Doshisha Days

The final days of April and first week of May is one of the the craziest times to be in Japan. Like Voltron or Captain Planet, four somewhat mundane Japanese holidays join forces to make one super holiday affectionately referred to as Golden Week (ask any Japanese the significance of any single holiday and you will likely be met with blank stares). Of course, most Japanese end up doing the same thing during this week: travel. Buses are packed to the gills, airlines gouge their customers and seats on the shinkansen are hot commodities.

Instead of staying in Kyoto as I had last Golden Week, my lovely girlfriend, Milo, and I decided to head to Kyushu to visit my buddy Joe from Vassar who is teaching English in Kumamoto City. A few weeks prior, we booked tickets on a 12 hour night bus while letting Joe sort out our week long adventure once we got there. We were not disappointed.

Our ride was more pleasant than expected and we arrived in Kumamoto around 9 am on Saturday the 28th of April. Joe met us at the bus stop and walked us back to his apartment where we unloaded our packs and ate a breakfast of coffee with honey, fresh fruit and soba noodles in miso. Being sufficiently stuffed, the three of us along with Haunani, Joe's Hawaiin friend who had just flown in from Istanbul the day before, we took a leisurely stroll down to Kumamoto Castle, one of Japan's grandest, known for its expansive walls that repelled the onslaught of rebels opposing the Meiji Restoration. That day, the castle and the adjacent park was hosting a myriad assortment of activities, including an air show featuring the Japanese version of the Blue Angels (The were of course tons of photos taken on this trip, and four is not even close to doing this justice so please check out my photo website if my words are no sufficient). The planes streaked across the heavens; they passed the castle and the crowds below in various formations, their exhaust creating Olympic rings and hearts in the strikingly stark blue sky, nary a cloud was in sight.

After the show, a small group of Joe's friends converged on Joe's house for dinner and drink. We feasted on Milo's famous guacamole, a massive salad and copious amounts of wine. We then headed to a German beer hall and to a salsa club. By the end of the night, exhaustion had set in and I slept deeply on the tatami mats in the apartment.

We awoke the following day and had another hearty breakfast before heading down to Kagoshima city, the southernmost prefecture in Kyushu. Milo and I snagged a ride with Joe's Canadian friend Amy while Joe and Haunani hitched hiked down from outside Kumamoto city. We arrived before dusk and checked into our ryokan across from the city hall and were joied with our two companions shortly thereafter. We hit the town, eating and drinking and playing cribbige until late into the night. The futons in the ryokan were quite comfortable, and they were the last beds we were to have until the end of the week.

Morning came early, and after showers and packing, we headed down to the ferry terminal were we boarded a hydro-foil bound for Yakushima, approximately 60 km south of Cape Sata and mainland Kyushu. Yakushima is one of the most treasured natural sites in all of Japan, its topography and climate (very wet!) have made it the home to the tallest mountain in Southern Japan, Miyanoura-dake, as well as some of the oldest trees on the planet, including Jomon-sugi, which is estimated to be around 7200 years old.

We disembarked around noon, gathered our supplies for the next few days as we cut a path across this 25km-in-diameter island. By 2 pm, we had arrived at the trailhead and descended into the dense damp forrest. The first trees we encountered were mainly second growth trees that had sprung up from the remnants of the older trees; it was symbiotic or even parasitic in nature, the way the trees wrapped themselves around each other. The vernal greenness of the place is hard to describe, even in photos. Around 5 we made it to the first camping area (camping on the island outside designated areas is forbidden). Unable to push any further today, we entered the (cement) hut and made camp on the wooden platforms. The place stuck of urine - the bathroom was foolishly built inside.

We dropped off our stuff and then hiked out to a magnificent outlook were we drunk up a majestic vista of the valley below us. In the distance was Miyanoura-dake, the tallest peak. We would be standing there in two days time. Ominous clouds barrelled over the peaks in the distance as a river cut through the valley floor below. Eventually the wind had taken its toll on us and we descened back to camp. We made food under cover as the rain started to fall and we all began to dread what we expected was going to be a wet second day.

The others at the campsite started stirring before first light. All I could hear was the sound of water and was unsuprisingly reluctant to make a move. Joe on the other hand was up and discovered that the sound of water was coming not from the heavens, but from an adjacent stream. Although there still was a light mist and trickle, this brought great relief to us and we set out the second day around 8 am.