But first: we must run!
Running and hiking during a trip is my number one must do. Cali and I had done some pre-planning on Google Maps days prior to our Fuji Rock trip. To our joy, we discovered how hilly and littered with forests Yuzawa is. There was no shortage of short trails around Yuzawa and even in Naeba where the festival was being held. So, we planned for a short run around the picturesque town of Yuzawa before heading to the festival.
It was a clear, cloudless July morning. I assumed it would be a hot run, but I was wrong!
Just 3 kilometers from our starting point, we spotted a trailhead and decided to go follow it. When in doubt, Google Translate.
We had the well-marked trail to ourselves. In fact, we didn’t encounter a single human being until about the last 10 minutes of our run when we saw an old uncle walking his dog.
20 minutes later, we found ourselves at the top of a small hill, with this view.
We started our descent en route back to the road and to our hotel. We didn’t take the same route going back so we’d have more to see. Some more snaps from our run below.
Overall a good run. We weren’t too tired by the end of it, which left us enough energy for the day’s festival. Now off to Fuji Rock 2018!