Report of the tour of 24th September 2018

 Very favorable for us was that our guests chose Trail No.6 for descending from the summit, though it was popular and normal Trail No.1 for the ascent.
Today’s guides, Kate and myself both love to walk on a mountain trail, and to take up topics on plants, very rich alongside of the Trail No.6. 

On chairlift. When we take it for ascent, we have to look back for enjoying a nice scenery

 Before going into details of our guiding, we should describe how nicely our guests got acquainted with each other.A young lady from Hong Kong, Anita who’d applied to our program met a lady of similar age from Australia, Bianca for the first time on the day.Anita told us of the web site called “Kanpai” where is available a program of searching fellow travelers. 

Kate, showing plants of this month on a booklet

Guests at the entrance gate of the temple.

  Among the plants I took up, Japanese Yam, sticky stuff often eaten with buckwheat noodle, or so-called “Three-pronged leaf” or “Mitsuba grass” having a nice fragrance and used for Japanese clear soup seemed to be impressive for them. 

On a stream of the Trail No.6

Above all of the aforementioned, we should say many thanks for them to have chosen Mt. Takao during their limited stay and their very first visit to our country.

Usual shot at the summit.

      ( By Sumo)

The JICA tour on September 1, 2018

On the first day of September, the sky over the mountain was covered with clouds and the air was very humid.

Contrary to such a gloomy weather, our guests this time were cheerful 14 people all coming from Africa.

As they are very friendly, we hit it off together immediately.

There were fewer hikers on that day, so we walked at our pace while taking much time for photos or talking about Japanese religion or culture.  

Some guy started a quick Japanese lesson for another guy, and then I could hear some simple Japanese words coming from here and there. They were staying in Tokyo for about a week and then moving to other parts of Japan to start their studying, so some Japanese might be helpful.

On the top, the guests from South Africa introduced their national anthem with one of our member s at lunch time.

Before leaving the top, we could see the Mt. Fuji despite of a cloudy sky. I didn’t expect we could. It might be that Mt, Fuji wanted to say “Hello” to our nice guests.

Preparing for a tour as a tour leader is a bit hard work, such as checking the weather forecast all the day, organizing people, making sure of every detail. However, having a nice time with wonderful guests is really rewarding. I felt refreshed after the tour.

To our guests, thank you for joining us and I hope you can make a good memory in Japan!

Nancy 

The tour on the 19th August, 2018

In front of the cable car station

We had 3 guests today, 2 young ladies and a young man, all from Philippines.The 2 ladies are temporary residents in Japan, working together in Tokyo. They are friends in Philippines and the young man visited Japan to see and do sightseeing with the 2 ladies.

legendary Octpus Ceder Tree

We took the cable car up and walked to the top, stopping at various points of interest on the way. They were very good guests for us guides, because they listened to our guiding talk with great interest and at the same time were enjoying conversations we had as well.

at the summit

Unfortunately we couldn’t see Mt.Fuji on the top and started climbing down after lunch there. We hadn’t decided beforehand the route going down and asked the guests which route they would like to take. It seemed to be an easy question for the young man who said that he is a nature lover and would like to walk on the natural trail rather than on a paved road. So we took Inariyama course down, which they seemed to be enjoying all the way.to the foot of the mountain.

When we arrived back at the Takaosanguchi station, we found that the parade of “Omikoshi” (Portable Shrine) and “Shishi-mai” (Traditional Lion Dance), which were climax of the summer festival held at nearby Hikawa Shrine, would start soon. So we took them to the festival, when the parade of “Omikoshi” and “Shishi-mai” just started.

They were so absorbed by the spectacles unfolded before their eyes that we decided to finish the tour then and leave them there to let them enjoy the festival to their satisfaction. The summer festival was an unexpected something extra, that made today’s tour even more delightful for both of us guides and the guests.  

You don't know how hard it is to carry an Omikoshi up the steep steps to the shrine

Octopus Dumpling-popular Festival food- You can't do anything on an empty stomach

Shishimai-Lion Dance

Written by Nori