This semester, I had the pleasure of participating in the ICC’s Mt. Takao Hiking Event. As an exchange student, I had been finding it difficult to interact with new people and find activities to participate in, so the organization of the ICC in these endeavors was a welcome change.
At the meeting point, Takaosanguchi Station, I was initially too blind to notice the ICC’s giant flag beckoning us to gather. Instead, I sought out a lost-looking individual to see where they went. When this individual noticed the giant ICC flag, I followed to find student staff with checklists handing out name and playing cards to designate the groups. My group comprised 4 people, which I thought was perfect as we could split into and swap pairs whilst climbing. Three of us were international students, and one of us was Japanese. Beholding the map the ICC granted us, we decided not to take the cable car and embarked on our journey.
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The initial climb was a shock – 65° inclines? We thought this was going to be a fun, easy little hike! I’m joking, of course – it was more like a maximum of 50°, but 65° is certainly how it felt. And what’s more, among the sweating and dying of three of us, there were young children, ojiisan, and even sweet little doggies tackling Takao-san with ease. How were they doing that??? Absolute insanity. Nevertheless, the pain and difficulty wore off about an hour after we started. Perhaps it was getting easier, or perhaps we were just levelling up our stamina…
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The hike up consisted of the most popular route. It revealed temples, shrines, food stalls, monkeys (yes, monkeys… although sadly, you will have to pay extra to see them), rolling horizons, and the iridescent glow of the sunlight through the trees. After roughly two hours, we reached the peak, striding towards that familiar ICC flag. We returned our cards, received ICC stickers, took a photo and achieved fourth place despite our astonishingly underwhelming power. Perhaps we really were stronger than we thought?
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At this point, the ICC’s intervention was over. However, our group consumed our lunches, mingled with butterflies, and decided to travel back to Takaosanguchi Station together. Now, the hike down was… an experience. Trail 3… a death trap in disguise. Narrow single-file tracks with no railings, roots to trip you up, “beware of falling trees!!” signs, snakes, insanely steep steps… certainly not for the weak-hearted. But strangely enough, I found this a welcome venture, a markedly different experience from Trail 1. Try it if you dare!
After taking the cable car for the remainder of the journey down, conversing with an ojiisan recommending the dango stall, and cleaning our shoes, I parted ways with my group after sharing socials to go devour some ice cream. Overall, as my first ICC event, this was a memorable experience. I would certainly recommend it to anyone seeking human connections and a distinctive adventure.
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