Visiting a lake in Finland ! - (1)

Terveisia suomesta!!
Itse asiassa olen jo tullut kotiin, siis japaniin mutta tanaan kerron vahan
minun kesalomastani, siis suomen jarvesta!


15.Elokuuta kavin "Vesijarvi", olipa kaunis ilta!
Aurinko paistaa ja kalola tuli :D Monta ahventa ja ehka yksi kuha...


Jarvi oli kaunis ja kala oli hyva, siis nautin suomen kesasta!!
Kuvassa on minun suomalainen perhe kaveriksi: muikku!!




⑮Vesijarvi


ついに日本を飛び出てしまいました！！！
行先は私の第2の故郷ともいえる：フィンランド！

フィンランド、といえば「湖」。
そうです、今回はフィンランドからの中継・・・
といいたいところですが、すでに帰国しておりますので、
「報告」です。

フィンランド1つ目の湖は、「Vesijarvi」です。直訳すると、「水の湖」
そのまんま！

でも大きくて、空気はすんでるし、魚は採れるし。
フィンランドの過ぎ去りつつある夏にぎりぎりセーフで
すべりこみ、満喫！

いつもお世話になっている家族の方と一緒に、
はいチーズ。

星15こ目だ！！

-ACE


In August, Team Project 29 didn't get to go anywhere. Sigh.
One, because Hero had to study for an exam; and two, because Ace was going away to spend a week in Finland. So naturally, Ace took on a solo project this time, and visited a couple of lakes while in Finland.
(From what I heard, though, it's not that Ace actually made time to "visit" the lakes. Lakes are everywhere in Finland, and even if it weren't for the Project, Ace would've gone fishing in the lakes everyday anyways. :P)

Our 15th lake is called Vesijarvi, and the literal translation would be...(drum roll)...Yes, it's the one and only "WATER LAKE"!!
Yup. No doubt.

Way to go, Ace!

- Hero

Jumping 29!! ~Fifth Adventure in Lake Ashinoko~

さてさて、ついに3週連続のProject29!!

ということで、晴天の中、芦ノ湖へ！

そう、箱根です。
3連休で、なかなかの混みようのなか、箱根湯本をあとに、
いざ湖畔へ




⑭Ashino-ko


真っ青な空、透き通る湖、そし濃い緑の森とくれば・・・

ジャンピング！！
連続でいきますよ～　そぉれ。

そして・・・九頭龍神社→桟橋　にて　渾身の一枚（1セット？）！

ジャンピングに夢中になり、気づけば夕方！
お疲れ様～

本日の成果★１つ。

次回は8月、"Independence month"?!
なんとちょっと遠くまで足をのばしますよ～
お楽しみに！

-ACE


Project 29 was out and active for three weeks in a row in July, as we finally got the chance to hit back after a long dormant period in rainy June.
The fifth adventure took place in Ashinoko (Lake Ashi), a popular retreat in Hakone where visitors can enjoy a beautiful view of Ashinoko and relaxing hot springs.


Ashinoko, despite so many visitors and tour buses constantly coming in and out, was a place of breathtaking beauty and solemn serenity.


Ace scooting into the woods



Pirate ship and private speed boats cruise around, hotels with hot springs stand on the hillside offering a perfect view of the Lake, and there's even a secret shrine for those with extra interest.

Of course Ace and I went on into the forest to seek that hidden shrine.

The Shrine, called the Kuzu-ryu Jinja (Nine-Headed Dragon Shrine), is dedicated to a once vicious dragon that lived in the Lake and was later submitted by a Buddhist priest.



Hidden shrine in the Lake

The sky, the lake, and the green of the surrounding mountains were a sheer perfection that, at the end of the adventure, Ace and I couldn't resist the temptation and started shooting "jumping" photos. I don't know exactly how many times I made Ace jump, but easily over a hundred. Only a few was a success, but it was worth the effort and muscle pains that troubled us the next day.

Jumping to the Sky!

One more lake down, and 1,000 yen donated through JustGiving (http://justgiving.jp/c/6345).
 Fifteen more to go!

- Hero



Skyy blue under the SKY BLUE!!

本日は晴天なり。

目指すはかの有名な丹沢湖！

Pro29日和だー。

そして到着。

⑬Tanzawa-ko

Skyy blue under the SKY BLUE!!
晴天の元、自然に囲まれて乾杯~。幸せの瞬間。

これで13湖制覇！










本日の成果は、湖沼１ヵ所で星１つ。寄付額は、1,000円也。（http://justgiving.jp/c/6345）

次回は来週の予定。続けて3週！！乞うご期待~

-Ace

The 3rd and 12th!!: Sagami-ko, Tsukui-ko, and Shiroyama-ko

天候や諸事情により、約2か月半ぶりの湖畔散策。
本日のターゲットは相模湖方面。

朝9時半よりスタート、相模湖→津久井湖と順調に進む。
相模湖ではソフトクリーム＆ジェラート（ACEは桃、HEROはマンゴー）で１０湖目記念祝杯。

⑩Sagami-ko

津久井湖の公園では子供たちが噴水の周りで水遊び。その中を駆け抜けて、記念撮影、パシャリ。

⑪Tsukui-ko

そして本日３湖目、通算12湖目には城山湖。

なかなか道を見つけられず、地図とにらめっこしながらの散策。

Hero with Kick-Scooter

木々の中、登り道を我らがキックスクーターのGOGOとスティングレイを担いでえっちらおっちら。

⑫Shiroyama-ko

ついに目的の城山湖が見渡せる展望台に到着～。半分凍った野菜ジュースで乾杯！

本日の反省会＠帰り道の南大沢にて。






本日の成果は、湖沼3ヵ所で星3つ。寄付額は、3,000円也。（http://justgiving.jp/c/6345）

次回は来週、丹沢湖の予定！！

-ACE


This was the third adventure of this Project and we made it to 12 lakes.
Setting out early in the morning, we took a train southward and reached Sagami-ko Station at 9:30am. Lake Sagami was only a 10-minute skating away from the station, and it was nicely surrounded by lush green. This deep, lush green is such a reward when you're finally on your kick-scooter after spending hours just carrying it on your shoulders.

Ace scooting downhill toward the Lake Sagami.



Lake Sagami and Lake Tsukui, our first two and also the bigger two targets of the day, were moderately easy to find. The whole adventure for today was going to be completed in no time, we thought, and we even talked about taking a nap when we reached our final goal.

Man, were we wrong.

We just couldn't find Lake Shiroyama, which was supposed to be within a close proximity. After wandering about for a while, we decided to trust our instincts and the mighty Google map, and went up the hill in search for a small, minor lake.

So many times we stopped to take a rest or to check the map. The only thing that kept us going was a hope that there will be a lake up on the hill and that we can't be climbing forever.

When we finally reached a point where we could take a peek at Lake Shiroyama, we were so exhausted, so delighted.

Three lakes down and our donation to JustGiving would be 3,000 yen today.

Next target: Lake Tanzawa, Kanagawa Pref.

- Hero 

INTERMISSION: Tama Minami-Osawa Outlet Park

天気予報で『午後から大雨、雷の可能性あり』と伝えられていたため、今回、初めてアドベンチャーを延期。それでもせっかく予定を空けていたので、前から気になっていた三井アウトレットパーク多摩南大沢へ。アウトドアやスポーツ系のお店をくまなく回り、Project 29用のバックパックやウィンドブレーカー、Project 29とは関係ないスパイクなどを購入。

そして今回最大の収穫は、ずばり、“袋”！


Wish the weather kept it
the way it was...



本来はロッククライミング用のロープを入れる袋をキックスクーターに転用し、見事にすっぽり収まった。これで少しは持ち運びが楽になるはず。

今回予定していた相模湖 etc.は、6月に延期。

そろそろ梅雨に入るけれど、次回こそはどうか晴れますように！

Our third adventure was rescheduled due to the rainstorm forecast in the afternoon.
Instead of Sagami Lake and others, Ace and I visited a mall called Tama Minami-Osawa Outlet Park. We cruised around Mont-Bell, Nike, Adidas, Columbia, AIGLE, Roxy, and other sports/outdoor shops, and totally ignored all the other fancy clothes shops :P
Ace bought a pair of spiked shoes, I bought a Zero Point backpack, and we both bought a rope bag to carry our scooters in.


Just so as to remind ourselves that this is a part of our Project 29, we stopped by at Tokyo Meat Rea, an amusement park dedicated to meat lovers. To be really honest, though, this was only a collection of restaurants with their main focus on various meat, with bits and pieces of trivia on meat dishes from around the world. We went into a Brazilian restaurant (Bacana Grill) and had, of course, a chicken thigh.
There's nothing that beats good caipirinha and nicely grilled chicken thigh on a stormy afternoon like today.

Meat Paradise



Their chicken thigh was an epic!


We're expecting the start of rainy season anytime soon, but hopefully (oh pretty pretty please...!) it won't rain hard on our next adventure day. Fingers crossed!


- Hero

Tällä kertaa vaihdan tyyliäni, siis kirjoitan vahan pitempi lauseeta. Katsotaan onnistuuko vai ei.
Niin, tänään menimme "OUTLET" paikka, siis se on iso ostoskeskus. Koska sää-uutisessa kerrotti tänään sataa runsaasti, me päätimme emme lähdetään jarveen vaan ostetaan varusteita, tulevaisuuden matkaa varten!


Tän päivän iso tulokset oli "kassi", me löydettiin sellainen kassi johon voimme laittaa meidän sukutterimme.Se on ihan kiva, me voidaan nyt laittaa siihen kassiin silloin kun me nostetaan junaa. Jep.


Ne kassit voi sitten nähdä seuraavan reisun päiväkirjasta:D
Seurava matka tulee kesäkuun puolessa valissä. Katsotaan mihin me päästaan!!


-Ace

Targets Set!

Project 29第３弾のターゲットを、神奈川県にある、相模湖、津久井湖、そして宮ヶ瀬湖の３ヵ所に決定。
それぞれに公園や娯楽施設が設備されており、キックスクーター以外の冒険も期待できる。

個人的には、相模湖プレジャーフォレストの長いすべり台と、宮ヶ瀬湖の315mに及ぶ吊り橋が楽しみ。

梅雨入り前の好天に恵まれますように！


The target lakes for our third adventure is finally set: Lake Sagami, Lake Tsukui, and Lake Miyagase, all in Kanagawa Prefecture.  --Missä?missä ne ovat?...Se on Tokiosta länsipohjoiseenpäin!

They seem to have BBQ area, regular parks, and/or amusement parks established at each lake.
I'm personally looking forward to challenging the looooong slide in Lake Sagami Pleasure Forest and 315 meter-long suspension bridge at the Lake Miyagase. --Kuinka pitkä se luistelu oiliskaan, jännittävä!

Hope we'll have a perfect day for a picnic! --Kyllä kyllä, vaikka meillä alkaa kohta sadekausi. Odotamme aurinkoista päivää!:D
- Hero
- Ace(Comment in Finnish!)

Second Adventure: 富士五湖, 忍野八海

 プロジェクト29の第2弾！

今回は、富士五湖と忍野八海の合計6湖を目指しました。

 ④Mokosu-ko（本栖湖）

案の定、わたくしAceは遅刻ギリギリに新宿駅に滑り込み。いざ、目的地へ出発～。

初日5月1日（日）はあいにくの天気。

富士五湖、1つ目は本栖湖。あつあつのワカサギがおいしかったー。雨にぬれぬれ、スクーターをこぎこぎ、2つ目の精進湖に到着。バスの本数が少ないのが誤算・・・ついに日が暮れそうになったため、本日の旅はここまで。河口湖近くの宿泊地へ。Heroは3度もチャレンジしたが、毎回浴場は使用中。そんなときもある。



Wakasagi-nam nam!  

⑤Shoji-ko（精進湖）

 



Yattaaaaaa!!!

二日目、5月2日（月）は晴天。朝起きたら、目の前に富士山が！！

はりきって、出発～。まずは河口湖。そしてその勢いで西湖へ。レトロなバスにのったり、果実入りのソフトクリームを食べたり。風穴をかすって氷穴を見学。係りのおじさんに「そんなの持ってたら歩けないよ」とおどかされ（？）、愛車とバッグをおいてゆく。実際、正しい判断。中では両手、両足を駆使。


 

 ⑥Kawaguchi-ko（河口湖） 

⑦Sai-ko（西湖）


午後は反対側の、山中湖、忍野八海を目指す。お昼も食べずに移動移動・・・

途中、遅れているバスを待ちながら昼寝をしたり、Heroは本日３つ目のソフトクリームを食べたり。

山中湖といえば、白鳥。そして、あわただしく忍野八海へ。その甲斐あって、お蕎麦屋さんへ滑り込みセーフ。目の前に忍野八海の池をみながら今回の旅をふりかえりつつ乾杯。

予定通り6湖達成～。

⑧Yamanaka-ko（山中湖）

⑨Oshino-Hakkai（忍野八海）



本日の成果は、湖沼6ヵ所で星6つ。寄付額は、6,000円也。（http://justgiving.jp/c/6345）


- Ace

             

This time, we took our adventure to the Fuji Lakes area, in an attempt to "kill two birds with one stone." (Come on, it's FIVE lakes at a time. You can't beat that.)


We left Shinjuku a little past 9 am, and reached Kawaguchi-ko station in the afternoon. We had no idea how useful it will be when we bought a two-day railway/bus pass. (Please please buy a bus pass if you'll ever go kick-scooting in the Fuji Lakes area, because kick-scooter alone will NEVER get you anywhere.)


Akaike Bus Stop near Shoji-ko:
Yes, you are expected to reach there without
the crosswalk and in return the bus driver
will make a brave stop on the corner.



The weather forecast proved wrong, and we were scooting all afternoon in the cold, heavy rain. On top of that, the bus schedule was ridiculously disappointing. We kept checking the bus schedule along the way, because buses came but only once every hour or two to any given stop. Also, they were never on time and some even showed up more than half an hour later than they should have. "OK," I said to Ace, "I understand that we're not in Tokyo...but wtf!!"

We gave up after Motosu and Shoji Lakes, and took a shelter near Kawaguchi Lake for the night.


Chicken thigh
by the Lake Kawaguchi



The next day started off with a gorgeous view of the Mount Fuji from our guesthouse window, and the rest of the day went on very fruitfully: We conquered all Five Lakes (Motosu, Shoji, Sai, Kawaguchi, and Yamanaka Lakes), and even made it to the Ice Cave and Oshino-Hakkai Springs. We never missed soft cream shops, had a chicken thigh, and then ended our pilgrimage with a quality soba noodle and good booze by the beautiful Waku-ike Spring at Oshino-Hakkai. Ah, the sheer indulgence!



Naturally made ice pillars in Ice Cave



Mount Fuji is not only the highest mountain in Japan, but is also considered one of the strongest spiritual energy spots in the country. Our kick-scooters are now blessed by the holy water from heaven amidst the holy mountain and vast Sea of Trees. I would say it was worth all the sores and irritation and heat and cold and every "aagh!" and "ugh!"

Most important of all, we managed to conquer five lakes AND a set of springs, which means we added six stars to our little flag, which in turn means we donated 6,000 yen through JustGiving (http://justgiving.jp/c/6345).

  

Nine stars and counting.

Next ride is planned at the end of May.
Adventure continues!!


- Hero