Tateyama Spring Camp 2020

Hello parents and guardians!

We hope this report finds you and your family’s safe and healthy during this difficult time. As you know, we are currently suspending our TAK activities until the end of this pandemic. Although it saddens us that we will not be able to have all of our planned events this year, we are still excited to reopen when the situation returns to normal. We are also working on online P.E. and spoken English classes for T.A.K. Scouts, so we can stay happy and healthy in these difficult times. In the meantime, we are sending out this report and a recap video, about the Tateyama Spring Camp last month. Please tune in for updates and event plans in the future, and enjoy this report of the first camp in TAK history!

For the record, we had five scouts with us, Frankie, Anna, Ernest, Haruto, and Hiromu.

Our adventure began with the usual pick-up at Tachikawa Station, and we were on our way around eight that morning. We would be driving from Tachikawa City to Tateyama City, about a two hour trip. The scouts told stories, played word games, and napped to pass the time, and soon enough we had arrived at our first destination, Mt. Nokogiri.

After a quick bento lunch at the base of the mountain, we picked up our gear and went to the ropeway. After the Scouts bought their tickets, we got onto the rope car to take us to the start of our hike. Once we reached our stop, it was only a short walk to the telescope platform, where we got our first real mountain top view. It was a beautiful sunny day, with the blue ocean and green trees below, and Tokyo City on the horizon.

But there was much more to see yet, so we and the Scouts made our way to the stone carving of Kannon. It was hidden away through rocky pass, and carved deep into the mountainside, standing roughly 30 meters tall.

Just above it hangs our next stop, Hell’s Lookout, an infamous stone precipice jutting out from Mt. Nokogiri. The view can be terrifying, with only a railing between you and the long drop down. Perhaps fortunately for the Scouts, this particular attraction was extremely busy, so we had to visit it’s cousin, a smaller version of Hell’s Lookout nearby.

It had much the same effect however, and some Scouts were a little nervous to go all the way to the end. With some coaxing, we all made it to see the truly breathtaking view from Hell’s Lookout’s equally scary cousin.

Next, we began the first half of the really challenging part of our hike. Down the thousands of stairs to the Nihonji temple’s massive stone Budhha. Luckily for us, it wasn’t just a boring hike, because along the way, we passed through the army of rakan.

The small statues are rustled away in clusters among the many nooks and crannies of Mt. Nokogiri. Each one is unique from the rest, with its own expression and pose. Besides the rakan, there’s the wonderful nature and views of the countryside peeking out from between the trees. Soon enough, we had made it down to the temple, and the greatest attraction of all.

The 31 meter tall stone Budhha of Healing. There, we all took a well-needed break, and the Scouts had some time to explore the temple grounds.

Soon enough, we were due to begin the grueling climb back up to the ropeway. The hike up took about thirty minutes, and it did its job of tiring everyone out, Head Scouts included.

With plenty of perseverance and a few water breaks, we had arrived back at the ropeway station on schedule. In the warm afternoon sunlight, our tired crew headed back to the van. Our final destination before the bed and breakfast was a grocery store about an hour's drive away. By the time we pulled into the store, the Scouts had their grocery lists prepared for that night’s barbeque and Saturday's breakfast.

It was a quick stop, and with the needed shopping done, we piled back in and drove up to the bed and breakfast. There, we greeted our hostess and other guests before unpacking and setting up our rooms.

The Scouts played out in the yard for a while, but soon enough it was time for dinner. Some of the older Scouts helped Mr. Mark with prepping the campfire, while everyone pitched in to prepare the vegetables and meat.

With the Scouts hard work, we were all enjoying dinner in no time at all.

After a meal out under the stars, everyone was nearly ready for bed. Some showers and baths later, and the Scouts were all tucked into their sleeping bags, ending our adventures for that day.

The next morning, we were all up and ready for action by 11 a.m. Bags were packed, journals were filled out, and pancakes were prepped and cooked by the scouts.

When the van was fully loaded, we were ready for our first activity of the day. Shiitake Planting.

The gist of it was, saw a small length off a thin log, drill out several holes, and then plug each one with a pellet of shiitake starter. Each Scout took turns going through the steps, with the help of Mr. Mark and Mr. Kazu's instructions, to create their own mini shiitake farm.

But there was much more to do, and not much time to do it, so once each log was wrapped up, and all goodbyes and thank-yous were said, we were on our way.

First thing on our itinerary was lunch. We drove down to Grazie Gardens, an japanese-italian family restaurant. The Scouts all picked their own courses or sets, and those who could ordered for themselves.

Once we had all had our fill, we were on the road again, heading for Okinoshima Beach. The mini peninsula was a strip of beach leading to a small forested island, with high cliffs and caves inside, and light sand shores encircling it all.

Unluckily for us, the day we visited was unexpectedly windy. Very, very windy. Forgoing shoes, we all ran down the beach through the sandstorm, heading for the cover. The trees from the island’s center worked well to block the wind on the right side of the beach, therefore we spent most of our time there.

There was plenty to do despite the less than stellar conditions, and the Scouts made the best of it, collecting shells and trinkets from the sand while wading through the shallows.

We made our way around the island to the rocky area, and soon enough the winds were back. But it didn’t matter much, because Mr. Mark had found an easy slope up to the top of a cliff.

It was an amazing view of the ocean, with high waves that sent fresh sea spray high above us. Nearby was a set of small tunnels and caves We rested inside for a while, before heading out to work in the island's forest. Though a typhoon had recently damaged a lot of the natural flora, it was clear that it was making a strong attempt to make a comeback. It was a relaxing moment for us all after a long day of excitement.

But all things must end, and soon enough we were running back through the beach sandstorm. With a bit of a struggle, we made it back to the van and were on our way. Though we knew the ride home would be long, we didn’t expect a bout of stand-still traffic before we had even left Tateyama City. The Scouts made the most of it, we sang songs and played games until we were driving free on the highway. After another round of stories, real and pretend, we had a light dinner on the road, and then some radio karaoke. With that, most of the Scouts were thoroughly tired out, and they napped through the rest of the drive. In no time, we had made it back to Tachikawa City, and it was time to say our goodbyes and head home.

All of the Scouts had a great weekend of discovery and exploration during our Tateyama Spring Camp, and we hope we’ll see you all again soon!