Mt Hakkoda Hike

Yet another good friend, Kyle, is leaving in two weeks. One very sad aspect of the military life is having to say goodbye to so many friends. On the positive side, it gives us the opportunity to make friends that will some day be spread all over the world.

Kyle is fond of the outdoors and so he has been getting his last fill of Japan's gorgeous mountains. This overcast day, me and Mike Flickinger had the opportunity of accompanying our well-orientated friend on a hike through the Hakkoda mountains.

Is was foggy most of the day, but we didn't mind because it gave the mountains character. As you can see, the leaves are changing and the still green trees provided a beautiful contrast. We hiked about 5 km to the top of the mountain, Iko-date, where there was a 60 meter deep, 200 meter wide crater. It was foggy when we first arrived, but after about 10 minutes the fog subsided enough for us to get a peek at the bottom of the crater. The well-traveled path we took was quite muddy at parts and quite slippery on the planks that lead through the marsh. I believe Kyle managed to stay on his feet, but me and Mike got uncomfortably familiar with the ground.

The hike took five hours and provided a great opportunity for me to bond with my friends, one of my favorite hobbies. Also interesting and random, we crossed paths with a Swedish professional table tennis player, here in Japan for six months of training and playing.