When Mother Nature misses the memo!

The old adage of ” Best laid plans… etc etc…” came to mind this week, when we were  spectacularly let down by Nature. One of the promoted highlights of this trip was to see the much lauded Snow Monkeys ( Japanese Macques) in their mountain environment. Personally, I could have missed it, as my relationship with Monkeys, while living in Kenya, was to shoo them off my patio regularly!!! However, many of my fellow passengers were looking forward to the experience

En route to the Mountain Park, we stopped in a small town called Obuse, about which I knew nothing. The renowed 19th century Japanese artist, Hokusai, lived here under the patronage of a wealthy merchant and now there is an Art Gallery/ Museum, dedicated to him. Not knowing a lot about him, I was looking forward to our visit. It was fantastic!!! Hokusai is the artist who created the image of the Great Wave of Kanagawa, now synonymous with Japan.

A small Museum, in the centre of a pretty buzzy town, it was full of interesting Art both from Hokusai and his fellow painters. It is  currently hosting a visiting exhibition from the Rhode Island School of Design, comprising 200 Flower and Bird prints from.the Rockefeller collection, based on the Hokusai theory of Japonism. They were outstandingly beautiful, as were all the other artifacts.

When I came out of the Museum into a small green town Square,  I could hear the sounds of a Tchaikovsky overture! There, seated in a corner, was a quartet of adults playing the most beautiful selection of classical music. Many elderly local people came along with their collapsible seats and enjoyed. Ten minutes later  in another corner of the Green, a Brass quintet started playing! This is regular Sunday entertainment with music going on for the afternoon!! Wonderful. This area is known for growing chestnuts and there were chestnut stalls everywhere, selling every form from ice cream flavoured, to hot chestnuts! There was even a path made from chestnuts!!

Then,  it was on to find the illusive monkeys. As we drove into the Mountains, the Guide did start to dampen expectations, talking about breeding season, times of year ( like now) when they are seldom seen and so on. The pool the monkeys come too, a two mile hike into the mountain, is monitored by a live cam. So when we parked, we were met by this notice!!

But we trekked anyway, through magnificent woods, with the tallest trees I have ever seen, through which we glimpsed three ladies bathing in an Onsen. Now, I didn’t take a picture  but some did, as they were waving to us, and literally letting it all hang out!! Our Guide wryly said “Germans or Scandinavian, the Brits or Americans would not use Onsens”! Here’s another, who would not!!! They have been available in all our hotels, but I have not been tempted!

So, bit of a let down for some, but a beautiful Sunday afternoon walk in Nature.

So, next day it was a long journey to Mount Fuji with a bad weather forecast. The highest mountain in Japan, at almost 4,000 meters, a dormant volcano,  it is revered as the abode of Japan’s ancestral God’s.  About 100 km from the entrance to the National Park, it loomed ahead, majestically!!

However, that was the best we got to see!! When we got to the Park, there was thick mist, dense fog and generally, awful weather conditions. We drove to 5th station, at 2,300 meters,  the highest one can drive, it’s a climb for 6/8 hours and overnight after that. The fog was so dense  although we were above the clouds, we could not see anything!!

So, Nature fails us again, sadly. However, there was some hope in sight, as our abode for the night boasted views of the Mountain, when clear. So, when I opened my blinds this morning at 06.00, guess what???

What a wonderful way to start the day!!!