Moonlight hike

Last night I climbed a mountain in the dark for the first time. Not Mount Fuji (I still haven’t climbed that one)…

The 25th was a full moon and the day had been crisp and clear, so we were hoping the good conditions would continue through the evening. We set off by car to the Lower Ropeway (= cable car) Station halfway up Mount Tsukuba – my local mountain – and the sun began to set, leaving a sky rich in purples, oranges and dusty yellows behind us. As we drew nearer, the splendid sight of Mount Fuji rose up on the horizon, sharply silhouetted by the fading sky.

It took about 35 minutes for everybody in the group to reach the mid-point of the route, hiking up a mixture of dirt track, concrete paths and cut stone steps, headlamps lighting up the hill with little pin-pricks of light. We took a short break before starting on the next section, which passed by many named rock formations as the path got steeper towards the top of the mountain. “Passing ships”, a giant “sitting buddha” and the “womb of the world” greeted us in the cold night air. In the darkness they took on new life: the light of the moon and shadows from our headlamps combined to create a mysteriousness not usually apparent in the daytime.

Once at the top, again reached in less-than-map-time despite the darkness, everybody took a few minutes to look at the panorama of pitch-black fields, city lights, airplanes and – wonderfully clear – stars! But unprotected by the trees that had accompanied us up the mountain, on the rocks at the summit the wind was stronger and colder than before. We had about 1 hour before our scheduled meeting time at the Upper Ropeway Station, where we’d take the ropeway back to the starting point. So some soon went to the Upper Ropeway Station to find warmth and nourishment, some wandered down to the plateau between the twin peaks of the mountain, two adventurers even scaled the second peak and got back in time, just.

The rest of us stayed on the rocks at the summit with our headlamps turned off, silent except for the not-too-occasional gusts of wind, and admired the stars over cups of hot miso soup and tea. It wasn’t the clearest night but still with and without binoculars you could make out several constellations: all the Seven Sisters, Orion and his belt and his sword, Cassiopeia… And over on the horizon was the familiar shape of Tokyo Skytree and, dwarfed but still shining boldly red, Tokyo Tower.

And then it was time to buy our tickets and take the easy way down. The view and serenity inside the cabin made for a quite enjoyable ride. As it was the first hike for TWMC that I’ve organised myself, I’m happy to report that everyone made it up the mountain in one piece and no-one fell off or got left at the top overnight 🙂 See you on the next hike!

Thanks to all the participants who made it a very enjoyable hike,

especially the drivers and committee members for their assistance!