This weekend was action packed to say the least. A group of us travelled to Minakami, north west of Tokyo, to do some white water rafting and canyoning. We almost didn't make it as there was an earthquake on Saturday morning which meant all the shinkansens had stopped and were delayed. We ended up getting on the wrong train and going hours out of our way AND I left my bag on the train with all my clothes in! Someone handed it in so I was able to pick it up on the way home - phew - only in Japan! We were staying in a lovely lodge nestled in the mountains, it was very strange to see all the ski slopes where I had been snowboarding now covered in grass. We were up early on the Sunday for rafting, although it has been rainy season the river was quite low so we did run aground on the rocks a few times and had to get out and push (too much for breakfast perhaps?!). Canyoning in the afternoon was adrenaline-filled to say the least. Canyoning is basically sliding down and jumping off rapids and waterfalls, the head first slides were the most hair-raising but luckily all our teeth were intact and I even managed a forward somersault off the last jump! We returned home exhausted but already planning our return to Minakami.
More pictures in the gallery.
Rafting and Canyoning in Minakami
This weekend was action packed to say the least. A group of us travelled to Minakami, north west of Tokyo, to do some white water rafting and canyoning. We almost didn't make it as there was an earthquake on Saturday morning which meant all the shinkansens had stopped and were delayed. We ended up getting on the wrong train and going hours out of our way AND I left my bag on the train with all my clothes in! Someone handed it in so I was able to pick it up on the way home - phew - only in Japan! We were staying in a lovely lodge nestled in the mountains, it was very strange to see all the ski slopes where I had been snowboarding now covered in grass. We were up early on the Sunday for rafting, although it has been rainy season the river was quite low so we did run aground on the rocks a few times and had to get out and push (too much for breakfast perhaps?!). Canyoning in the afternoon was adrenaline-filled to say the least. Canyoning is basically sliding down and jumping off rapids and waterfalls, the head first slides were the most hair-raising but luckily all our teeth were intact and I even managed a forward somersault off the last jump! We returned home exhausted but already planning our return to Minakami.
More pictures in the gallery.
Posted by anna on June 19, 2008 9:11 AM
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