Day 5 - 4/30
We all slept very well the previous night on our warm futons. The needed rest gave us the strength in the morning to climb a steep ascent to the top of our second mountain of the trip. We started our day with a delicious bowl of oatmeal and folding our mostly-dried clothes. I was simply appreciative of the dry jeans, underwear and socks. We were on the road by 7:30 with a revitalized outlook to the day. The weather was very cooperative, our stomachs were full of good food, and the climb up the mountain was incredibly picturesque. Despite our sore legs, the climb, taken piece by piece, went by quick and we were at the top by 10:30, just in time for a quick stop for a lunch of spaghetti and Vienna sausage. Pictures were taken all the way up the slope with the increasing beauty of our views.
The climb down seemed to go by quickly, as well, as our descent was not near as steep nor as treacherous as the previous day's hike. We made it to a highway in about 3 hours, which marked the final 7km of our journey for the day. The last 7km, though, were by far the toughest. Our legs and feet, still sore from the day before, were reluctant to move and dragged along the highway as we ordered each step of the way to our hotel.
Once we reached the Hotel Subaru, we anxiously stepped into the onsens at the hotel and were able to ignore the soreness for a little while. Our three traveling friends who found the bungalow for us the night before, also happened to be staying at the same hotel as us and invited us to join them in the formal setting of the restaurant upstairs for dinner. We enjoyed a traditional Japanese feast, while doing our best to leap the language barrier to hold a conversation. We were at least able to express our appreciation for the kind invitation. (It was fairly evident that all 6 of us were exhausted from the day's hike.)
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