Hello! It's Koba! It's the middle of summer and it's incredibly hot! I'll be writing this blog from the coolness of my room, hoping that when I read this in a few years, the maximum temperature will be around 28 degrees! Since it's the peak summer season in the Alps, I went on a two-day, one-night hike from Kamikochi in the Northern Alps to Mount Tsurugidake on July 30-31st with my staff member Shota and my weekly runner Aoyama! The theme of this trip was, "I want to stay overnight in the classic, glittering, panoramic Ginza area, carrying a ton of food!" Another important thing was getting there by public transport! Living in Aichi Prefecture, I tend to go to the mountains by car, but getting there by public transport allows me to plan my itinerary in one direction, which really adds to the feeling of being on a trip. And best of all, I can enjoy drinks on the way there and back, making it the perfect event! Join me on this 100% exciting, two-day, one-night Alps hike! 
Take an overnight bus from Nagoya Station to Kamikochi, your starting point.
If you take the 11:10pm Nagoya train, you will arrive in Kamikochi just after 5pm, and at the Shinhotaka Ropeway stop around 4:30pm.
It's a shame, but I'm glad I can get to Kamikochi faster than taking the bus!
The one-way fare is 8,500 yen (as of 2024). The photo shows Kaito, a staff member who was unable to make it at the last minute, coming to see us off. Kaito in the photo is so black it's funny, so if you meet him, please call him Anthony.
We arrived at Kamikochi around 5 o'clock. When we got off the bus, we saw this weather.
The thought that maybe it's not sparkly enough occurred to the three of us lol
According to the forecast, the weather would improve from the afternoon onwards, so we set off with the unseen Hotaka in mind!
It's not open at this time, but the apple soft serve you can get in Kamikochi is delicious!
If you go to Kamikochi, be sure to check it out! It's just across the Kappa Bridge!
From Kamikochi, head to Myojindai and Tokuzawaen.
On the way, we passed many monkeys. They are very friendly with people.
Even if we reached the ridgeline quickly, it looked like the wind and rain would be strong, so we moved slowly and took a long break at Tokuzawaen.
It's a little early, but I decided to open one can.
My original plan was to climb Chogatake from Tokuzawaen, but I didn't want to reach the ridge yet, so I headed to Yokoo Sanso.
EVERNEW's 76g umbrella, the "SL 76g Umbrella," was extremely useful for the parallel journey from Kamikochi!
I always carry it with me when I go to the mountains by public transport.
It offers 90% UV protection and can also be used as a parasol!
From Yokoo Sanso, we climb up to the ridge of Chogatake.
The rain stopped near Yokoo Sanso and we could see some sunshine, so we took off our rain gear and started climbing, but it ended up pouring down.
I knew it would be difficult, but it's still unpleasant lol I've only ever descended this route before, but the climb felt long as well.
We climb up to the ridge and head first for Choyari.
There is rain and wind, but the fog is thin and the weather is not as bad as I thought.
I usually spot ptarmigans on this ridge, but I didn't see one on this hike... As a bird lover, I'm a little sad...
Reaching the top of the first peak! A stunning butterfly spear pose!
If you climb Mt. Choyari, be sure to take a photo with this pose!
From Choyari, we head towards Jonendake.
I can now see patches of sunshine emerging from the forest area.
Once you leave the forest, you'll see this view! Jonen is so cool!!
The view of the peak at the end of the ridge is beautiful!
In addition to this, I also like the view of Akadake from the Yokodake area of the Yatsugatake Mountains!
We descend a little before heading towards the peak, but the climb is quite challenging and it doesn't feel like we're making much progress.
Personally, this was probably the longest part of the hike.
It must be because I'm carrying a lot of ingredients lol
Finally, we reached the summit of Jonen-dake! There wasn't much of a view, but it's a beautiful mountain!
I don't know exactly what's good about it, but I can tell by my intuition that it's a good mountain!
All that's left for today is to go down!
After descending a little, Jonen-goya hut came into view! The moment you see a mountain hut on the way down, you get excited!
I'm also ranked in the top 10 of the "Mountain Moments I Love!" ranking!
We arrived at Jonen Hut at around 2:30 pm.
After checking in at the tent site, the rain started to get stronger, so we decided to eat first.
We were allowed to use the roofed terrace outside Jonen Hut. It was very helpful!
Now comes the long-awaited main event: dinner!!
First, I boiled three packets of Small Twist Chicken Curry Couscous. I couldn't wait to drink it while it was boiling, haha.
Each bag is enough for 1.5 people, so it's quite a lot, but I was so hungry that I ate it all in one go!
The rain stopped for a while so we went to set up our tent.
Although it was a little slanted, the pegs worked well and it was an easy and beautiful tent site! I will post the tent I used in Part 2!
Returning to food, we ate instant noodles, rice vermicelli, and Korean food. EVERNEW's ULAlu.Pan was a big help!
I just brought everything I could find at the supermarket that could be stored at room temperature lol
I didn't really think about packing much, like bringing frozen sausages and four whole raw eggplants lol
The prosciutto, olives, and quail eggs that Aoyama brought were a perfect match for the alcohol!
It's so stylish!
I'll follow your example!
It was worth carrying a whole bottle of wine!
We ate and drank for about five hours until it got dark and had a blast!!
Looking back, the first day was not relaxing at all due to the wind and rain, but the dinner party was so good that it was all okay!
The next day was forecast to be sunny, so I went to sleep looking forward to a sparkling hike and the scenery that I hadn't seen much of on the first day.
Continued in Part 2