Nakasendo Trail

 The second half of 2024 gave me an opportunity to visit Japan again. Mabuhay miles had a half the miles promo and it was too good to pass up. It’s always exciting to go to Japan again. We hurriedly picked a random city to fly into and we picked NAGOYA. (We always fly yo Osaka and Tokyo and it seemed a good idea to go somewhere else for a change)

I think one of the things about aging is that you need more help. (And I was getting bogged down by all the research I need to do for trips since as usual, I am the main planner/ guide)… so hello ChatGPT.

It was really easy actually and honestly speaking it helped me reduce the amount of research by just asking ChatGPT to make me a rough itinerary and I just tweaked it a little to our preferences.

So, one of the adventures in the list is the NAKASENDO TRAIL. I haven’t really heard about this before chatgpt suggested it. It is the route taken by the samurai to Tokyo that stretches from Kyoto and has 69 resting spots for travelers called POST towns. In addition to Tokyo and Kyoto, the Nakasendō runs through the modern-day prefectures of Saitama, Gunma, Nagano, Gifu and Shiga, with a total distance of about 534 km (332 mi).

It can be considered like the highway of the Edo period. Aside from making the local shogun travel every year to pay homage to the emperor (which entails several days traveling this route), it limits the powers of these local shoguns by making them spend money (of course) for the travel and in turn also giving the local towns income from all the travelers passing through.

We travelled from TSUMAGO to MAGOME - a total of 8km. Through beautiful forests.

We opted to book a tour in GET YOUR GUiDE app (viator has it too) or since we know the company already.. you can book direct to SNOW MONKEY RESORTS - a travel agency

We were met at the Nagano train station by our guide Shawn. (An American working in Japan) and we were told we were the only ones joining the tour that day. Whoopee… lucky us! Turned into a private tour. 

Local snack made of rice and smothered in soy sauce. Overall… just ok.

Huge persimmon!

We were dropped off by our personal van (3 hours drive from nagano) to TSUMAGO. Our start off point. We walked through the post town looking at local inns that were preserved. I even had a chance to visit the local post office and shrine to get my stamps for my stamp book

Local shrine

Monk with baby

Funny thing about the shrine is that the monk had a baby!!! I didn’t know they could do that. Our guide said that usually the role of taking care of the temple is passed down, so the monks are allowed to get married and have kids… who knew???

Local post office. I just saw the post office sign

It’s just amazing that they preserved the towns as is, some of them 100-300 years old.

Cypress “union” tree… two trees become one…
So we had to do the fusion pose.

We passed by two waterfalls also, one male and one female… (see sign that has “male “ and “female” in chinese characters)

I would say the bigger one was female but I was wrong. Haha

The paths would up and down… with some parts crossing the highway. We met a lot of hikers too but not too much that it felt crowded. The beauty of this trail is that it’s still not touristy like if you go to Kyoto. 

You can still feel the stillness of the woods

Local tea house with free tea, we ate our packed lunch here

We also had a packed lunch we bought on our stopover at 7-11. there are very little food options on the trail and it’s better to bring a snack with you. The temperature was nice. About 17C and I had to take off my over shirt in the middle because it got so hot. (Don’t go in the summer for sure it’s hotter). For us the temperature was dry and cool and very good for hiking.

Local info board when entering a town. You can see general info and “wanted” people

You can nearly see the writing on the wall of this info board. (It’s still the original writing). 

We shared a wagyu sushi with our guide and got some chestnut ice cream ( a local specialty). It tasted like potato. 

We also got a peek at the sculptures of an eccentric local… who I think has a predilection to nudes

You see the boobs sculpture?

Happy tree

The 8km such a joy to walk through. The beautiful nature everywhere! We ended in MAGOME and browsed the shops (specialties were wood products… but I found them a bit pricey)

The Nakasendo trail is longer than this and you can actually do a longer trail walk like the Spain “way of the Cross” where you stay at local inns… but for us, this was enough and a great way to experience the Edo times. 

Enrico Bartolini at Finestra (solaire‘s 10th anniversary)

For the 10th anniversary of Finestra, the invited 5 michelin starred chefs to cook in their restaurants and I had the opportunity to book 3 of them. The hardest to book was Enrico Bartolini (3 starred). The venue, Finestra was elegant and by far the best one in terms of ambiance and seating out of the three. We were welcomed with canapes of salmon, tuna tartare, liver pate as well as cocktails by mixologist Maestro Salvatorre and some champagne.

I really liked the open kitchen setup as it gave us an opportunity to see the chef and his team work. I also had to chance to ask him for some pictures.

1. SOFT POTATO< EGG AND EGGS

Nuts, salt and bursts of salmon eggs plus the creaminess of the potato spells "yum". Great starter! 

2.ANCHOVIES< OYSTER AND STURIA CAVIAR

The oysters were so fresh and the caviar was not as salty as I expected. Miniature onions and the nori powder on the bottom enhanced the sea flvors of the dish.

 3.BOTTONI FILLED WITH OLIVE OIL< LIME OCTOPUS< CACCIUCCO SAUCE

The sauce they said, was a traditional seafood sauce in that region in Milan Chef Erniro is from. You can really taste the seafood with the hint of shrimp (I think from shrimp shells). The bottoni (button ravioli) was like a package that when you bite, you can get a little burst of creaminess and lime.

 4. BEETROOT RISOTTO WITH GOGONZOLA CHEESE SAUCE

This is Chef Enrico's signiture dish. A traditional dish in Milan. The risotto was al denta and the gorgonzola complimenting the beetroot so well. loved it.

 5.TURBOT IN GREEN

Very complex dish. Sauce has chicken liver (not really distinct whenyou tsate it) I also tasted something crunchy... maybe celery.. it was ok. 

 6. STRAWBERRIES< RHUBARB AND SAINT GERMAIN

The grappa served before this dish was too much alcohol for me. And I am not really a fan of alcohol in my dessert ( the saint germain) not a fave. 

 7. SOFT CHOCOLATE AND SALTED CARAMEL ICE CREAM

Hot and cold. The middle is cold and salty. The chocolate outside was warm and bitter. Chocolate cake on the sides with a sprinkling of sea salt. It was better than the first dessert. 

 Overall, I loved the experience in Finestra. The ambiance, the service, everything was perfect. Who can say they have an autograph and meet and greet with a michelin starred chef? And it was also my birthday!!!

My First 21k half marathon - thoughts and what nots

 

Mar 5, 2023… TCS international marathon (clark, pampanga). My very first marathon. 

Funny thing about races, your tummy really gets nervous. I find that like 10 minutes before the start of warm up… my thoughts turn to…. Looking for the porta potty. Another bad side about this run is that my period decided to show up THE DAY BEFORE. I was pretty nervous about it honestly, since it’s pretty hard to think about it and still run comfortably.

We stayed overnight at Widus hotel - the hotel was fine but the rooms were in bad need of refurbishing. The bathtub was chipping and the sink was not draining properly (fast enough). 

Gear check

I brought my own small water container too just in case I didn’t want to stop at any of the initial water stations. The run itself was pretty flat for the first part… near the 8km mark we had an uphill but not as bad as the one in filinvest!!. Managed it without walking and got to the turnaround fine. Took a gel at 45 mins and another one at 1:30 mark.

Nearly at 18-19k was already feeling my legs going heavy and honestly felt super tired. I could not imagine the strength I would need if it was a 42km marathon. MY GOODNESS.

The sun was coming up over the horizon in the last 2km and I really had to pull myself towards the finish line… You really have that internal talk to yourself as you run, trying to motivate and encourage yourself.

Training is no walk in the park. Some days, I really have the lazy spells and just want to go back to sleep. I dread the long runs because they are hard to start… although when you get into a rhythm, you can really enjoy it. Sometimes I think, why am I doing this? 

Hoping I can manage to run the marathon and finish. (April 23)

First half marathon 2:31

Mt. Pulag, the adventure

 Hiking is one of the things I do on occasion if I have good people to go with. One opportunity came up with my tour group from  The travel insiders tour (click for their IG profile). We took the Mt pulag tour offered by Trail Adventures. 

It was something you do as part if your bucket list. (for me anyways). So the trip started Friday with a door to door pick up at our houses - mine was the last house to get picked up at 12 midnight. The ride to bagiuo took us 4.5 hours where we picked up some more of our friends (who resides there). We then proceeded to the DENR station where we needed to register (about 2 hours) arriving there about 7am. Since it was the weekend, there were quite a couple of vans who were already there for the Mt. Pulag hike. Weekends they say, they usually get 400-500 visitors. The seminar was jam packed and we were in the #6 group. It was taking forever to wait for the seminar. (they were understaffed and limited space, so they could only accomodate certain # of people per time). We decided to wait it out at opur homestay which was not far from the DENR office, get some rest and some lunch. It was a good call since our number was FINALLY called at about 3pm. (wow). Special mention to Mam Emerita for the lengthy homily…er, sermon… about Mt. Pulag (😝)

So after the seminar we proceeded back to our homestay to some needed rest, dinner and a beautiful sunset view. It was so serene and you always get awed by the beauty of mother nature.

This really got us excited about the next day. We went to sleep right after dinner in our homestay. I was in bed at 6:30 and got woken up by loud  banging due to winds. It was 11pm and we were up and about prepping for our hike,last minute checks on gear and things to bring.

    You can actually see in the video the winds were already picking up. After arriving at the ranger station and getting our guides, We started trekking at about 12:30. It was cold and dark but as we started hiking, our bodies got warmer and I decided to take off my gloves. The weather was still ok at this point and there was a drizzle that I attributed to us being so high in the mountain. The start of the hike, we could still see the cemented road and houses all was quiet except for some dogs barking. Turning up a dirt road in total darkness… at one point, I could hear sprinklers from somewhere to my right (which I assume are vegetable patches).  You cannot see anything except the road/ stones in front of you. One foot in front of the other. There was also a part of the trail where I felt the right side was a sheer ravine drop and it was confirmed when a bar appeared as a precaution for hikers. (The ravine became apparent on the way down at sunlight)

    It was about maybe 1.5 hour with up and down slopes before we arrived at camp 1. It was honestly a hard climb even if I was already training for a marathon. There were some parts that I had to take deep breaths. (really high stones). The trail poles were a great help to heave this body up that mountain,  I must say. We took a much needed rest (water and snack break) before we proceeded to hike again. The wind by this time was picking up and so was the rain. The rain was dripping down my face and I could taste the water droplets. My water proof jacket and pants were still good though at this point. Shoes were also still dry. 

    Arriving at Camp 2, we met a lot of people. The rain was already starting the intensify and some of our group decided to just go to the “tower” sight instead of the summit. The 5 of us decided to try summiting. So we trekked on. About 1 hour in to our summit trek, the wind grew from slight gust to angry waves of rain and blasts that at one point got me wobbling. We were at the grasslands and my shoes had started to get soaked as well as my pants. The path was super muddy and it seemed at that moment, we were the only ones attempting to climb the summit. I was also concerned about my husband (who has bad eyesight) because his glasses were getting rained on and he hardly could see anything with the rain and darkness. 

At some point, our guide turned around and said “ I think we should turn back…. the wind will get stronger at the summit and it will get colder”. Me and my companions looked at each other. There was a moment of silence since we didn‘t know what to do. On one hand, we have done so much already and on the other, the wind and rain was going wild. Our guide also told us that the possiblity of seeing sunrise or sea of clouds was zero. It was not yet sunrise. (I think it was 5:40am). I was reminded of “into thin air” and decided our safety was more important. (the wait for the sunrise that wouldnt come would be a cold one.. since we would be standing around the summit exposed to the elements for a good 15-20 mins).

    So, we turned back.

On our way down, we passed by maybe 100 people going up.. it was a traffic jam to say the least. Camp 2 was like SM durning sundays

Some of the people in the DENR station recommended treks during weekdays so as not to encounter so many people. (but, yeah, people have jobs)

We couldn“t wait to get down and it felt LONGER to walk down than the hike up. Maybe because we were already super tired and the rain was still going. The path turned from muddy to muddier. Good thing we had our trekking poles to save us from we did slip. (I couldnt imagine twisting a knee or ankle wioth runs coming up. That would have been a tragedy!). My legs were already aching ( 5-6 hours hike) and I could feel the mud squish under my feet as I walked. It was pointless to avoid it, you just have to judge how deep the mud is. (1-2 inches,).  I think when you get your feet soaked, that“s when you lose some power to walk. At some point, my toes felt like cramping. 

mossy forest

pic from the tower side (c/o the other group)

tower side

What an experience! I thought I was better prepared for this than my first hike Mt Fuji  (see HERE for that post). But yeah, the weather was really a big factor. I guess the odds were not in our favor. I did enjoy the company of a bunch of great people, the homestay which was like home, the food, local and fresh. The tour company, travel adventures, who were so nice and accomodating and really took care of us. 

Some tips - invest in good hiking shoes and hiking poles ( we bought ours at decathlon, reasonably priced - actually they were on sale.. hahaha) Hiking shoes about P1900-2000 pesos, hiking poles 200-300 pesos.

I brought along some kness patches (heated patches) which helped during the van ride  and the next day after hike to relieve pain. (sorry.. getting old you know, knees get stiff after sitting too long)

Mt Pulag is rated 4/10 (intermediate level) in the hike range. Would I recommend it? Yes, if you are fit enough for the hike (med certificate required, and I think recommended.. its not as easy at it looks) - who knows you might be more lucky in seeing the sea of clouds than us. Would I do it again? MAYBE, but not in the near future since my legs still have to recover. DEPENDS also if my husband is willing to do that again. ( He suffered from the 2 days lack of sleep). 

Overall, if you really like to hike, go on and do it. You only live once you know.

Now, time to book my massage. 😊