Mountain Beach.

The art of shinrin-yoku.

By Johnny Nghiem

November 10^th, 2016

"Shinrin-yoku (森林浴) literally means forest bathing - a visit to the forest for relaxation and to improve one's health."

On our last trip before we head back to Tokyo for my birthday week, we chose Yamanashi for two reasons: 1) to climb a mountain and 2) detox.

Look, some people prefer beaches to have their sense of peace and I like beaches but for me, and maybe that's because I'm Canadian, there's something sincere about endless trekking and overlooking valleys that puts me at ease and slows the world down just a little bit. It's something I needed for a long time and as much as my mind and body is exhausted, every step and breath was worth it, the cigarettes weren't.

Below are hoto noodles (ほうとう) which is a regional dish in the area. It's more like a stew and add in some wild boar or bear meat and it instantly becomes something I'd imagine mountain samurais to eat.

We stayed at the "8DORI HOUSE" with our Airbnb host "8" which had a view of a string of mountains one of which we were destined to climb the next morning.

If you take a close look left of the summit, there's a sliver of a white path "8" told us we had to get to. That's 1850m of hiking we were told would give us the ultimate view.

We got to the starting point around 10:30AM after waiting out the brisk winds and with temperatures hovering around 3°C, my Dubai sensitive body wasn't quite ready. In reality though, we didn't bring any outdoor gear whatsoever, but we had some pride and shoes and clothes to sacrifice.

The autumn in Japan is famous as it's like walking into a painting in progress. Weather abused trees are met with vibrant yellows, oranges, reds, greens that even the mud looks well fitted with all the different pantones.

Mount Nokogiri lies lurking behind the cedar trees.

Everywhere you look you're under a colour bukake canopy that reminds you that no matter what's going on in your life, the romance you have with nature will always be there and she'll make sure all your senses and even your heart is taken care of.

After almost two hours of hiking and many breaks in between and the worst decision to have a cigarette before our climb, we made it to the top of Mount Hinatayama.