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Cornwall Morganeering Copyright

 

Japan

The North Alps - September 2009

Day 7

 

Before I left Lodge Kurohan I made a special effort to thank the lodge keeper, stressing again how tired I had been the night before and how grateful I was for him letting me stay. I left at 6-45 a.m. and had a definite spring in my step after the good night’s sleep. The weather was warm and sunny which added to my good spirits. By 7-15 a.m. I was in the entrance hall of the Cable Car at the Kurobe Dam.

 

Approaching the Kurobe Dam

The Kurobe Dam

There was no one around, and the entrance hall was really warm with hot air heaters pumping warm air out. I suppose that if you are a hydroelectric power plant you don’t have to worry about the cost of electricity! I stayed there for a while, enjoying the warmth, and had a couple of coffees from a vending machine in the entrance hall.

 

Just before 9-00 a.m. I wandered down to the edge of the lake and bought a
ticket for the Kurobe Lake Boat Trip.
The Pleasure Boat on Kurobe Lake

Speeding away from the dam

 

 

This went as far down the lake as the Hirano Goya…… taking about 15 minutes to do what had taken me 5 hours the day before. By 9-30 a.m. I was back in the entrance hall of the Cable Car ready to move on. Rather than take the cable car back to Murodo, I went the other way and took the Kanden Trolley Bus of Kansai Electric Power Company to Ogisawa. The trolley bus runs through a tunnel under Mt. Akazawadake for 16 km and takes 16 minutes. From Ogisawa, a bus runs to Omachi (Yen 1,330) covering the 18 km in 40 minutes. The bus arrives at the Sinano Omachi Station, and I took the 11-33 a.m. train to Matsumoto.

 

Kurobe Dam

View down the Kurobe Gorge

 

 

 

An electric trolley bus goes through a long tunnel from Kurobe Dam to Ogisawa

Bus from Ogisawa to Omachi

Shinano Omachi Station

Train from Shinano Omachi to Matsumoto

 

I arrived at Matsumoto Station at 12-35 a.m. It was a warm day (26 deg C) and my first port of call was MacDonald’s in front of the station! Oh how nice to have a hamburger when you have been existing on mountain food! The local Tourist Office fixed me up with a room at the Toko City Hotel for two nights, and I used their coin operated laundry to wash all my clothes. How nice it was to have a nice hotel room with an en-suite bathroom, and to have all my clothes clean again!
I was quite shocked when I turned on the evening news on Sunday 20th, as there were reports coming in of a bear attack at a Takayama Bus Terminal. The newspapers carried articles for the next two days:-

 

 
The Japan Times
Monday 21st September 2009

The Japan Times
Tuesday 22nd September 2009
Japan Headlines Examiner
19th September 2009
An Asian black bear entered a mountain bus terminal in central Japan and then started attacking visitors and employees. Nine people were injured, four seriously, before the bear was cornered and finally shot by local hunters at the request of police.The incident started at a little after 2pm yesterday, September 18th (JST), at the Hita-Nyukawa Noriraku Mountain Bus Terminal in Gifu prefecture, about 170 miles northwest of Tokyo, according to reports.The 4 or 5 year old male black bear, which is said to have been a little over 4-feet long and 2.5-feet tall, entered the terminal parking lot from a mountain path and proceeded to start chasing one visitor. Another visitor tried to beat back the bear with a stick, but the bear retaliated, seriously injuring the man. Several employees then tried to help the injured man, but were also wounded by the bear, according to reports. Other people tried to chase off the bear by honking car horns, but ended up only causing it to retreat into the terminal's building. Several more people were harmed in the process. A panic began, but finally one employee was able to corner the bear into a souvenir shop by spraying a fire extinguisher and then trapping it in the shop by closing the shop's shutters. The police eventually arrived with several local hunters and put the bear down. The injured were evacuated to local hospitals via ambulance and medical helicopter. In total, 7 men and 2 women were reported to have been hurt. The most severe received major wounds to face, as well as broken bones and other injuries. The attack has come during a heavy fall travel period that has been dubbed “Silver Week.” A researcher from the Japan Bear Network told Japanese reporters that “this time is the number one most dangerous period” within the year for encounters between humans and bears. Bears start feverishly looking for food to prepare for their winter hibernation. “While bears are obsessing over food, cases of contact with humans significantly increase,” the researcher warned. He also said, “You absolutely shouldn’t try to scare off a bear with a stick or loud noises.”