大山

Daisen was to be the last 百名山 of year 2009. (hyakumeizan - one hundred of Japan's most famous mountains based on a combination of grace, history and individuality selected by Japanese mountaineer Kyuuya Fukada) With a long Silver Week Holiday, Sayo and I agreed that climbing a mountain would be the best way to pass the time. Having decided about a month previous, we did the necessary homework: researching the trail heads, transportation and costs, weather, etc. However "the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray". A last glance of the weather report on departure's eve led us to believe rain would be imminent. If this was the case we would be forced to summit on the first day, and that the second day would be wet and miserable. With the ability to only hope for the best we went to sleep awaiting a 5am alarm.

Monday, September 21, 2009
We departed from Tennoji Station and arrived at OCAT just in time to grab a wholesome McD's Sausage Egg McMuffin Set and Nikkei Shinbun before jumping on our scheduled 7:20am bus. What wasn't scheduled, however was the holiday traffic. Instead of arriving at 10:50am we would now be an extra hour and a few minutes later. This didn't bode well as I hoped to start early, get the majority of the hiking in and hit the summit before the aforementioned rain sweeped in. However, as they say in Japanese, 仕方がない　(shikataganai - can't be helped), and instead of taking an Y800 bus from the station to the bottom of the mountain, we were forced to take a taxi costing us an additional Y4000 (Thanks to Sayo's ability to make a deal, she bargained the taxi driver down from Y5000). Arriving at Daisen Jyohou Center we started our ascent.

Although it felt as if one were walking on a stairmaster set to the most difficult setting, progress was quick. With 20% determination and 80% fear of rain we made it to the peak in about 3 hours. At 4:30pm we were at the top and it was beautiful and clear. These are the moments when I appreciate how wrong weather reports can be at times. After soaking in the spectacular scenery we headed to our resting place for the evening. The 小屋　(koya - small cabin) was a two-story, wooden building powered by solar energy. The toilets although filthy, were flush toilets, something rarely encountered on the top of a mountain. Best of all, there was someone running the place, which for me meant beer. This little pleasure was not to come cheap though. One can of 発泡酒　(happoshu - cheap, low malt beer) that usually costs Y150 in the city was suddenly Y800. Yet, it was a price I was willing to pay. Enjoying the beer, Indian Marsala curry and rice, we both quickly found ourselves tired and made our way to bed.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009
It was probably about 5:30am when we awoke. Having a light breakfast consisting of ramen, bread and coffee, we then packed up our things and prepared for our descent. It had rained hard during the evening and a layer of clouds remained, encircling the peak. Although it wasn't raining, it was still a little chilly and damp. The climb down was even quicker than the way up, taking us only about two hours. Along the way we encountered hikers hoping to make the up and down march in time to make it home for dinner. Because it was cloudy there wasn't much to see but it made for a nice crisp and cool descent. Upon reaching the bottom, we made our way to the temple and after taking a few pictures we found ourselves having a nice glass of Asahi. All in all, a nice hike.
Daisen is a tall mountain, 1729m, with basically one peak. It is very easy to make this a day hike and one will feel a sense of accomplishment upon reaching the top. However there wasn't much diversity during the hike and there are many people also making this trek, so if you're looking for something a little more exotic and quiet this would not be a first choice. That being said, I wouldn't mind going back and checking out a little side course called "Utopia". Daisen makes the fourth 百名山, only 96 more...