Monday, 29 October 2012
The big question when I stirred on Day Six of the trip involved the weather conditions outside, and an initial glance out the window was hardly something you'd describe as promising. While there was no way of telling whether there was any actual precipitation without wandering outside there was definite mist and a greyish gloom that didn't bode well as far as light was concerned.
There wasn't a definite plan for the day's activities, more a wish list, weather permitting, and after showering and debating the clothing options we headed down for a very Japanese breakfast, returning to see signs that the weather might actually be lifting.The first thing that needed to be done was to scope out the options fit Tuesday's departure, since the preferred option was a non-JR rail motor operation that couldn't be booked on line and check for a more definitive outlook on the day's weather forecast.
The endangered rail scenario looked good, but we were advised to be first in the queue if we wanted to be sure of a seat, which wasn't likely to be too much of an issue since the hotel's on the other side of the plaza outside the railway station. The informative girl in the nearby Tourist Information Centre had very promising news on the weather front and by the time we were outside waiting for the free shuttle that delivers passengers to the Dakigaeri Valley I was even giving thought to removing the corduroy overshirt and doing the scenic walk in a t-shirt. That was a remarkable turnaround from earlier in the morning whenI was being advised to ditch the corduroy and using the merino thermal underlay and the padded insulator. The t-shirt bit was probably never a viable option but the fact that it was even considered shows how much the weather prospects had improved.
The bus shuttled off right on time at 10:15, stopping along the way at the Tazawaka Art, Spa, Brewery and Theatre Resort along the way. It's a twenty minute run through the countryside, and while you can do it by taxi the free shuttle is obviously the way to go if you're not inclined to shell out for a taxi fare, though the bus only operates during October and early November. More...
