Forum - View topicEncouragement of Climb Made Me Climb a Japanese Mountain
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Kyjin
 Posts: 126 Location: Los Angeles |
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I love climbing mountains, and Encouragement of Climb is one of my favorite series. I do find the series to be pretty accurate in the mountain climbing experience, and it actually gave me really good advice!
In August of 2017, I climbed Mt. Fuji with my dad and uncle. We had decided a year before that we were going to do this since I was moving to Tokyo for a year and a half, and I did a ton of research in the time leading up to our hike. The anime was my first experience with climbing Mt. Fuji, so I went in knowing about the hiking sticks you can get as souvenirs, the dangers of altitude sickness, necessary equipment, and the mountain huts. We did need a bit more gear than the characters on the show though; I invested in some heavy hiking books that I greatly appreciated by the end of the trip. (My uncle neglected this step, and ended up badly injuring his toe by the end.) We also needed much more water than expected, and ended up having to buy some near the top. (500 yen a bottle!) It was both the hardest and coolest thing I have ever accomplished. In addition to Fuji, I've also climbed Mt. Takao, Mt. Misen, and Mt. Nokogiri in Japan. I'm looking forward to climbing more mountains in Japan in the future. The show is definitely helping me add some to my list! |
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Spastic Minnow
 Bargain HunterExempt from Grammar Rules  Posts: 4640 Location: Gainesville, FL |
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The only thing it's inspired me to do is change the way I tie my shoes. But good job, they don't come unraveled when I remember to do it the way the shopkeeper said in the Boot-buying episode.
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Octonian
Subscriber Posts: 32 |
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When I visited Japan in March Mt. Takao was high on my list of places to visit precisely because of Encouragement of Climb. I also took route 1 (the paved one), although I walked up the whole way and took the cable car down. I think this https://i.imgur.com/5PDYp0q.jpg was the point where I realized I was in for a more strenuous hike than the series had lead me to expect! Or maybe that was just because I was out of shape, the ojiisan and obaasan in their 80s who were regularly blowing past me seemed to have no problems...
Unfortunately it was a rainy day so I didn't have a much a view, although it made for a great mood https://i.imgur.com/LHkkbMs.jpg Other than that though I'd say the anime was quite accurate. Both the nature and the buildings were amazing. Everyone really does greet each other with "konnichiwa!" as they pass. |
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WizardOfOss
 Posts: 117 Location: Oss, Netherlands |
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Climbing Takao-san has been on my list for quite some years, but so far (15 trips to Japan...) it still hasn't happened. So little time during vacation, so much to see and do. But now that I'm catching up with Yama no Susume, it will definitely be high on my list for next trip.
During my last trip a few months ago I did climb another mountain in Tokyo however: Mihara-yama. At Izu-Oshima, an island 120 kilometers away from central Tokyo, but is still part of the Tokyo Metropolis. At 764 meters it's a bit higher than Takao-san, but luckily a bus can take you part of the way up, after which it still is about an hour walk to the rim of the crater, and another hour to walk around it. While just like at Takao-san climbing mostly means following the (mostly unpaved) path, I guess the climbing experience couldn't be more different: even when the mountain is probably the islands' biggest tourist draw, you could count the other people on just one hand (here also people at least in their 80's....). And don't expect many facilities on the way, just a few shelters for protection against a sudden volcanic eruption. While the view from the top was amazing (it's a volcano right at the center of a sparsely populated island, so of course it is), the biggest reward came afterward, after quite a walk while not being entirely sure about the direction: Miharayama Onsen: 
The only other mountain in Japan I actually climbed was a little bit different: Tenpozan in Osaka. At 4.53 meters officially the lowest mountain in Japan. I even climbed it twice without breaking a sweat 
Of course I've been thinking of climbing Mt. Fuji, but I'm pretty sure that would be a bit too much for me. Why can't they just build an escalator all the way to the top? 
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Neohybrid_kai
 Posts: 147 Location: Indonesia |
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I never climb any mountain before, but the first mountain I climb ..is Mt. Fuji.
Of course, there are several catch. Before I went to Japan, I did some training especially building stamina for a long walk. Also, I'm not hiking alone but with a friend who is a regular hiker. Still there are issues. I was prepared for a long hike but I underestimate the cold. I already wore two layers of jacket but its still freezing to the point that I begin to fear I would collapsed unconscious (I think its more of a mental attack since at that time I didn't know how many distance left I still have to walk to reach the top, the cold can exhaust your mind). Also, we didn't expect the shop at the top would be closing at midnight (we thought they open 24 hours like conbini lol) so by the time we reached the top we still have to find a place to wait outside until about 2:30 AM. Fortunately we met a foreigner who brought a portable stove, so its not that freezing anymore (though not for long since an officer came to warn us not to lit fire in that spot )
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Sparvid
Posts: 240 |
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For another anime, Miss Monochrome also climbed Mt. Takao in an attempt to draw attention, and was then disappointed when no one found her accomplishment particularly noteworthy.
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Northlander
 Posts: 914 |
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Not Japan, but hiking? Yes, please.
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WizardOfOss
Posts: 117 Location: Oss, Netherlands |
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From where are those pictures? They look absolutely stunning!
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Blanchimont
 Posts: 3620 Location: Finland |
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Norway. I think... |
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samsonium
Posts: 7 |
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As someone in Norway now, looks like Norway to me (mostly based on the 3rd picture), too. I really loved this show because it was short, sweet, and also really informative. I wish I could find season 2, since CR in the Nordics only has S1 and S3. Personally, I've only climbed Mt. Tsukuba (40 minutes from Akihabara by the Tsukuba Express, then maybe another 20-30 minutes by bus), which is about 800 m above sea, although the bus stop is about 200 m up. Not recommended for beginners: despite it being only 90 to 120 minutes climb, it was 600 m up in about 3 km of trail. Steep and long parts of it were literally climbing over boulders. I did so much mantling my arms were more sore than my legs. Most people took the cable car up and climbed down. But they were super friendly and saying "hello" (very much like Norwegians, haha). And what's cool about Mt. Tsukuba is that it's like a twinned peak, so there's another peak just 15 minutes away from the other. Thankfully, living in Norway conditioned me pretty well, so I got by with just some onigiri, two bottles of water, and good boots. Sticks would've helped a lot but I couldn't find a good branch on the narrow trail. Weather was good in early March. Cool but sunny, a bit slippery from rain the previous night, and the climb keeps you warm. It gets cold at the top, though! And the view ... well, it's always worth the climb, right? 
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Northlander
Posts: 914 |
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Yes, it's Norway. The west coast, to be more specific. The west side -- the middle region, to be even more specific than that again -- has most of the mountainous areas, while the southeastern parts are much more flat and open.
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WizardOfOss
Posts: 117 Location: Oss, Netherlands |
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Almost makes me wonder why I always go to Japan while there's so much beauty just a 2 hour flight away
I've been 15 times to Japan, and quite a few times to other Asian countries like China, Taiwan or the Koreas. I've been 7 times to the US and also to Canada. But somehow I've hardly seen anything of my own Europe. I've never been to Scandinavia (only Iceland once and a few transfers at Helsinki airport), I've never been to the Mediterranean countries, and I've only been once in Easter Europe (Moldova). I'm doing something wrong... Not the first time I realized though. About 10 years ago I visited Huis ten Bosch, a theme park near Nagasaki with replica's of many famous Dutch buildings. Of which I've still only seen two of the originals here in the Netherlands 
Japan (or Asia in general) is just too addictive..... |
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EmperorBrandon
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 2223 Location: Springfield, MO |
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Unfortunately the license expired on season 2 a little while back. I don't think CR has it anywhere now. They did get season 1 back after it expired for some time, though, so hoping they will get season 2 back at some point too. Last edited by EmperorBrandon on Sun Aug 12, 2018 12:48 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Manga Producer J.M.
 Posts: 32 Location: Longwood, FL, United States |
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Impressive.
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omiya
 Posts: 1869 Location: Adelaide, South Australia |
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Recommended:
Hike from Takaosanguchi station to Mount Takao to Mount Kobotoke-Shiroyama to Sagamiko station (done this twice). Also near Odawara, one can take the Daiyuuzan line (plus a bus if you want to reduce walking) and climb Myojingatake / Myojogatake - probably better in dry weather as some parts of the paths are on clay. It would also be possible to walk on through to Gora station but I haven't done that part myself. 
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