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NABEYAKI UDON ON TOP OF MT. NABEWARIYAMA

In May of 2019 I was fortunate enough to spend a month in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan with my friend Ryuta Abe and his family. As opposed to traveling around the country as many people do, I decided that I wanted to stay in the region and spend more time in less places... to try to get to know a place better. Aside from a few nights in Tokyo, I slept in my temporary room in the Abe house in Koshigoe every night. I'd spend most of my days figuring out what area of Kamakura I hadn't seen and used the bike Ryuta loaned me to see what I could find in the different corners of the city. Needless to say, a city like Kamakura is so rich with things to do and history that the days flew by. 

Before I left I wanted to have some time away from the city. Though going to Mt. Fuji crossed my mind after looking at it in the distance for the month, I wanted to go somewhere below the tree line to experience some time in the forest. Ryuta found a 14 mile roundtrip hike up to the top of Mt. Nabewariyama in the  Mt. Tanzawa area. We could get there by train, bus and a little walking before reaching the trailhead. The highlight of this hike is a Sanso at the top serving Nabeyaki Udon using hiked in ingredients, fuel and even water. At the base of the trail there is a stash of water for the day. It is asked that you bring a liter up if you can. Luckily for us they were all gone as we realized upon our ascent that the Sanso was closing early that day. I have never hiked so fast in my life and I felt bad for Ryuta being rushed. But we made it and the reward was great. Please enjoy some photos from that day. One of the best days of my trip. Great company, great food and great views out in the natural world. 

Eternal gratitude to Ryuta and Keiko-san for making it possible for me to do a trip like this. 

All photos shot on a couple of old point and shoot cameras.