August 26, 2009: In Aso Climbing Nakadake and Eboshidake- Seeing an Active Volcano for the First Time

This was definately the best part of my entire week adventure:

Seems like everyday I wake up before the sun rises. I woke up to get on the 6:30am ferry from Sakurajima back to Kagoshima. Then I took a few trains and in a few hours, before 10am, I arrived in Aso (slightly north of the middle of Kyushu). I went to Aso to climb up and peer into an active volcano. Aso has about 5 volcanoes, and all but one are extinct.

Getting to the Camp Grounds:
When I arrived at Aso I was determined to stay at a youth hostel for one night that would cost me about 2450 yen, $24.50. As I walked up the big hill, there was a split in the road. There were two signs: Following the road about another 0.3 km I would bump into the hostel. Walking 1 km up into the woods would lead me to the Bochu camp grounds. When will be the next time I would have the chance to camp? And do it alone? I was thrilled by the idea of camping for the first time in the woods alone. 1 km is not that far, right? I walked for about 10 minutes straight uphill. Then another sign told me I’d have to walk another 0.8 km. I met an old woman on the way who was walking her 3 dogs. In Japanese she asked me where I was going, and I said to Bochu camp and I went on my way. The next incline was even worse and after walking about 7 minutes I reached a sign that said it was 0.7 km away. I couldn’t believe it, I thought I was at least halfway there or more. My North Face book-bag with my computer and etc and my smaller bag that I slung over my shoulder with a few days worth of clothes felt like it weighed a ton. I wanted to give up. I didn’t eat anything yet except for some caramels that I bought to give me some energy for the way there. Exhausted, I told myself I’ll just go to the youth hostel. I walked down hill and saw the old lady again, taking a smoke break. I told her I gave up because I still had 0.7 km and was thinking of staying at the youth hostel. The old lady told me that I was so close, that there’s a shortcut up ahead that you can cut thru and enter through the backdoor of the camp. Feeling encouraged and renewed I decided to suck it up and make my way there. I couldn’t find the way to the shortcut and on the way I thought I saw a camp site through the woods but thought I was delusional thru hunger and it disappeared after a few steps so I thought I must be crazy (I found out later that it was another camp site, which is closer. I should have went there!). So I walked up a steep incline for about 30 minutes, sun shining, humidity rising, with about 30 pounds or so on my back. When I finally found the place I was so happy. I didn’t make a reservation, but it’s a camp site in the middle of nowhere, so why would it be necessary? Later I found out that in the next few days he would not let people in unless they had a reservation. I was lucky.

Real Molten Lava Rocks:
The old man of the place helped me set up my tent and so now I know how to set one up! Thinking I might run out of time, I took the bus up to the volcanoes and decided I’ll walk back later. All I had on me was the really general map that the old man gave me. I climbed my way up to the Nakadake volcano which should take about 20 minutes, but took me much longer because I took a detour first to see the volcano from the side view and walk through the black volcanic ash. I picked up a few volcanic rocks that were red with black shiny crystals in them to give to my distant relatives as a present when I see them. I wanted to take more, but they were too heavy.

Peering into the Active Volcano:
I was thirsty throughout the whole day. No matter how much I drank, I was still thirsty. I slowly made my way to a huge crater of the Naka-dake volcano that looked fairly inactive but still such a sight. Then I made my way to the active crater. I peered inside and saw the volcanic gas rippling through the cracks and seams of a hot molten lake of blue-green lava (I expected red lava, but learned there are different types of volcanoes, and that Naka-dake is filled with different types of chemicals: calcium, sulfur, etc to give it that color). The rippling gas was mesmerizing and I think I watched it for about 20 minutes. It turned about and swerved and gathered in clumps as if it rehearsing a dance. I only wish I could have gotten closer.

Climbing an Extinct Volcano:
Afterwards I made my way to Eboshi-dake. It took about 30 minutes to walk to it from Naka-dake. 1337 meters high, it’s a lush and green extinct volcano. Beside Eboshi was a caldera lake and cows grazing freely. Words can’t even explain the scenic beauty of this place. I was spellbound. I couldn’t figure out where the trail started to climb Eboshi-dake. I asked a few people and followed a few others, but it only lead to a small hill in front of the extinct volcano that allowed you to take a nice picture. I asked a couple about how to climb it, and the girl was shocked because she didn’t think anyone could climb it. I finally found the path and thought I was running out of time so I ran up Eboshi-dake (I needed to get home before dark because I won’t be able to see anything; I didn’t have a flashlight). Usually it takes about 1 hour to climb and another hour to come down. I climbed up in about 40 minutes and came down in 35 minutes. It was so steep and slippery to get to the top and the trail was the narrowest trail I’ve ever climbed. On my way there were some unusual but pretty flowers and once I got to the top I was rewarded with views of the entire town from ever angle. From one angle I could see Naka-dake; another the caldera lake and other extinct volcanoes. From yet another angle I also saw the rolling hills of the town. All I had was a small lunch so the drink I bought full of electrolytes (Japanese version of Gatorade, I guess) for the climb definitely came through. I was so happy I scream “woo-hoo!” from the top of Eboshi-dake, but there was no one to hear me. Still, in this solitude, I found peace and joy. There were a few butterflies flying around me when I was at the top and one landed on this square white block that was in the ground (the old man at the camp told me there were only 10 of them in the area).

Climbing down was another story. I tried to go as fast as I could and slipped in the muddy dirt, but thankfully I didn’t slip off of the side of the cliff. Going back to the camp was another story. I tried to find the short-cut, hiking trail but I couldn’t find it so I walked all the way back to Naka-dake and asked some people (but it was past 5pm and very few people were there). They gave me some directions about where the trail started (they said there was a gate and cows), but they told me that it’s a forbidden trail because it’s dangerous and no one is allowed to go through it. I forgot to ask why it was dangerous, and the old guy at the camp recommended it. I only had about 2 hours before it would become dark and taking the normal road would take definitely more than 2 hours so I told them I had no choice and hurriedly went on my way.

Cow Territory:
I didn’t realize it was through the grazing cows. I thought it was someone’s ranch and thought I wasn’t supposed to go through the gate. The old man at the camp said there were 5 gates. I climbed over the first one and walked fast. Why didn’t the old man tell me it was through the cows? These cows had horns sticking out of their head; some were caramel colored, and some black. Some had bigger horns than others (and thinking about how male lions with the darkest manes are the most aggressive, I was slightly scared). The road stunk of cow dung and the cows just pooped mounds of it wherever they pleased. I couldn’t find the second gate and I already walked about an hour. It was 6:30pm or so and I was worried because it would get dark in about an hour then I would be screwed and have to sleep in the cow dung road in the middle of nowhere. I walked through one road and saw a dead end. Where the hell was I supposed to go?! There was no one around to ask. I didn’t have a cell phone. There were no pay phones. I didn’t see people, or cars, and truly felt alone and lost. The people at Naka-dake told me it was over the mountains and I thought I might have to climb the mountains but there were no roads to climb over it so I was so confused. I couldn’t walk back now, there was no time, and probably no one would be there. I used the wrappers from my caramels earlier as trail markers in case I took a wrong road and couldn’t find my way back. If I had skittles it might have worked better as trail markers but then again, the cows might have eaten them. I took one wrong road for about 20 minutes and lost some time because of that. Many times the cows stopped grazing and stared at me. I didn’t know what to do and they just kept mooing loudly. They wouldn’t get out of my way and if I made a sudden movement they bolted. I was scared they might bolt and run me over. So I tried to walk by as slowly as I could, walking around the cows. At one point 4 black cows bolted right in front me across the lawn. Then I walked by and was surround by about 8 cows staring at me as I walked, their heads turning as I made my way across. I thought they were going to gang up on me and butt me with their horns and thought I was going to die. I was so scared. When I finally passed the cows I saw the town below me from far. The houses were so far away, I couldn’t tell if they were parked cars in a really big parking lot or people or buildings. I swear I was delusional. The sky was turning orange and I was so afraid I’d be alone with the cows in the dark. There was not a person in sight, and I was afraid I would die there. No one knew where I was and there were no phones. I didn’t have anything useful on me, not even a sweater. I was wearing a t-shirt, spandex pants, and shorts on top and it was getting cold. I imagined the worst and with tears swelling up in my eyes, I almost cried. I kept telling myself even if I am going the wrong way, people are straight ahead and I have to make it to that town before dark and ask for help. I prayed loudly as my voice struggled to keep steady. I was on the verge of crying. I was talking to myself, telling myself I’ll be okay, that I won’t die if I keep walking fast.

Horses telling me I’m Delicious:
I finally found the second gate. I jumped over it and kept walking determined to find my way back. I found the third gate soon after the second, and hesitated. I thought that after the cows, I’d be in the clear. I saw a ranch of horses and 3 of them were by the gate. Two huge ones came closer to the gate as they saw me and started licking and smacking their lips. They were nudging the gate, trying to open it, and I felt scared again. They looked like they wanted to take a bite of me! So I decided to walk around the gate, into the grass and weeds. A few steps and I was up to my thighs in the weeds, a few more and it went up to my neck. I thought it would be hopeless.

On either side of the gate were a few rusted poles and barbed wire. I decided that I’d be better off climbing that than getting eaten by horses. I climbed one rusty pole and realized it wasn’t sturdy at all and slipped off. Luckily I already had my tetanus shot. I climbed in between two poles for support, but got caught by some barbed wire close to the ground. I finally quietly jumped over, and walked around the horses. A few of the smaller horses saw me and galloped toward me. Why me? I walked around the horses and jumped over the fourth gate. I couldn’t find the fifth. Did I miss one? I finally hit a road and I saw the camp in the distance to the right. But the road curved into the left and it was the only road. I was a bit confused and tired from all the heart-attacks I incurred throughout the day from the close encounters from all the wild animals. I was sick of walking and the sun was setting. I saw a car and pretended to ask for directions. They gave me a lift for 5 minutes. That was the first time I hitchhiked. But, I didn’t mean to: the thing is, I didn’t ask them to drive me, I wanted to make sure I was heading in the right direction and was just asking for directions. But, deep down inside I was hoping they would pick me up because it was already about 7:30pm and would get really dark really soon.

Back at camp:
I was happy to get back to camp. Most people come by car and set up camp on the site right next to their car. There were only about 4 other people there. I convinced the old man from the camp to let me use his personal shower because I fell in mud earlier and walked in cow dung all day. He told me not to tell anyone I used his shower. Feeling refreshed I had some blueberry ice cream for dinner that I bought from the camp. They didn’t have much of a selection, and the nearest food store was about 30 minutes on a road in pitch black darkness. I wasn’t that hungry anyway. I didn’t have a sleeping bag or any equipment, so I borrowed one blanket for 150 yen, $1.50. I spoke to the camp guy for about an hour. He was happy that I wasn’t like some of his previous customers. He told me that people from France are the rudest people. And that he practices a martial art to defend himself against them. One time he punched a customer in the ribs and he has these metal pronged dull round-tipped knives to defend himself if necessary. He’s also a parasailing instructor. He was quite interesting. And told me when I have the chance to come back.

I didn’t think it would get so cold, but during the night I almost froze to death. I should’ve borrowed 3 blankets. I wore all my clothes that I brought with me and wrapped myself up in the blanket and used my bag for a pillow and still was so cold I couldn’t sleep. I woke up about every hour until 5am. Around 1am I woke up cold, with a headache and took some Tylenol to sleep.

Goodbye Aso and Hellish Night:
I then woke up at 5am to head to my next destination, Kumamoto, slightly southwest of where were currently were. When I woke up, the guy who slept in his car that night was awake as well. I was surprised that someone else would be awake so early. He asked me of my plans and was shocked to hear I would walk to the train station from there and offered to drive me to Kumamoto because he was going in that direction anyway. Why not, I was tired of walking. Since I had some more time, he suggested I slowly get ready and eat breakfast. I told him I didn’t have any food, but that it was ok because I wasn’t hungry anyway. Packing up my clothes and getting ready, the guy came over to my tent with bread and coffee. The coffee was hot and I was so happy. I thanked him for the coffee and food. He asked how I slept, I said horribly because I was freezing cold. He was surprised that I didn’t have any equipment; he thought the tent was mine and I had a sleeping bag. If I was cold, he said I should have told him and he would have given me some blankets, because he has extra. I said I didn’t want to wake anyone up in the middle of the night and just sucked it up.

It definitely was an experience. Now I know better.

It should’ve taken 1.5 hours to drive to Kumamoto, but we took the scenic route so it took a little more than 2 hours. The guy, Arikawa-san, 42 years old (I swear you can’t guess a Japanese person’s age), told me he went to Doshisha University (the University I will attend for a semester here in Japan) but dropped out because it didn’t fit him and transferred to a different school. He told me he likes camping so he drove to Aso to camp the night and is meeting his wife and 10 year old daughter in a town above Kumamoto for his daughter’s musical performance/recital. He was happy I could speak Japanese. He thought if he gave me a ride and I couldn’t speak Japanese that it would be difficult. Also, he told me he spoke to the old man at the camp the night before and the old man at the camp said I was a good person. I got a recommendation! This was the second time I hitchhiked. Wow. Didn’t think I would do that in Japan. I don’t think I should tell my grandma.