After the Nagoya Women's Marathon 2016, I got hooked to overseas races. I was scanning through all the overseas marathons and I got really excited when I realised that there is a public holiday right after the September holidays. I started to look through all overseas race to see if there is any race on 11th September 2016 and this interesting ultramarathon at Hakusan Shirakawa-go popped up in the search. I was not having any confidence that I can handle an ultramarathon with my slow marathon timings, but after reading a Run Society article about this race, I got quite tempted when I saw that the cut off time for 50km is 10 hours. My slowest marathon was done in 7h 30min, so I should be able to handle another 8 km in 2.5h right? I hope.
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| The mandatory sending me off photo |
I'm not heard about this race from local runners at all, and this year is only the 4th edition. However, I scanned through race reviews of some runners who had done it, it sounded like they had a really great time. I registered immediately as the race was opened for registration since late March, but there were still slots when I registered early May. At least the registration part was easy as it is a race that does not need balloting and there was no competition for slots. The race organiser also work with a tour vendor to provide transport and lodging arrangement before and after the race. This is a fantastic arrangement for the overseas runners as Shirakawago is not a big city and unlike big city races, it wasnt easy for us to settle accommodation, or to find our way to the area. I had the tour package customised as I have to leave Shirakawago to get back to Nagoya immediately after the race in order to catch the 9am flight back home the next morning. It took me awhile to figure out the packages available and I was really thankful that the tour vendor was patient enough to answer all my queries to their best ability. For the 50km category, it would be ideal for me to stay at Shirakawago village as the start point is going to be around the area. Unfortunately, all the lodging were already taken up by the time I had my plans figured out, so I have to stay at Hakusan city the night before the race and wake up earlier to travel to race site.
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| Yawning passengers waiting to board the red eye flight |
Flying into Nagoya was something I had just done just half a year ago, and doing the overseas race the third time was easier for me. It was not as stressful or apprehensive as my first overseas race half a year ago. Although P and I will be separated for quite a number of days (he's also going home while I'm away), I did not feel that bad about it. After I finished my Sept camp duties on Wednesday, I went home to recharge and only started packing about 9pm. My stuff were still all over the place as we had just moved but I managed to get everything done by the time I was supposed to leave. P sent me to the airport and I boarded the flight after collecting my wifi router and getting my yen (I have leftovers from the previous trip but I forgot about it). I slept most of the time after the flight took off and only really woke up when the sunlight was streaming in from the window panes at 7am+. I did not watch any single thing on Krisworld until the very last hour and started on a Korean movie by my favourite actress Han Hyo Joo when it was already time to land.
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| Touched down! My luggage appeared really fast, lucky me! |
It did not take me that long to figure out the rail system of Nagoya this time round, and I headed to Kanayama Station from the airport to get onto the subway. I figured out that it was just 10am and it will be too early to check into my Takayama hotel even if I head there straight away (Takayama is slightly over 2h by JR train from Nagoya). I was craving for the grilled eel rice at Atsuta Horeikan and decided to head there for lunch before traveling to Takayama. I took the Meijo line subway from Kanayama and ended up at Yabacho Station which was really near to Matsuzakaya, the place I had the yummy grilled eel rice previously.
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| Here we go again :) |
I reached the place slightly before it opened at 11am and there was already a long queue of people sitting outside. When the restaurant opened, I was among the first batch of patrons to get a seat inside. I ordered immediately as I already knew I wanted the exact the same thing as my Nagoya Marathon post-race meal. It was also this Hitsumabushi way of eating the grilled eel rice that made it so famous, still no.1 spot in Tripadvisor. As all of us entered the restaurant at the same time, it took them a while to serve the food, but I still managed to leave the restaurant slightly before noon to catch the next JR train to Takayama. Since the check-in time of the hotel is 3pm and I know Japanese hotels are quite strict with the timing, I figured that I'll reach just in time for check in. As I did not want to risk missing the train, I decided to go straight to the JR counter to get the staff to help me with the tickets instead of getting them figured out myself at the ticket vending machine. With the recommendations of the staff, I took a local train to Nagoya station (one stop away) to board the 12.48pm train to Takayama. I really hated handling my own luggage up and down the stairs of the station, but I was glad I got there early enough and the train was already in station. I found my reserved seat and settled down comfortably even though the train was not as new as those I had taken previously.
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| I guess I like the feeling of taking JR trains, especially with reserved seat |
It cost 5830 yen to travel to Takayama, its double the price of taking a bus there, even though the traveling time is about the same. I found the price really steep but I decided that I prefer sitting on a train compared to a bus, so I still forked out the money. With the rumbling of the train, I fell asleep again until I realised the train had been stopping for longer periods of time than expected. I looked at the time, it was already 2pm+ but I checked the Google map on my phone and we were still really far from the destination. It turned out that the train was delayed and the next train was even canceled as there were some heavy rain and something got damaged somewhere. I was really glad that I got the wifi router to keep myself entertained and I even had snacks, the only thing I did not prepare was water for the trip and my throat felt really dry. This is seriously the first time I experience such bad delay on JR trains. Eventually, it took us double the time to get to Takayama and we only reached there at 6pm when the sky was almost dark. The 5h long train ride felt like another flight to somewhere far and my butt was aching from the long hours of sitting.
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| The view was not bad from the train |
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| The building structure here are quite cool |
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| So glad when we finally got here |
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| Tourist help counter right outside the station |
It was getting dark soon and I managed to find the direction towards the Takayama Ouan Hotel with the help of my trusty Google Map apps. It was supposed to be just a short walk away and I saw this building from far, it looked like a nice hotel but there were no English names on the building so I could not tell if it was the right place. I reached the front of it, took out my Agoda booking printouts and was so glad it was indeed the hotel I've booked.
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| Nice looking building from far |
After checking in, the hotel staff passed me the keys to the room and the key to my shoe locker. The whole hotel was built with tatami flooring so all guests have to keep the shoes at the lockers near the front desk. Unlike the Noboribetsu hotel I had stayed last year, even the hotel Japanese slippers were not allowed. There were symbols in Japanese writing printed on the locker key but I took a long time to look for the right locker and the staff had to help me with it.
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| Rows of lockers for the shoes |
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| The reception desk at the hotel lobby |
I've booked the hotel a few months back after doing some research and I felt pretty satisfied from the moment I stepped into the place. I saw quite a number of tourists when we reached Takayama but it is not a big city, therefore my single room here is quite big compared to the one I've stayed at b'nagoya. It is a half board ryokan style room with well defined areas for washing, living and sleeping. As I was walking towards the hotel, I've noted that there were not many shops opened at night around the area, therefore I was glad I had opted to have half board lodging with dinner and breakfast provided in the hotel.
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| Vending machines and microwave at the lift lobby |
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