Events July 2004
2004-07-03 08:00:00 - 2004-07-04 20:00:00 | Cycling **Shodoshima Camp, July 03-04 *rescheduled*
If anyone is interested in leading a hike same weekend, I have some material and ideas.I will spend my friday riding the road to Himeji - thus I have changed the meeting spot to Fukuda ferry terminal on Shodoshima island itself.
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This event is not to be missed ! Experience the Kankakei Gorge (http://www.kankakei.co.jp/), Olive gardens, awsome nature, sandy beaches - all spiced up with the "IOC ingredient", a barbeque !
We'll be staying at the Yoshida Camp (http://outer.town.uchinomi.kagawa.jp/olive/yoshida/f_yoshida.htm), there will be a nearby onsen and a biiig barbeque is planned. The IOC has three tents which can be borrowed.
Sign up before June 30th, and I'll run the camp reservations.
The weekend program
After arrival at the ferry terminal, we'll head to the Yoshida camp site to unload our baggage. The program is below. The aim is to back at the campsite around 17.00-17.30, where we'll fire up the barbeques and bring out the cold beers. The BBQ will be potluck style, so please bring some foods to share on the grill.
On the second day, we'll break camp and will try pursuade the campsite to hold our gear till we're done with the days events.
Day 1 (3rd July): We'll leave the camp and ride past the Yoshida Dam heading route 246 for Kankakei Gorge area. We'll ride the Skyline road. We follow Route27, 26 and 252. We ride back towards the campsite either on coastal road 436 or 29 into the mountain area.
Day 2 (4th July): To the extent roads makes this possible, we'll follow the coast around the island, letting us experience the beautiful coastal views and a more easy and flat cycle, but extended in length. We'll make stops at the worlds smallest strait in Tonosho, and the Olive Grove of Uchinomi city.
Sights Information
- Kankakei Gorge
It supposedly took two million years to create the natural remote area of Kankakei Gorge. It's known as one of the three most beautiful gorges in Japan. Rare shaped rocks and stones can be found here - these are caused by erosion from rain and wind. The view from the cable car that goes above the deeply cut gorges is outstanding. As a bonus, you can enjoy a beautiful view of the Seto Inland sea.
- Olive Grove
Shodoshima has a suitable climate to grow olives as well as 150 other herbs, and homes the only olive grove in Japan ! The Olive main facility standing on the hills has not only information about olives but also boasts a wonderful building filled with an aroma of herbs.
Leader :
Meet :
Meet at Fukuda ferry terminal at station at 11.30. Please verify the schedule before departing your home
Bus (unconfirmed - if you speak Japanese, I need help on this one)
Bus No. 37
Departure JR Himeji : 08.45
Arrival Himeji Port : 09.10
Price : 260y
Ferry (http://www.shikokuferry.com/kouro-sh.html)
Departure Himeji : 09:45
Arrival Fukuda : 11.25
Price : 1.320yen (per person), 1.670Yen (per person including bike)
Cost :
Transportation : 2x 3.030yen
Camping : 300yen
Onsen : 300yen
2004-07-04 11:00:00 - 2004-07-04 18:00:00 | Hiking *
Hydrangea hiking July 4th (one star)
Did you know that hydrangea (ajisai) is a symbel flowerof Kobe? The Kobe municipal arboretum has 50,000 hydrangea in their garden. The best season of hydrangea is from end of June through mid-July. So this event is once in a year chance. Don't miss it! The arboretum is located in the mountain, about 3 hours from Kobe subway Sin-kobe station on foot. The path from Sin-kobe to the arboretum is called Twenty Cross. It goes along the river and you need to cross the river by stepping stone twenty times. In an expected hot weather, it gives you some coolth.
Bring a lunch, a rain gear and proper clothes.
If you are interested, please contact me at
suzukiym@ybb.ne.jp
Leader :
Meet :
Kobe subway Sinkobe station at 11:00 am. It is the 1st station
from Sannomiya.
Cost :
No Cost
2004-07-10 09:30:00 - 2004-07-10 18:00:00 | Cycling *1/2
Happy MTBike for all with BBQ at Kodomo no Mori
This trip will be fun for beginners and advanced MTBikers.A’Group: The advanced MTBikers group will decided their course on the spot according to their skills.
B’Group: The MTB instructor, Nishihata-san, will advise the beginners how to get your MTB skills quick and safely. If you do not have your own bike yet, we provide 4 MTBs for free of charge. The group will cycle around the Kodomo no Mori, about 15km.
This time, even if it is raining, the event will be held, since we have booked the BBQ place under the roof for IOC. The estimated cost of the BBQ will be 1000 Yen only since we serve only non-alcoholic drinks. You should bring a bike, a helmet, and gloves. Maintenance tools, a pump, and a spare tube are useful, if you have. Please let us know if you want to participate by July 1st Rolf_Chinatsu@yahoo.com
Leader :
Meet :
We meet at 9:30 at Minami Ikoma Stn. or at 10 a.m. Kodomo Koryukan Center. http://nara.ryokuka.org/
Please find the map on Internet:
http://www.mapion.co.jp/c/here?S=all&F=mapi2314168040501131857
Cost :
The estimated cost of the BBQ will be 1000 Yen only since we serve only non-alcoholic drinks.
2004-07-10 18:30:00 - 2004-07-10 20:15:00 | IOC Meetings
IOC Monthly Meeting, Saturday, July 10th
Hello IOC members!Summer is approaching quickly along with our July monthly meeting! To survive the fiery-hot Japanese summer this year, we’ve decided to try something different than the usual single-person presenter. This month’s meeting will be a special “Swimming Holes in Kansai” theme meeting. We’re asking each IOC member to participate in the meeting by doing their own mini-presentation about their favorite swimming hole in Kansai. Your swimming hole could be a river, a lake, or even your local swimming pool. We’re asking each of you to choose one place (or two), present some information about it, talk about why it’s a special place for you, bring some photos of it (if you can), and show us on a map how to get there. If you are feeling really ambitious, you can bring a few handouts with a map on it if you like. At the meeting, we’ll have a panel at the front of the room where three or four members at a time can take turns presenting about their favorite swimming hole. We’ll also have all of the club maps of Kansai on the wall for you to use. Please bring paper photos, slides, or digital photos if you have them. If you bring digital photos, you’ll either have to bring them on your laptop or bring them on your digital camera with your own camera connection cable, and we can connect your laptop or camera to the digital projector. If you have any questions about your digital photos or camera and how to present them, or about anything else related to the meeting, don’t hesitate to ask. You can e-mail me directly at ivan.breen@kioc.org. Besides the swimming hole presentations, we will have the usual update of upcoming IOC activities, Lars will be making a very special announcement to the IOC, and we’ll all go out afterwards for food and drink as usual. We’re really looking forward to seeing you at the July meeting and to hearing about your favorite swimming hole (I’ve got mine already picked out w/photos). See you at the meeting! Ivan
Leader :
Co-leader :
Meet :
6:30pm for the meeting
6:00pm for the new-member orientation
For details on how to get to the meeting site, contact Lars Jensen at <lars.jensen@kioc.org>
Cost :
Free, for first-time new members
Annual membership 4000Y
2004-07-11 10:00:00 - 2004-07-11 18:00:00 | Other *
Trip to Universal Studios Japan, Sun., July 11th (rescheduled!)
Junko Abe will be leading a fun-filled day trip to Universal Studios Japan on Sunday, July 11th. Junko has a discount coupon, and four more people can get the discounted price with her coupon. You can also bring your own coupon from the newspaper if you have one. Please contact her directly at junko_a76@hotmail.com for more information and for the meeting time.Leader : Junko Abe (junko_a76) | send e-mail
Meet :
USJ ticket booth (a few minutes walk from JR Universal City
station). Contact Junko for the meeting time.
Cost :
4300yen with the coupon plus your own
transportation fee.
2004-07-11 10:30:00 - 2004-07-11 18:00:00 | Hiking **
Day Hike to the Konan Alps (Shiga Prefecture) *rescheduled*
This is a great little hike that will take us to the top of a 491m peak with some really cool rock formations. Just remember not to lean over too far because it is a bit of a drop down to the bottom. The hike should take 4 to 5hours depending on how long we stop for lunch and how much time people want to spend scambling over the rock formation(s). Even though we will only reach an elevation of 491m, it is not a flat hike. There are a couple of areas where you might have to pull yourself up with your
hands, and in one place there is a rope in place to help (just in case). However, with that said I don't think it is any more difficult than walking up to the shrine in Himedji (you know, the one used in the Last Samauri.
Please eat a big breakfast because I would prefer stopping for lunch at the top where we can sit and eat on the rock formations (and maybe take a snooze)overlooking the valley. By starting at 10:30 we should arrive sometime
around 12:30 or 1:00. In addition to the normal hiking gear I suggest packing a light long sleeve shirt for one section of the trail where the bush is kind of overgrown.
As well, if there is any kind of heavy rainfall (like this past week) just before the hike I think it might be a good idea to waterproof your shoes as there are also a few small creeks we have cross over. It should be a great time so I hope to see as many of you out as possible. I'll check the weather forecast on the Friday before the hike and if there is a
better than 40% chance of rain in the area I will postpone the event until the following weekend so please keep your eye on the IOC message board.
Leader :
Meet :
JR Kusatsu station
Transportation Details:
From Sannomiya Kobe: JR Shinkaisoku 8:38 (1,450 Yen)
From Umeda Osaka: JR Shinkaisoku 9:00 (1,150 Yen)
From Kyoto Station: JR Shinkaisoku 9:28 (400 Yen)
Arrive at JR Kusatsu: 9:48
Bus from JR Kusatsu: 10:00 (420 Yen)
Arrive at the base of the mountain: 10:25
* Email Eric for updated schedule
Cost :
See above...
If you can, I suggest picking up discount tickets somewhere to make the transportation cost more bearable.
2004-07-21 20:00:00 - 2004-07-22 15:00:00 | Hiking ***
Sunrise climb of the Mt. Fuji
July 21th, an attempt will be made climbing the Mt. Fuji using the Kawaguchiko trail. Departure will be in the evening as we'll try and reach the top to catch the very first rays of sunrise.Contact Lars for more information if you wish to join this hike. It is done in a weekday, so you need to get off from work. Utilizing Shinkansen, you can manage by taking off 1.5 days, while if you wish to use the cheaper seishu 18 kippu, 2 full days are needed.
Leader :
Co-leader :
Meet :
Somewhere in Kawaguchiko
2004-07-24 18:15:00 - 2004-07-24 21:00:00 | Special Events ****
IOC Annual Summer Beer Party, Saturday, July 24th!!!
Attention IOC Beer Lovers!!!We know you love beer, parties, and the great outdoors! To accommodate your specialized tastes, the IOC Committee has organized an extremely exciting four-star IOC event! On Saturday, July 24th, the IOC Committee will lead a very challenging expedition to Shinzen-kaku Chinese Beer Garden, located outside, on the top of the Osaka Dai-ichi Building, in Umeda. Upon arrival, you will be faced with one of the grandest mountains of Chinese and barbecue cuisine you have every laid your hungry mountain-loving eyes on! Climbers beware, you’ll want to make sure to bring your raingear because the weather forecast on this climbing day is for a wild storm of beer, chu-hai, cocktails, and soft drinks! The price for this once in a lifetime expedition is 3300Y, which includes all expedition food and drink. Act now to reserve your spot on this adventure of a lifetime! The deadline for this event is July 10th. Please e-mail Shinobu Yoshioka at snbjo@yahoo.com before the 10th or let her know in person at the IOC monthly meeting on July 10th. We look forward to seeing you!!!
Leader :
Co-leader :
Meet :
Big Man-\"Right Side Screen,\" Hankyu Umeda Station at 6:15pm (\"Right Side\" if you are looking at the two Big Man screens) . We will walk to the site from Big Man, so don't be late!
Cost :
3300Y
