Mt Gongen (near Lake Biwa)

It is a one and a half hour meander through rice fields, bamboo thickets and cedar groves from JR Wani station, near the shore of Lake Biwa, to the trailhead for Mt Gongen 権現山. I was blessed to have the route almost entirely to myself. The early morning air was crisp and I was worried how much colder it would be on the peak. There I expected expansive views looking east over Lake Biwa and west over the Kitayama mountains, which lie north of Kyoto.

There was no snow until after passing the trailhead, which led off a service road at the edge of a cedar forest. The snow grew thicker as the path steepened. Soon it was up to my knees. The extensive growths of cedar gave way to twisted and bare deciduous trees. The lack of foliage allowed sunshine to filter through, and this warmed me up.

After a total of 910 metres of elevation gain, I was at the top. Some very deep snow and a steep incline just under the summit made the final push a little tricky. I followed the ridge north and climbed the next peak, Mt Hokke, where I took a long rest to savour the expansive blue sky and stunning views while having lunch. I then–rather reluctantly–retraced my steps home.

Mt Miune, a snow hike (or: how I learned to accept wintry things)

It was well into the new year and, being true to my Jamaican roots, I was rather fed up with winter. The final straw came while running the Osaka half marathon at the end of January–there was more than a touch of madness braving 21 kilometres of frosty headwinds in running tights and a T-shirt. Winter activity is certainly not one of my strong points, so I thought it would be a few months yet before I found myself outside again for any serious length of time.

But when Wes invited me for what would be my first snow hike–a half day jaunt up Mt Miune in Mie prefecture–I did not flatly refuse as one might have expected. Recently, Osaka had been suffocating, and I found in his invitation not a laughable offer to test my loathing of wintry things, but rather a chance to escape the tedious dramas that were crushing me.

Merino wool socks, merino base layer, a fleece sweater, thermal underwear, gortex boots, a gortex windbreaker, a down-filled jacket, Japanese high tech hand warmers and a thermos of hot water. Also: good company and a thawing dip in a nearby hot spring at the end of a very good hike. There is no more to be said, really.