Muscles

“The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected.”

Robert Frost

Yesterday, after luncheon at not-Buna, and of particular importance to this story, after the three lemon sours and the saki-midori mix, I flew off and did two long, steep red-black runs at speed. I say this not to boast (that comes later) but to provide context for today’s activities.

The black runs were fun, non-stop top to bottom. Those little boot niggles and pressure points miraculously abated, my thighs and hips seemed to pump the now mogulled powder effortlessly and each turn flowed rhythmically into the next; Mt Kenashi and Skyline (5000m) then Schneider (1000m).

This morning I couldn’t move. Every muscle was locked up including many i didn’t know I had. It didn’t help that the Nozawa dumplings were proving less enjoyable this morning than they had done last night, for both of us, and after hobbling down to breakfast we came back to the room for a lay-in and then took an easy promenade about town.

I joked that that’s the kind of behaviour you’d expect from an eighteen year old but Di assured me that that was nonsense and that most of the time I’m acting like a twenty one year old. So that’s a relief then.

The walk about town was lovely. We ducked down past the fire festival site and on almost to the rice fields deep under snow, then wended our way back up through the village. Past the crazy hot spring water plumbing, past the windows boarded up against the snow, past the ryokans (lodges) that don’t know if they’re Japanese, European or American and on to a quiet little bakery that played Brahm’s lullaby in soft chimes and served coffee with cream in little canisters like on an airplane in the seventies.

In the afternoon I took a few runs in the lingering sunshine joining the throngs arrived for the emperors birthday weekend (wish we’d googled that sucker!).

In the evening we headed uphill to the restaurant we’d booked and enjoyed, amongst other things, salmon and mushroom in foil atop a burner on a bed of caramelized radish! Sensational!

We spent some time in a little bar sampling baked cheesecake and chocolate cookies while conversing with the Hong Kong folk in the steaming foot onsen under starlight and a sickle moon. Sucky night really. Oh and then to the bar at Tanuki where we’re staying for a night cap.