We had an early start for our epic day of adventure and we were checked out of our hotel and on the road by 6:30am. We stocked up on snacks and drinks and headed towards Kamikochi. Like many popular hiking areas in Japan, you aren’t able to drive to the location itself but need to take a bus for access. Kamikochi is one of these “my car” zones in Japan, and we decided to drive to Sawando Parking Lot and catch the bus from there. There are two such parking lots available to catch the shuttle buses to Kamikochi, Sawando on the Nagano side and Shiei Akandana in Gifu. The whole area is quite mountainous and it makes a fun drive, especially so early in the morning. Once at the bus terminal, we were able to pick up our tickets and get the 8:30am bus into the valley.

There are several stops between the Sawando parking lot and the Kamikochi terminal station, and then once the bus has climbed into the mountain valley of Kamikochi there are a couple of stops too. We got off at the terminal station and took our overnight bag to our, rather expensive, accommodation for the night: Kamikochi Nishi-itoya Mountain Lodge. Nishi-itoya is close to the very famous Kappa-bashi, the main bridge across the Azusa river which flows down the entire valley. We were able to leave our bag with the promise to return later, after a short and hilarious interaction between myself and the chef, via the manager, regarding my dietary requirements. The manager was running between the kitchen and where I was at reception asking one question at a time, it was a bit like an old sketch show.

Dietary requirements all confirmed we made a start on our hike for the day, the 16km loop of the Kamikochi Valley. Sadly the typhoon weather was blocking out the peaks of the mountains, this was one of the reasons for staying overnight to get double the chance of getting a good view. Our plan was to walk up the valley on one side of the river, and then return on the other bank. Very soon into our hike, we saw the first bear sighting sign, there had been several sightings in the days prior to our visit, so we hung our bear bells on our packs and started out.

Even in the rain, with the peaks obscured by clouds, Kamikochi is absolutely stunning. Our first stop on the hike was at Dakesawa Marsh, a wetlands slightly north of the main river. As with many areas of natural beauty in Japan, the water was completely crystal clear, and the skeletal trees really made the scene. This portion of the hike was on boardwalks to protect the delicate, damp ground, which meant it was a little slippery in the rain.

The next point of interest is almost 3km later at Myojin Pond, there are two ponds (first and second Myojin Pond) in the area, which are only accessible after paying a small fee at the shrine building before the ponds. It was here that we had our first interactions with the wild monkeys of Kamikochi. We had just visited the beautiful ponds and were returning on a narrow boardwalk, two other visitors stopped to let us pass, but instead, a monkey jumped onto the boardwalk and passed the other visitors, and then us. It was only about 50cm away from our legs as it walked past. Now, monkeys make them sound cute, but I am not a fan of them! On our trip back in 2017 I was screamed at by a monkey who then tried to chase me, so they are not my favourite wildlife, especially seeing their fangs up close. I made a mistake in this interaction and made eye contact with the monkey, which I later saw on a sign was a real no-no!

Shortly after leaving Myojin Pond you come to Myojin Bridge, another beautiful bridge spanning the Azusa River, we then saw a whole group of monkeys, including (even I can admit) some very cute babies holding on. Again, I was hesitant and kept a safe distance, luckily I have zoom haha.

The rest of the hike was less eventful, we continued along until we found a bridge crossing over to Tokusawa-en, a lodging and cafeteria that sits by a number of trails that go into the mountain peaks. We decided to have our lunch here and sat at a bench, we were soon joined by a Japanese hiker who had just done a 3-day hike up onto the peaks and had some amazing photos to share, it was really good to meet her. Bellies full we made our way back towards our accommodation, the eastern side of the river is much busier than our previous path, so we had fewer bear related worries and reached our accommodation promptly.

As it was now past 3pm we were able to check in and were taken up to what I can only imagine is the best room in the whole place! We had not only a view of the river from our balcony but also a view of the mountains from our window as we had a corner room. We put down our packs and headed back out to do some souvenir shopping, as a popular tourist spot there were a number of stores that had some lovely bits and bobs, as well as drinks and snacks.

We certainly didn’t need any snacks as we were booked to have a stunning dinner at our accommodation, they were able to completely cater to my allergy needs and I was absolutely stuffed! There were so many courses and each time we thought we had it all another dish would arrive. There was sashimi, various vegetable dishes, stewed and fried tofu, as well as simmered vegetables and grilled sweet fish. The meal was finished off with a delicious piece of fresh watermelon. We had to even leave some rice (which I would never usually do) as we were so full. I am so grateful to the staff for making me so much delicious food, it was great to be able to enjoy Japanese cuisine.