Yesterday was a glorious day, full of fun and adventure!

We were so pleased to have such beautiful weather as we had been planning our Mt.Kongo hike for a while now.

After booking the day off from work, we were blessed to see lovely warm weather and sunny blue skies!

There were three routes we were recommended up Mt.Kongo.

2 were from the Osaka side, and 1 from Nara side. 

We decided to opt for the more difficult hike, which also turned out to be the Nara prefecture side, in the hope that it would be less busy. I had previously read that Mt.Kongo is the second busiest mountain in all of Japan!

We walked to JR Nara in the early morning, and took a train for just over 1 hour, before arriving at a tiny little train station, seemingly in the middle of nowhere!

We enjoyed a 4km walk uphill to get to the base of the mountain before we even started the hike. People suggested against this route, as most people would not want to walk for so long uphill before even starting, but we relish the chance to explore and see parts of Japan that are largely unseen by Westerners and it turned out to a great idea!

Locals came out to speak to us and seemed surprised that we had taken this route, but we were pleased with our decision. Walking along through the countryside was so quiet and peaceful, just how we like it!

The hike itself was excellent and was one of our favourites! I can see why it is one of the most popular, as there are great facilities at the peak for camping, relaxing and more. There are also two ropeways you can take to get back up and down, and fortunately for us it appeared that everyone else had chosen this option! We did not see any other hikers heading up the mountain at all on our travels!

We reached the top far quicker than expected (this always seems to happen!) which allowed us to explore the local shrine, observation point, and also to chill out and have a picnic. We could not have asked for a better day. I think this was one of my most memorable days in Japan and everything just felt 'perfect'. 

As we raised our 'yaki-imo'  (please read my previous post to find out more about our strange tradition! https://cafetalk.com/column/read/?id=88458&preview_key=df4e037406e5a6facc8bad896d86aa57&lang=en) and layed on the grass together we felt totally at peace. 100% removed from our busy and stressful lives back in London, and 100% glad about our decision to come to Japan. When I tell Japanese friends about my love for this country, they are always quick to point out 'things aren't perfect in Japan! We have many problems with X'. 

And whilst this may be true.....in all the countries we have visited and travelled around, I can honestly say that I have never felt more content and happy to be alive than I currently do in Japan!

The way home involved a lot more walking but we were blessed with beautiful cherry blossoms along the route! When people think we are crazy for walking for hours each day instead of taking buses and trains, I tell them that you get to see far more of the world this way!

This walk was a perfect example of this...

Thank you for reading everyone and have a lovely spring day!

Once in a while it is worth smiling, and proclaiming out loud - 'LIFE IS GOOD!'

David

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I am a highly experienced professional English teacher, Yoga Instructor, Tai Chi teacher, Nutrition Consultant and Personal Trainer from London, UK. I recently left London to work and travel around Japan on a Working Holiday Visa with my best friend and longtime girlfriend Ashley (who is also a teacher on Cafetalk : https://cafetalk.com/tutors/profile/?id=54542&lang=en ). We love sharing adventures travelling, teaching, exploring and understanding new cultures. We hope to speak with you soon!

If you would like to follow my travels on instagram, and see where we are in the world you can do so here:

Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions, or if you would like to schedule a lesson at a time in which my schedule is not open. I will always do my best to accomodate every student.

David