In seven years living in Japan, this may be the most amazing thing I've seen yet.

過去7年で 最高の秋の予感です

It's not just hyperbole, get ready to experience Japan at it's finest on this episode of Life in Japan.

一緒に日本の秋を 味わいましょう

Yeah! Yahoo!

最高！

All right! Let's do this! Let's do this.

楽しみだね！

[Life in Japan Theme Song]

河口湖近くで登山をします

We've come out near Lake Kawaguchi to climb a nearby mountain peak at the height of fall.

富士五湖の一つで 景色と紅葉の美しさで有名です

Lake Kawaguchi is one of 5 main lakes around Mt Fuji, famous for its' fall colors and views.

すごい！

Look at this!

秋の色だね

Fall colors galore.

期待通りの晴天です

We waited for the best weather, and we sure got it.

あの山頂がゴールだね

There it is, our peak right in front of us, huh?

今回の登山は 期待以上でした

We were super excited to hike, but had no idea how awesome it really was going to be.

いいね！

Oh that's nice!

‐ 散歩道もあるね ‐ 最高だね

We've got some nice little walkways here. Yes, they do. This is awesome here.

- この辺りは初めて - 河口湖はいいね

I've never been over here. Kawaguchiko, I'm your fan.

トンネルだ！

Enjoy it while you can.

富士山はこっち側だね

It's gonna be off this way. Oh, yeah.

事前に調べた 駐車場に車を置き

In researching for this trip, we found an ideal parking lot on the other side of the mountain,

富士山に面した 10キロのコースを登り

and from there we would hike a 10k loop, up to the main ridge facing Mt Fuji,

黒岳に登り

climbing to Kurodake, the tallest peak along the ridge,

折り返して 眺望が楽しめる山頂へ行きます

and then swinging back around to a peak that promised 360 degree views of the whole area.

すごい！

Look at that! Oh yes.

‐ ヘリコプターだ ‐ こんなところに？

Oh dude, look at that helicopter. A helicopter up here. What?!

ヘリコプターで富士山を 反対側から見たいね

That would be a cool place to take off and then you go and see Mt Fuji on the other side of this mountain.

駐車場です

Here we are. We made it to the parking lot.

最高の天気！

Yes! It is a beautiful [day].

山頂までドライブする？

Oh dude, let's just drive to the top. Ha, yeah. What is that?

到着です

There it is.

現在地は赤い印

Alright, so we are parked at the top at that red place.

山頂まで登って 左側を下る

And so the peak we can go right to the top and then we come back down the left side.

赤い道を下る

And down that red trail. Right?

そう

Yeah.

出発します かなり寒いです

Well we've hit our trail head here and we're about to take off and it's chilly.

気温は２度ですが 準備はできています

It's only a couple degrees out so, we're ready for this though.

中間辺りのはず

I think we are at the middle peak. Yeah.

美しい山道です

Look at that path, it just beckons! It says "Common, let's go!"

出だしから 本当に美しいです

Well, we've started and is it ever just perfect, gorgeous.

トイレもあります 大事ですね

And the toilet. That is important.

何時に出発した？

So John, what time do we got here? What's the plan?

8時半に出発して まず黒岳を目指すよ

Yeah, we got going a little after 8:30, now we're gonna head up. The first peak we're gonna get to is Kurodake.

いいね

Oh yeah.

河口湖と富士山の絶景が待ってるよ

Beautiful views of Fuji looking over Lake Kawaguchi.

頑張るぞ！

Oh yeah. Let's do it! There's the trail.

途中で道を変えて 遠回りをしました

So we had a bit of a detour here because the path we were going to take had all kinds of signs on it.

地震で土砂崩れしたらしい

Yeah, earthquake recently so there was a land slide.

気をつけましょう

Yeah, so look out

一応通れますが 僕らは回り道しました

Proceed at your own risk, it's dangerous so we were like, ah, I think we'll just take the street.

すごい！

Look at that.

この駐車場を使えば良かった

We've reached the top of the road, only to find there's a parking lot here. We could have parked here!

すごい道！

Look at this. This is going to be awesome.

僕らが目指す山頂です

There's the peak we are going to head over to.

坂の向こうに 絶景が待ってます

But, we gotta climb up here. We're going to get an awesome view in just a moment.

尾根に出ます

We're reaching the ridge.

信じられない！

What?! Look at that!

夢みたいだ！

What in the world!

素晴らしい景色だ！

Holy cow. How awesome is that.

感想は？

Oh man. How about this?

奇跡みたいな場所だね

God's country up here. This is God's country here.

湖も美しい

The lake is gorgeous.

トンネルに入る前に 運転した道だ

Right down there, that's where we drove up before we went in the tunnel.

子供達とも来れるね

And this is totally doable with the kids. It was right on that...

確かに

This right here, yeah. It wasn't dangerous.

さっきの橋だ 僕らがよく行く山中湖も見える

That's the bridge we went over.

これが有名な富士山

Oh yeah, and up there you can see Yamanakako where we like to go

秋一色です

That mountain right there, that's called Mt Fuji.

最高です！

The fall colors.

絶景はまだあります 次は北岳？

Yes.

その前に黒岳に行き

This is just awesome. We've got another couple views, we're going to go to, is it Kitadake?

その後に北岳

No, before that its Kurodake, for some great view there.

間違えた

Then we are going to swing back around to Kitadake. No, no, no.

まずは黒岳 その次に釈迦ヶ岳

First we are going to Kurodake, then Shakagadake

山頂に着いたので これから北岳に

So, we've made it to the top here then we are going to Kitadake.

素晴らしい絶景です 次に目指すのは

Ok, so we're up here with this amazing view. We are going to continue to hike up the ridge to. . .

黒岳！

Kurodake!

‐ 黒岳の後は ‐ 釈迦ヶ岳

Then after Kurodake, its.. Shakagadake.

難しすぎて言えません

Wow. I tried saying it a couple times and was like, forget it.

広角レンズです

Wide angle.

スターバックスとWi-Fiがあったら最高

If we just had some Starbucks and some wifi up here.. Hahaha.

スターバックスはいいね！

Put a Starbucks here and it will make a killin'.

黒岳まで1.8キロ

There it is. 1.8 km to Mt. Kurodake.

尾根は風がすごいね

Dude, let me tell you what. The wind is sure different on the ridge, huh?

手袋を着けるよ 帽子も必要かも

I'm about ready to put gloves back on. And maybe the hat.

風が強くて寒いです

Let me tell you what. This ridge is windy and it's chilly.

帽子と手袋が必要

I might need to put a hat back on and some gloves back on.

しかし絶景です

It sure is beautiful.

秋真っ盛りです

Perfect fall colors right now.

秋の景色を満喫しています

We're out enjoying some beautiful fall views.

富士山がこんなに近くに！

In a little place near Mt Fuji.

息を呑む秋の絶景です

This is just absolutely beautiful. You couldn't ask for a better fall day here.

秋の色は綺麗ですね 寒さも気になりません

Beautiful fall colors. It's chilly, but perfect.

ハイキング中の お喋りも楽しいです

When you're on the trail you get to just have awesome conversations with the guys.

美しい景色が続きます

Can look at the awesome scenery as you go. Its just super special. It's really cool.

迂回した道です

There's the trail guys that we almost came up, and someone's coming up it!

警告サインです

There's the sign we saw

川が氾濫して 危ないらしい

The river was washed out. There's a little bit of a dangerous spot.

念のための迂回

We probably would have been ok, but we didn't know, so.

遠回りのおかげで 富士山が沢山見られた

So we took a detour but... The detour gave us some amazing views of Fuji.

遠回りが正解

So yeah. It was well worth it.

- 家族もいるし - ”黒部峡谷続編” は止めておこう

We have wife and kids at home, so.. That's right. We don't need Kurobe part 2 here.

見て

Look at this. There you go Ben.

‐ トレッキングポール ‐ なるほど

Its a walking stick. Yeah, really huh?

ジョン 長ズボンを履く？

John, are you going to pull your pants back up now you think, or?

寒いだろ？

It's a little chilly, huh?

僕は毛深いから大丈夫

I had to zip up the chest hair though.

僕は男気より 暖かさを優先します

The man factor went down a little bit, but hey, staying warm now.

前を失礼するよ

Awe dude. Sorry, as I jump in front of your view.

強風なので防寒着で正解でした

The wind was fierce on the ridge making us glad we brought our warm clothes.

深まる絶景

But the views kept getting better and better.

黒岳を目指す私達を 壮大な絶景が待っていました

In fact, the views we were about to get would be even more epic as we pushed to the summit of Kurodake.

そこが黒岳の頂上？

That right there is the top of Kurodake. I think so.

最高の景色だろうね

Yes! And I think we are going to have an awesome view up there.

もうひと頑張り

I just gotta ganbaremasu a little more.

頑張って！

A little more. Ganbate.

ハレルヤでございます！

Oh! Hallelujah-gozaimasu!

到着！

We made it!

ドローンが飛ばせそう

Well, there's a place to launch the drone here.

黒岳の頂上です

We've reached the summit of Kurodake.

何時？

And, what time is it? 10:42?

10時42分？

And now we are going to go, grab a bite to eat, and early lunch/snack and look out at Fuji.

これから富士山を眺めながら 早めの昼食を取ります

Maybe fly the drone a little bit before heading on the trail.

ドローンを飛ばすかもしれません

Oh, here we go.

行きましょう

Common now.

すごいな

Beautiful.

綺麗です

Wow. Wonderful.

素晴らしい

I only brought 2 bottles of water. What???

水2本しか持ってきてない

Man, this is like a gorgeous view man.

最高な景色だな

This is awesome.

確かに

Gotta do a selfie. Yeah, this is the selfie location man.

‐ 自撮りしよう ‐ 自撮りスポットだね

Those are the southern alps way over there. You see they have a little snow on them too.

南アルプスです 雪が積もってますね

There's the whole ridge we hiked up there.

さっき登った尾根です

Looking over to Fuji and on down, wow.

富士山と麓の景色

Time for the giant lunch I brought up.

お弁当の時間

The detour gave us beautiful views, but also set us back about an hour in our hike.

遠回りのため 1時間遅れています

It was time for us to decide if we could still do the rest of the planned hike or not.

この後の予定を決めます

Thirty? So I don't think we'll have any problem getting back to the car by 3:00 or, even if we took our time, 4:00.

3時までに 遅くても4時までに 車に戻れると思う

Rock and roll.

いいね

4:00. But then we'd be home by 6:00.

6時までに帰れる

So we had an awesome lunch here and I got to fly the drone and now we are going to Shatagadake. Did I get it?

昼食とドローンを楽しみました 次はシャタガダケ？

Yeah? Shakagatake.

”釈迦ヶ岳”

Ok we had a great lunch and now we are going to go to Shakada...hahahah.

昼食を終え これからシャカダに…

ShakaGA.. Here, you guys say it.

‐ シャカ”ガ” ‐ 2人が言って

Shakagatake. We are going to Shakagatake.

シャカガタケ？

It's the behind the scenes, bro. That's right.

釈迦ヶ岳に行きます

Shatagadake.

NGシーンだね

No, did I say it wrong again? yeah.

シャタガダケ

Shakagatake.

‐ 違う？ ‐ そう

Yeah, its this way. That's the way we are going.

シャタガタケ

Trying to figure out. Yeah, that's where we are going.

こっちだね

Wow. That washed out sign.

こっちであってる

Another change for me to mess it up. I mean, get it right.

この標識古いね

As if this helps.

また間違えそう

Yeah really. Oh yeah, well seeing that I know exactly how to say it.

漢字がヒント

Oh, that's how.

漢字が分かると思う？

Our decision to push on and do the rest of the hike turned out to be a great one,

”なるほど” とはならないでしょ

for even though we thought we had seen the greatest views, the best was yet to come.

最後まで登る事にして 正解でした

The path there would not be easy though, especially after already hiking so much with all the weight in my backpack.

今日一番の絶景が 待っていました

Doesn't help that I slightly overpacked.

重い荷物を担いで 登るにはきつい道でした

I have enough food for probably 3 days in here.

荷物が多すぎました

Enough water for 2 days.

3日は食べられます

And enough cameras here to last the rest of the week.

水は2日分

Feeling good?

カメラは1週間分

Oh yeah. Actually it's pretty flat.

気持ち良い

How are those legs after that long descent? It felt good going down. Mine are shaking a little bit.

平坦だね

You're shaking? After all the downhill, yeah.

‐ 下り坂は？ ‐ 足が少し震える

Yeah, me too. My legs are like, whoa. Not used to that.

‐ 震える？ ‐ 下り坂で

We are looking back to what we did and it is, it almost looks like a wall from this angle. Just straight down.

僕の足も下り坂で驚いてる

It wasn't but it kinda felt like that on the body.

壁みたいな下り坂だ

This is a, we're in a really beautiful area. This is incredible. Look at these leaves.

当然の反応だね

I won't lie, it feels pretty good to go uphill a little bit.

美しい場所です 紅葉がすごいです

Oh, Jesus, thank you.

これ位の上り坂がいいね

Look at this view here.

神様ありがとう！

Hello!

絶景です！

Oh man.

見事！

Oh guys, why didn't we park here.

すごいね

My goodness.

あそこに駐車すればよかった

Shaka... Look it's spelled out in English here.

もう遅い

Mt Shakadake.... I still can't say it!

シャカ... ローマ字だ！

Mt. Shakagate.

シャカダケ… ダメだ！

Shakagatake

シャカガテ

Alright, from here to the car, it's 30 minutes down that trail.

シャカガタケ

Or we can keep going. Or we can keep going 1 hour to the top of....

ここから車まで30分

Shikaga... Shakagatake.

或いはあと1時間登って

Shakaga.. ...Take.

‐ シカガ… ‐ 釈迦ヶ岳

Yeah, there you go.

シャカガタケ

Hey, don't make fun of me. You try saying it. Hahahaha

正解

We don't see much wildlife out here. Look at that.

笑わないで下さい 難しいです！

Man. There's a bird.

動物は見ないね

1:00 on the ridge.

鳥がいる

We are almost 1/2 way with only 100 more meters to go.

午後1時です

For the last epic 360 degree view from...

半分登りました 残り100メートル

Shakagatake.

最後の360度の眺望は

Yeah! Woohoo!

シャカガタケ

Now that I can say it, I can see it.

やった！

It's the password to get up.

正解したので 実際に見に行きます！

Meanwhile, back at home, the kids were also enjoying some time with friends thanks to momma chan.

パスワードみたい

You guys should do a funny dance to be on Life in Japan.

家では子供達が遊んでいます ママ ありがとう！

Joshua, do a funny dance with Aiden. Ready?

Life in Japanで 踊りを披露する？

Its a good little hike to get up there.

ジョシュア エイデンと踊って！

Oh man, there's the mountain peak. And it looks pretty steep right next to it.

結構登るね

I hope we saved enough gas for it.

山頂の前が急勾配です

We got this.

力残ってるかな

Sometimes you have to talk to your body. And say, you got this body.

もう少し

You got this legs.

自分の体に話しかけます 大丈夫って

You're not tired yet.

頑張れ 足達

You got this.

まだ行ける

As we slogged on, the body was not happy and I started to wonder if we had indeed made the right decision.

大丈夫だ

I do wish I would have brought my polls though.

体は悲鳴を上げています 決意が揺らぎます

I think that would have made a big difference.

トレッキングポールが 必要です

What we discovered next didn't help.

楽になります

Oh boy.

最終関門です

Oh boy.

まさか！