IOC NEWSLETTER - April 2004
Index
- Hello
- New Committee
- *New* Webpage!
- Lovely April Events
- Upcoming events
Konnichiwa!
Wow, what a fantastic month we just had. April was jam-packed with loads of great events. Lots of hiking and cycling activities, along with some camping trips too (yay spring weather!). Last, but certainly not least, there was the Ohanami Party. I think everyone can agree that it was a roaring success. Well done to all those involved.
New Committee
As of April 1st, the IOC voted in a new committee to take over for the upcoming year. All of last years committee was replaced, meaning that a lot of newer members now have a chance to get down and dirty with the running of the club. The outgoing committee did an absolutely outstanding job, and they are definitely going to be a difficult act to follow.
Let me briefly introduce the 2004 - 2005 committee to you.
President - Lars Jensen
Lars will help the committee
members do their respective jobs and will generally be there to help
solve problems or answer any of your queries.
Activities Coordinator and Vice President - Ivan Breen
He will be your main contact and information resource when planning events.
Special Events Coordinator - Shinobu Yoshioka
Keep an eye on what she'll do, there are sure to be some killer events!
Secretary - Kei Sasabe
Kei is the man to turn to if you have any questions on membership and related info.
Treasurer - Chinatsu Schlunze
Chinatsu will keep a watchful eye over the finances, making sure everything goes by the book.
Webmaster - Claire Breslin (and sometimes Lars!)
Claire
will send out the monthly newsletter and is in charge of website
content. She'd love to hear reviews of activities and is also happy to
receive any photos from IOC events for the webpage.
If you've any comments or suggestions about anything at all, we'd love to hear from you.
New Website
MASSIVE thanks go to Lars, who has spent shocking amounts of his time designing the new website. It looks incredible! The site contains everything you need to know about the club. There's also a message board where you can let other members know about unofficial events or discuss whatever takes your fancy. We're currently compiling a gallery of photos from IOC activities. If you have any photos you would like to share, please email them to webmaster@kioc.org and we'll include them on the site.
Review of April Events
April was a very busy month for the club and cheers to everyone who helped organize events. Unfortunately, due to an incident involving a boomerang and didgeridoo, I wasn't able to make it to any of the events. I'm distraught! This also means that I can't review any of the fun-filled activities. I can list them, though!
There was a Mt Rokko hike, lead by Shinobu, which ended in Arima Onsen. Next, Toshi led a beginners cycle in Kyoto. Chris led a cycle in the Muroji and Haibara area, in Nara. We had a special guest speaker at the monthly meeting. Kevin Bradshaw gave a presentation about some of the most exquisite ridge hikes in the Japan Alps.
This was followed by the awesome Ohanami Party in Himeiji, attended by a whopping 40 members! Ivan led a hike in Agata-san, in NW Kyoto. Lars led a 2-day cycle around Lake Biwako, and there'll be more on that later. Not one to let the saddle of his bike get cold, Lars was off leading another cycle in Golden Week. This cycle was a Shimanami Kaido and Western Shikoku cycling and camping event. At the same time, there was also another hiking and camping event in Shikoku. I hope we'll hear more about that soon.
Lake Biwako Cycle by Lars
On
April 24th and 25th, Lars and new member Jeremy took on the challenge
of circling Lake Biwako, the largest freshwater lake in Japan. Read on,
as their story takes an unexpected twist.
We set out from Otsu and immediately encountered a strong and merciless headwind, bringing back memories of riding in typhoon-like weather in Echizen last year. It was really strong, and we soon got into riding each others draft - it's much easier to manage such teamwork when there's only two rather than a larger group of riders. The first major stop was at Hikone Castle - somewhat troublesome to access from the coastal road, but definitely worth the climb. Although it is smaller than Himeji or Osaka Castle, it gives great views and is an extremely nice place to rest.
Due to the strong wind, we couldn't keep the planned pace and had to find an "emergency" place to stay the night after 115 kilometers. Continuing on for another 15-20km for the planned campsite seemed an "impossible mission". We stopped at a parking area and asked for a place to stay and were directed to a hotel/ryokan supposedly for 7.000yen a night per person - a price higher than our budget, but in this situation it would have been worth the money. The ryokan was full - and thank god it was! The supposedly 7.000yen was turned out to be in fact 22.000yen per night plus 7.000yen for dinner. The doorman at the ryokan was very helpful though, and arranged for us to be allowed to pitch our tent in none other than on the porch of the local shrine!
Being a small community, an event like this was unusual, and we soon have a small crowd watching us unpack the bikes and setting up our tent. We were countless remarks made about it being too cold to stay outside, and many replies from us that "no, it's okay - we have the right equipment for this kind of weather". Soon though, we were invited into the temple for a toast of Sake and "interrogation". As the evening progressed, the old ladies prepared cozy futons for us, and we actually slept inside the temple leaving all our equipment, which we hauled with us, outside.
The downside to sleeping in a temple became apparent in the very early morning. At 6am sharp, < DOOOOOONNNNGGGGGG > they rang the huge bell, could have woken the dead. We set out before 7 and managed another "century" (100km ride) before we finally came up against extremely heavy traffic upon re-entering Otsu.
What really struck me on this ride though, was the immense well laid out bicycle paths. This meant that we were almost always separated from the traffic and mostly right on the shore of the lake. I highly recommend this ride to anyone who likes cycling on-road in an easy flat environment. There are plenty of JR stations to take you home, when you run out of energy - no need to do the full 250km around the lake.
Atago San Fun Hike in Kyoto - by Ivan
On April 17th, 21 IOC members showed up for a day of outdoor fun in Kyoto. We began the day by climbing up the seemingly endless uphill trail to the summit of Atago-san, which is just NW of Kyoto City. After finally reaching the top and having lunch, Belinda led us all in a series of elementary school playground games. We hadn't had so much fun since elementary school! We finished the day with a great soak at Shomenyu Sento, and a wild party at a nearby Izakaya. I think everyone's stomach hurt the next day from laughing so much. It was a great time, with great people, and we hope to have a similar kind of trip soon.
Upcoming Events
We have lots more exciting events planned for May.
1. Hike or Bike and BBQ
Rolf and Chinatsu will have a double event, on Sunday May 16th, 2004 in the Kyoto Nishiyama area: a hiking event (1 star), a MTB tour (2 stars) and a BBQ Party. We will meet on Sunday at Hankyu Ibaraki-shi Station in front of the bus terminal (Exit to the North) at 9:15 a.m. Departure of the hiking group by bus 9:30 a.m. and the bike group leaves also for a 3 hour trip. We will have the BBQ at River Ai around 2 p.m. I ordered draught beer and also will purchase meat and vegetables for the BBQ. The cost will be less than 2000 Yen (Food for vegetarians will be provided).
Please let them know if you join the event by e-mail Rolf_Chinatsu@yahoo.com or Tel./FAX: 072-641-8224. There are two spare MTBs available to borrow if you don't have your own bike. Dean offered to provide another one for those coming from Kobe.
2. Yoshino-Koyasan Cycle Trip, May 22-23
Enjoy the fresh spring air and the challenge of a couple of steep climbs, with Jacquelyn, as you make your way along several gorgeous rivers approx. 60 km each day, A lot of fun smooth cruising but each day at least one steep climb to about 1000m.
Stay at an auto camp site overlooking the very beautiful Tenkawa river. Sleep in cabins, cook dinner ourselves. Onsen nearby. Our route will be as follows: Kintetsu Tsubosakayama station--Yoshino--Koyasan--JR Hashimoto station.
3. Fugen-dake Hiking in Nara with Koji
We will stay Wasamata-yama camp site and climb "Fugen-dake" on Sunday. It is 1779m hiking in the Nara Omine Mountain Range.
The atmosphere is the same as Ishizuchi-san in Shikoku. The camp site is located at 1000m altitude, where we will enjoy BBQ.
The route we will follow is as follows; Wasamata-yama - Shofugen-dake, Daifugen-dake - Kunimi-dake - Nanayou-dake (good viewing point!) - Musoudou - Wasamata-yama
Remember to check the website for more details on the above events. The May listings can be found at http://IOCkansai.com/event/month/2004_5/
They definitely sound like great events. I, for one, will out in force this May.
Of course, the more events we haven, the better. If you're thinking about an event you'd like to run, or if you need a few ideas, Ivan (events@kioc.org) is there to help. Just drop him a line!
Okay folks, that's all for this month.
Sayonara,
Claire
