Endurance Test in Nara...yeah why not ?

A great journey starts with the first step.Yup that's what people say.Well, in my case, it turns out to be "A great journey starts with a couple of SMS".

A good buddy of mine, Imai Taro (Well he has nothing to do with Ultraman Taro though)would never cease of asking me to join him for any occasion that sparked in his brain. Last Tuesday, he sent me the first SMS as invitation to join him cycling up to the 931 meters Mount Rokko. I'd really love to give a nod for any outdoor stuff kinda of but the fact is, it was too bloody hot out side nowadays.Gosh natsu in Japan is hell hot.

Anyway eventually we did ascending Mt. Rokko but with our arse sitting in his Wagon R.We sealed mutual concession that instead of bringing along my mama charinko, i should take book or something readable. So i decided to get with me the book that i am in the midst of - "人を育てるトヨタの口ぐせ" or in English simply translated as "Toyota Jargon".I bet you, this book is one damn fantastic bible for anyone to grasp about Toyota Management style and easy to comprehend since the Japanese language applied are not that complicated.Good for gaijin !



When we arrived at one spot on the mountain, it felt rather chilly.We were lucky since it was a clear day thus big part of Kansai region- covering Osaka metropolis,Kansai Intl Airport until the city of Kobe, was visible.There were crowd of people and tourist which attracted much of our attention.Haha 美人をさがせ～。

After enjoying the beautiful scenery,we landed at one cafe shop.Apart of having cafe latte and cappucino, much of our time spent on reading and chatting.On that occasion, Imai asked me about my plan for summer holiday."Well nothing particular dude".I replied."Hey is there any place you wanna go in Japan".Followed Imai. He suggested Shikoku, Wakayama, Gifu, Takayama to me.I didn't really mind much so i left to him to decide and the day after....we shot to Gojyo-shi.Without proper planning, i hope to find something extraordinary at Gojyo.We arrived at Gojyo eki at around 4 pm and the journey was damn hot and exhausting.Imai dictated that we go to the MontBell youth hostel-our temporary ghetto, on foot.God...can't you see it's bloody burning! Anyway walking we did...for about 3km under the heating sun.
Montbell at Gojyo Youth Hostel.I'll put other pictures next time if, Imai generously handed me some of his collections
We spent only a night at the hostel.I must say the hostel was quite nice and valued for the money we paid..3900 yen each per night.There, it was the first experience for me getting into the public bath and ofuro.いっすね。。全裸で～。On the first night, we spent most of our time on reading.それぞれの本に夢中。。興味しんしんだったな。でもさ、良い事のは俺らの部屋の隣にめっちゃいいカップルがいた。彼女はすげい美人でセクシ～。うわあああ鼻血でちゃうよ。

Next day we got up quite early at about 8 am.After having breakfast,we packed our stuff and checked out at 10 am yet we decided to spend some extra time there...still.Nevertheless, Imai and i had nothing to do..so to kill the time, each of us took out the book and slowly....until at one point,we decided to stop reading and do something else.

Actually MontBell is a very well known brand for the outdoor activity.Therefore there were numerous kind of activities provided for visitor to join, experience and challenge.They have rafting, canoeing, or kayaking in Yoshino river, mountain biking, cycling, trekking and so on.Due to cost constraint, we decided to take the cheapest option - cycling, that cost us 400 yen each.Upon received the bicycle, we travelled as far as we could along the Yoshino river.I must say it was a very memorable experience and i did enjoy the beautiful scenery of the unspoilt nature.It was awesome and truly remarkable view.The only slack was the heating sun.It was vehemently hot and we did really test our endurance in the adventurous trip.

We departed form Gojyo for Osaka at around 3:30 pm.The train we boarded didn't even have air cooler but ceiling fan instead.Gossh..unbelievable in the state of Sakura.But that's what we experienced.

Thank god that we made our way safely and i'm really looking forward for another voyage..next plan; perhaps to have a bite of sanuki udon at shikoku, and autumn at Kamikochi in Shinshu. Honma iiideee~
以上です。