AHON by the distance

So this is it. We got up early and readied ourselves to hiking Mt. Takao.  took the early morning train to get to Takao Station.  It was colder than we expected.  At the station, not so confident of her gloves, bought extra pair at nearby shop before taking off. There were several trails to choose from going to the peak.  She took trail #1 (Omotesando trail) staring with a 1km tram ride of 31 degrees steepest angle.  the tram section is almost midway up cutting hiking gain time to about an hour less.  After getting off the tram is a wide paves trail passing along temples and snack stops.  Arriving at Yukuo-in Temple, we then took trail#3 and tried the unpaved route.   Quiet and with less people around while seeing lush vegetation, "it was so comforting here" she acknowledged. Later, upon seeing a trail info: "0.7km to Mt. Takao" she exclaimed "this was easy!" and sped up her walking out of excitement. On the summit she said "this was a piece ...

HAKODATE, February 2023.  the initial goal was to experience walking on snow, what is it like to be jaunting in a chilly place where temperature drops to less than 10 degrees below zero.  And hopefully, if possible, our next big goal is getting to the top of a freezing mountain that's Mt. Hakodate. True enough with the old outdoor mantra we've known since the beginning: "there's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing." Equipped wth our layering clothes, on a snowy afternoon in Suehirocho Hakodate, Island of Hokkaido, we battled the seemingly sleeting environment tramping from its bayside, climbing the stairs of Hachiman-zaka Slopes until Motomachi.  Strong winds welcomed us as we braved thje eastern slopes to get to the ropeway Hakodate's mountain summit. We aimed to get to the top of Mt. Hakodate late in the afternoon since we wish to confirm it's claim that glittering warm lighting effects during dusk consciously adds charm to the whole frosty w...