Comments on: Ame ame fure fure*

By: cjw

cjw — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 04:05:33 +0000

Butuki – that’s really frustrating, I know you’ve been looking forward to logging some good time in the hills. Did you make it down to the Setonai-kai?

Wes – sasuga! Interesting that both you and George report better weather in Niigata, might be something to bear in mind for next year.

George – good to hear from you. Let’s hope for a better finish to the year, weather-wise. Haven’t been up to Hakuba at all this year as i’ve been mainly in the south alps – but koyo is so beautiful up there, maybe I should schedule a trip soon..

Ted – I like that idea – doesn’t work so well in January though I’m actually getting concerned that I am beginning to enjoy hiking up and down all those stairs.

Kirt – I’m going up Fuji tonight, and then spending some time in the south alps over the weekend, so hopefully your forecast will prove right! Did you camp on Tanzawa?

Martin – sure has been an incredible month for weather.. I’ve never heard thunder as loud as the thunder you get in Saitama. It’s incredible, like the sky is breaking apart. I don’t want to jinx the weekend, but it looks like the sun might be coming out…

By: Martin F

Martin F — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:43:02 +0000

August – nice sunny days on my Ibaragi trip, big rain and thunder in Niigata. Here in central Saitama it has just been one week of great, wonderous thunderstorms, amazing.

Thanks for the photos and the philosophy.

By: Kirt Cathey

Kirt Cathey — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 03:24:17 +0000

Hi! I got out on Monday morning for Tanzawa and was in good luck. The weather cleared up that way starting late Sunday, and I spent Monday night. While the sunset was not crystal clear, the late night sky was very, very clear with an awesome sunrise and Fuji-san view breakfast. Not to mention all the horny things – deer – walking around;-) Looks like we’ll have another chance in that area starting next Wednesday to Friday time frame.

By: Ted T

Ted T — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 02:05:52 +0000

The way I beat the bad weather blues is to jump a train and ride it for the amount of money equivalent to the date (i.e., 9/02=902 yen). Hop off and wander awhile…

By: George Baptista

George Baptista — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:21:08 +0000

I can share your frustration about the weather hindering your hiking trips. Even in Yuzawa, it’s hard to read the weather patterns. Somedays it’s forecast for rain, and it will be sunny, sometimes its the reverse. Lately it seems the Tanigawa-range has been blocking the Kanto clouds, so it’s been better here on the Niigata-side. Last year we would try time our big-mtn hikes with the typhoons, expecting a window of 2-3 clear days afterwards. This year it seems we haven’t been able to play that game, as we just haven’t seem many typhoons on the mainland. Anyway, I’m looking forward to September and the koyo-season, hopefully we’ll be able at long last check out some of the mountains around Hakuba.

By: wes

wes — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 15:09:16 +0000

rain? wow, no one told me! I’ve just returned from 3 days of hiking in Niigata, and guess what? Absolutely no rain during any of my hikes! It rained at night, but today (Sunday August 31st) the weather was absolutely stunning! Sometimes you just have to gamble and get out of Tokyo…..even on Saturday when it was cloudy it didn’t rain, and there was no fog, visibility for at least 100km in every direction except….you guessed it – Kanto!

By: butuki

butuki — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 01:40:52 +0000

I waited almost a year to have enough time to do a good long hike this summer, and now that I had my month off these rains roll in on the same day that my vacation starts. I’ve been hiking in Japan since 1974 and in all those years I have never seen weather like this. Not only that but the area here in Chiba that I am in has flooded so badly in some parts that the trains keep closing down. (Luckily I have my folding sea kayak ready here on the second floor balcony, just in case I need to head out to sea from my apartment!) It is almost hard to believe, or, as I’ve been trying to dissuade myself from believing, the work of the gods to truly humble us. During the vacation I daily pulled out my gear and carefully laid everything out on the floor, going through all the extraneous items trying to whittle it down to the bare essentials, and then getting stuck with how I might deal with the torrential rain and lightning, only to come to the conclusion that there was nothing I could do. The mountains were out. I have a week left in the vacation and have resigned myself to seeing if I can head down to the Seto Nai Kai and settle for a lounge chair on the beach. I’m just not a beach person! I’ve got crags in my blood! I think I’m going to turn into a raving madman who dog paddles through downtown Tokyo with a pack on my back, muttering, “Anyone see the trail? Anyone find any bootprints in the mud to determine the trail?” Meanwhile, storm clouds are gathering yet once again outside my window.

By: cjw

cjw — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 02:56:39 +0000

Aye, you’re not alone, Hanameizan, I think everyone is pretty frustrated… When I woke up this morning the rain had stopped, there was blue sky and I could see out to the Chichibu ranges. But now I’m watching a big grey front of storm clouds roll in from the Pacific towards the Alps and over towards your way.. Guess I’ll be hitting those stairs again this afternoon

By: hanameizan

hanameizan — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:18:22 +0000

Priceless. You manage to write fascinating material even while stuck in your apartment block! 20kg on your back for stairclimbing was an inspired idea.

Isn’t the weather abominable? Lightning lit up the house throughout the night, and a 5 am weather check this morning showed a heavy rain warning from Kyushu to Tohoku, so I unpacked the car and slunk back to bed. Reading your post this morning, it’s consoling to think I’m not the only frustrated one.

By: cjw

cjw — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:56:47 +0000

Sure isn’t the same… Just can’t believe the storms we’re having, never seen anything like it. Weeks and weeks on end..