus system and cheap taxis so you can get around the island without any problems.  Iriomote had little in the way of shops or stores, we primarily ate from the small grocery we found after hiking a couple kilometers.  Seogwipo is the perfect balance of shopping, eating, drinking and nature.  It's everything you could ask for right in one place.

 Jeju is also super cheap, we ate twice at a famous Korean eatery and got all this food plus unlimited refills for only $8 per person.  Flights to Jeju, including a connection through Seoul, were less than half the cost of what it cost for us to fly to Ishigaki, not counting the round trip ferry ride guaranteed to make you toss your cookies (or anything else you may have eaten) to Iriomote.  If you speak Japanese, you will have no problem getting around either as I was grateful to both the airport attendant and the evening inn staff who had trouble with English, but enthusiastically spoke to us in Japanese.  Those of you in Japan, I highly recommend Jeju as a must see for an interesting and relatively cheap holiday!  Plus, if nature's not your thing there's the bazillion strange museums like Mini-mini land and Loveland...

So so so delicious, it was nice to have food with flavor!