Houkyouzan 宝筺山

Back in late March, I joined my monthly mountaineering club for a hike in Ibaraki prefecture. Located 1.5 hours by express train, north east of Tokyo, Houkyouzan was our destination. There are a few famous mountains in Ibaraki -- the most popular being Tsukuba mountain; Houkyouzan is Tsukuba's neighbor.

The hiking trail began after a 20 minute taxi ride. Even though it was on a Friday, we saw many groups, including children, enjoying hikes in this area. 

Trail route markers, our group and a stone monument, 

found at the beginning of the trail:

The trail we selected followed a small, descending stream. A tree, twisted around another, was very unique. When I took a closer look, it looked like a ribbon circling the tree!

Trail climbs up; small waterfalls, the ribbon tree:

This mountain is only 461 meters in height (1,512 feet), so it was my easiest hike yet. The view looked down to farming fields and over to Tsukuba mountain. It was my first hike after buying a new pack -- a 40-liter purple Osprey -- which I am learning to love. ^_^

Following the stream, views and cutenekko at the summit: 

The best part of this tour was our lunch -- we made cheese fondue!! Everyone had to bring some vegetables or bread, etc for the feast. It was incredible. Dessert was prepared and taught by my hiking friend Ms. S; she showed everyone how to make roasted marshmallows -- a rare treat in Japan. ^_^ I was too happy eating the caramelized gooey goodies.

Preparing the fondue, roasting marshmallows, 

a happy cutenekko, more hiking:

The unique feature of Houkyouzan was the view -- on a clear day, hikers would be treated to Mt. Fuji in the distance. Alas, on our day, despite the sunny skies, we couldn't see the country's prized mountain.

Sign posts explaining where Fuji can be found, more route markers,

a city map for hikers: 

Rather than hail a taxi back, we took the local bus to the station. Walking past farmer fields, we got great view looking back at Houkyouzan....

View of Houkyouzan, our bus stop, 

empty rice fields: 

Even though it was late March, the weather during this hike was perfect -- sunny skies and 25 degrees Celsius. Between May to July, leeches are a big problem in the mountains of Japan, so I'll show one more mountain before taking a break from hiking for the next few months.

I hope you enjoyed scenery from Ibaraki prefecture.. check in again to see more of Japan. ^_^

~ Information ~

Houkyouzan is located near Tsukuba city, in Ibaraki prefecture. 

Access:
From Akihabara, take the Tsukuba express to Tsukuba city. Travel time: approx. 1 hour. From Tsukuba station, you can take a local bus or taxi to Tsukuba mountain or Houkyouzan. If you take a taxi, be sure to share with other hikers. The ride is 20 minutes and will cost ¥4,000 ($40) one way. 

This mountain is an easy hike under tree cover; it's good for beginners. Trails are wide and well signposted. Have fun! 

Map:  HERE  (PDF) * Our group took route #5 up and route #6 down.  
Wiki page: HERE (日本語）

Arabian Daze - 16

Let's continue stories from an 8-day Middle Eastern cruise onboard

 the Costa Fortuna ship.

You can find earlier Arabian Daze stories in the Litter Box on the right. 

Click under "April" and "May". 

For the fifth day of this cruise, we visited a very tiny fishing village in northern Oman called Khasab. Our huge ship looked like the big bully in the school yard compared to the local fishing boats: 

For this port, my friend selected the activity. She chose a full day outing on a wooden ship to enjoy the Fjords of Khasab.  

The inside of our small boat: 

As Khasab is nicknamed the "Norway of Arabia", the Fjords are one of the few sightseeing points in this area. The village is not well developed for tourism yet; it's not known if the Omani government is planning on increasing tourism here. Regardless, it was an interesting stopover to see one of the more rural spots in Oman.

More tourist boats: 

We steamed off slowly, catching glimpses from time to time of a herd of wild dolphins.

The views were nice, but I wasn't as impressed as an earlier tour from Muscat to Nizwa.

 

The best part of this tour was the lunch. I enjoyed rice, hummus, raw vegetables, curry, naan and tandori chicken. I think I ate three plates!

Unfortunately, the smaller boat made my friend a little seasick, so in the evening, back on the Costa Fortuna, I had to eat dinner alone. It was another Captain's Gala Dinner, so I pigged out on risotto, cheeses, cured ham, as well as roast duck. When I returned to the cabin, my friend was already sleeping, but I noticed the towel art for the day -- a cute dog. 

Scenes from dinner

The ship left Khasab to head back to the U.A.E. I'll share more photos next time.

~ Information ~ 

The full day Fjords of Khasab tour in this post was booked online at: Khourshem Tourism. The website is unavailable now, so perhaps they went out of business?? Sorry... Another tour company is HERE.

Cost per person: $40 USD including, lunch, drinks, tea, fruit, snorkel set and towels. Free pick up and return from the cruise ship. 

The wiki page about Khasab is HERE.

Arabian Daze - 15

Let's continue our journey through two countries in the Middle East: the U.A.E and Oman. 

You can catch up to all the stories HERE (part 1) and the previous installment HERE (part 14). 

To read more, just click on any "Arabian Daze" post in the Litter Box on the right.

In part 14, we had completed a half day tour of Muscat city in Oman. Our cruise ship departed for the next port at 2pm. Due to having almost a full half day on board, my friend suggested trying some of the ship's onboard activities. Scanning the "Today" newsletter,* my travel mate pointed out one class: napkin folding.

The class was hosted by three of the ship's staff, who whisked us through some very funny dialogues and napkin art. I took photos of our various creations...

#1: an elegant fan 

#2: a candle (although I teased my friend, it looks likes something a little more sexy..... LOL)

#3 and everyone's favorite: a rose

#4: a doll with no head...so, I added a head -- my own! (laugh)

#5: a chicken

After laughing ourselves silly at the napkin folding activity, I pressed my friend to try out the ship's afternoon tea. We were surprised to find lots of teas and coffees, along with pastries and fruit.

Later in the evening, it was time for our dinner. The dining room on the Costa Fortuna has a dress code for all evening meals; I wore a dress I bought at a recycle shop, which cost me $22.

I love cheap fashion.

All cats love fish, so I ordered grilled salmon. The chef didn't disappoint. Look at that presentation!

The fourth evening's dinner on the cruise was a surprise -- Italian music blared over the speakers and the waiters came out asking every woman if they wanted to dance.

Shall we dance? 

There was even a conga line, in which guests eagerly jumped out of their seats to join:

Later in the evening, upon returning to our cabin, a cleaning staff member had created this on our bed -- a peacock!

While we slept, our ship tugged onwards to the next port. Check back to see where we went exploring next. ^_^


* Every evening, a newsletter was dropped off by the cabin which included information about the port, dock times, restaurants and activities available. Onboard Costa ships, this newsletter is called "Today".


~ Information ~ 

This cruise was part of an 8-day cruise through the Middle East, on the Costa Fortuna. Cost per person, inside cabin, was $515 USD. (airfare not included)

Ship information is HERE. 

The current position of the ship is HERE (with webcams).