第十七章

25 August 2075

Encouraged by the news from Aoyagi-sensei, Shoichi decided to continue reliving with Kimiko the memories of their anniversary trip. He was conscious that he had been there for most of the day; as the afternoon moved through to early evening he noticed the subtle change in the light outside that gave a gentle and soft amber glow to the room as the weakening sunlight shone in through the windows.

For a few moments, he stared at Kimiko’s face, trying to picture it without the tubes and wires, trying to remember what she looked like the last time he had seen her before the stroke.

As he sat in the tatami room relaxing with a beer in his hand and with his head in a book about astronomy, Kimiko had appeared in the doorway.

‘How’s the book, Shoichi?’ she asked.

‘Oh, not bad, thanks,’ he replied, looking up from the pages and over the top of his reading glasses. ‘It’s pretty easy to understand, thankfully, as some of the others I had browsed online before ordering this were aimed at the more experienced stargazer.’

‘That’s good,’ said Kimiko. ‘Are you finally going to invest in the telescope that you have been wanting to buy for years now?’

‘I may well do just that,’ Shoichi said nodding thoughtfully and with a determined tone to his voice. ‘There are some advertised in here that are apparently perfect for the beginner and not too pricey either.’

‘I’m glad,’ she added. ‘It will do you some good to get into a hobby and perhaps join a local club. I’ve been very impressed with how much effort you have made since retirement keeping yourself fit by going to the local gym but worry that you are lacking something slightly more social.’

‘Not sure about that. I think that I had enough of dealing with people during my working life,’ he said. ‘One of the attractions of astronomy is that I can spend lots of time on my own staring up into space without having to make small talk with anyone.’

‘Charming! I hope that you don’t include me as someone with whom you want to avoid talking.’

‘Of course not, Kimiko,’ Shoichi answered quickly and then added to change the topic, ‘Is dinner going to be much longer? I’m famished.’

‘At least I’m some use to you, Shoichi,’ Kimiko said with a mock expression of anger on her face, puffing out her cheeks. ‘It will be another ten minutes so you can give me a hand getting the table set.’

As Kimiko went back to the kitchen to finish grilling the mackerel, Shoichi thought to himself how lucky he was to be married to her and smiled with a feeling of immense satisfaction about how his life had turned out.

Back at the hospital, he pictured the moment, wanting to undo what happened moments after that conversation had taken place, longing for the medical equipment to be removed so that he could once again look at her properly, hold her face and gaze into her eyes like watching stars in the night sky.

The quality of the oshiruko was evident from the fact that not a drop was left in any of the bowls which now sat empty on the table.

After they had said their thanks to Keiko for reviving them following the last difficult section of the climb, the group stood up and went to pick up their rucksacks from the rack where they had left them before eating.

‘That really was something else,’ Kimiko said to Shoichi. ‘I wasn’t expecting anything as good as that.’

‘It certainly was delicious,’ Shoichi agreed. ‘I kept thinking to myself whilst I was eating that it must be down to how tired I was, a bit like a beer at the end of a long day at work. However, putting that aside, it was an excellent oshiruko. I’m looking forward to having some more another time and in another place just to see how it compares.’

‘Hey look,’ Kimiko said as she peered out of the small window of the hut. ‘The clouds have cleared so we won’t need our wet weather gear anymore.’

‘For now, at least,’ Shoichi cautioned as he lifted Kimiko’s rucksack down from the top shelf and handed it to her. ‘I expect that it will still feel quite cold so let’s get ourselves outside first and then decide what we need to wear.’

‘Thanks,’ Kimiko said taking her rucksack and holding it down by her side as she walked out of the hut.

Back in the open, the clouds clearing away had certainly brightened things up, although the sun was now dipping towards the horizon and sunset wouldn’t be too far off. Nevertheless, it also afforded them a view of how much higher they had climbed in the last couple of hours. Whereas at the fifth station, they could still make out vehicles and individual buildings, at the seventh station the level of detail had changed; it was like zooming out of an online map to the point where it was only possible for them to make out broad areas below such as fields, built up areas and motorways snaking across the scenery below them.

‘Thank goodness Fuji-san has such a gentle incline further down or I’m sure that I would be feeling a sense of vertigo,’ Kimiko said.

‘We’re certainly a long way up, can you believe that some people hang-glide at this height?’ said Shoichi.

‘Really? I’m not sure that I would be happy launching myself off the side of this mountain,’ Kimiko said. ‘By the way, it’s nowhere near as cold as when we arrived, don’t you think?’

‘That earlier rain certainly made a difference,’ Shoichi said looking out towards the banks of clouds that hung in the sky away from Fuji-san, casting great shadows on the earth below. ‘I think that I’m going to continue for now with a couple of layers. My under-shirt and this shirt should be enough and once we get moving I’m sure that I’ll warm up even more’.

‘I think I’m going to put on my light fleece,’ Kimiko said reaching into her rucksack. ‘Standing out here for a few minutes has cooled me down again. I expect that it was all the body heat and steam from the kitchen inside the hut that warmed me up.’

As they got changed, others in the group held similar conversations and adjusted their clothing accordingly.

‘Is everyone ready?’ Megumi asked. ‘You can see that for a while we’ll be continuing at a similar gradient to that which we started on although the terrain is rockier in this section so please be careful. It will be like this for about another hour and we’ll be sure to have regular breaks. After that, and you’ll see for yourselves quite shortly, there will be another steep ascent to the eighth station where we’ll have some dinner and then get some sleep to give our bodies chance to acclimatise.’

‘Do you feel any different to when we left the fifth station?’ Shoichi asked Kimiko before taking in a deep breath to test his lungs. ‘I was expecting to find it more difficult to breathe but so far so good.’

‘No, I feel fine as well, although I expect that the eighth station is located at three thousand metres for a reason,’ Kimiko replied. ‘It must be where the air really begins to thin out.’

‘Now that you say that, I think that the guide book I read mentioned something about three thousand five hundred metres being when the official classification changes to very high altitude,’ Shoichi said as he dug his map of the Yoshidaguchi trail out of the thigh pocket of his trousers. ‘Look here, it seems that from the eighth station to the summit we’ll be climbing about seven hundred metres and I expect that not resting there could cause some problems.’

‘Oh, I do hope that we’ll be able to make it,’ Kimiko said.

‘Don’t worry, we’ll be fine,’ Shoichi reassured her. ‘I feel much better than I expected to by this stage and the pace Megumi and Mayumi are setting is reasonable.’

‘I’m sure you’re right,’ Kimiko replied.Aside from a few breaks to top up their energy levels with a variety of snacks and to take frequent sips from their water supplies, the next hour passed without incident as both Kimiko and Shoichi got back into the rhythm of the climb. The girl with the jikatabi pressed on toward the front of the group and was spending most of her time chatting with Megumi who was close to her age and therefore had more in common with her than the rest of the party.

It was beginning to get dark and during their last rest stop before the steep ascent to the eighth station, Megumi suggested that they put on the head-mounted lights that they had been recommended to bring along. The lower levels of natural light made the climb to the eighth station much more difficult than to the seventh and it took them over an hour to make it to where they would be spending a short night.

Once they had arrived, there was excited chatter as if the onset of night had rekindled childhood memories of school camping trips and sleepovers. However, this quickly evaporated into the ether as they were greeted by a rather grumpy and over-bearing manager who emerged from the hut.

‘Congratulations on making it this far,’ he said perfunctorily. ‘My name is Yamazawa and I am responsible for making sure that you use these facilities as they are intended.’

‘That’s a little bit rude,’ whispered Kimiko. ‘Does he not realise that if it weren’t for the customers he wouldn’t have a job? I’m sure that the owner wouldn’t be too happy if he knew about the way this man talks.’

‘Yes, he is a little abrupt,’ Shoichi agreed. ‘I wonder if he’s working on the principle that he’s unlikely to see any of us again. He’s got a bit of a monopoly up here and I am sure would have no qualms letting anyone know that if they didn’t like it they could sleep elsewhere.’

Yamazawa shot a look at Kimiko and Shoichi like a teacher about to scold pupils who were talking in class when they should have been listening.

‘I have made sure that your sleeping area is prepared and there is some curry and rice for your dinner, strictly one bowl each as the amount of food has been carefully calculated for the number of guests expected tonight. Please come inside and make yourself at home.’

‘As long as your usual home is in a military dormitory,’ Shoichi added, making Kimiko laugh, attracting another glare.

Upon entering, they were faced with a well organised twelve tatami mat room that had low tables already set for the curry dinner that Yamazawa had announced they would be eating. Having dealt with the formalities of introductions with his new guests, he had now turned his attention to one of his members of staff, checking whether a foreigner had removed his sweaty trousers before getting into his bed. Both Kimiko and Shoichi had to try hard to suppress a laugh when from behind a curtain the foreigner replied in very polite Japanese, but in a clearly disgruntled tone, that he had understood Yamazawa’s request and had done as asked so there was no need to check up on him.

‘Not a bad size,’ said Shoichi looking around. ‘I’m looking forward to getting a few hours’ sleep on these tatami. I wonder if they have proper futons or the roll-out kind?’

‘I don’t know,’ Kimiko said, shrugging her shoulders. ‘Perhaps Megumi-san will enlighten us.’

However, the sleeping arrangements did not require any further explanation as the foreigner who had amused them earlier emerged from what they had assumed was a bunk bed, pulling the curtain to one side and revealing what was actually in store. Packed in like sardines, people slept on two levels, men on top, women on the bottom, approximately a dozen per row.

‘Did you see?’ Kimiko asked with eyebrows raised in surprise. ‘Surely we won’t be sleeping like that, will we?’

‘I’ll see if I can catch Megumi-san during dinner,’ Shoichi said. ‘However, we don’t really have a choice. I feel rather naïve expecting this to be like a traditional Japanese inn.’

‘Oh, I don’t suppose it really matters,’ Kimiko said as she reflected on their situation. ‘I’m tired enough to be able to sleep pretty much anywhere and it’s not as if we are with complete strangers having travelled all this way from Ōfunato together.’

The curry and rice was served and tasted very good although the limited amount of beef and vegetables in the sauce seemed a reflection on Yamazawa’s miserly personality. Those serving the meal were not quite as strict with portions as Yamazawa had suggested they needed to be and so both Shoichi and Kimiko were able to eat more than enough to replenish the energy that they had expended thus far.

‘Good evening, everyone,’ Megumi said standing up, once sensing that enough of the party were approaching the end of their meal. ‘I’ve just been told that our beds are ready so those of you who have finished eating can start to get ready for some sleep. The washing facilities are in another building outside and to your right. These are free to use but I’m afraid that you’ll have to pay if you want to use the toilet. Are there any questions?’

The jikatabi lady raised her hand. 

‘What time did you say we will we be leaving in the morning?’ she asked.

‘I would like to give ourselves a further two hours to get from here to the summit,’ Megumi began to answer, ‘so we need to leave by three to ensure that we arrive in time for the sunrise.’

‘So we’ll have about four and a half hours here,’ Kimiko said to Shoichi after a quick mental calculation. ‘I’m sure that will be more than enough time to get used to the altitude although not nearly enough time to feel like we’ve had a good night’s sleep.’

‘It will be more than enough considering what we’ll be sleeping on’, Shoichi said frowning as he was tired, grumpy and ready for bed.

They set off to the washroom with two small towels and a shared wash bag. Shoichi dug into his rucksack to extract the purse containing the hundred-yen coins. Outside, it was peaceful as only a few headlamps passed in front of them from the slow stream of climbers who were hiking straight through the night; conversation was in whispers out of respect for those resting inside.

‘Here’s three hundred yen,’ Shoichi said as he handed over three one-hundred-yen coins to Kimiko.

‘Thank you,’ Kimiko said as she took the coins and put them into a trouser pocket which she then zipped up.

‘I hope that there is still going to be room to lie down by the time we get back,’ Shoichi said, now obsessing over the sleeping arrangements.

‘It depends on what you mean by room but I’m sure that there will be a spare strip for you to sleep on,’ Kimiko joked, trying to make light of the situation. ‘It will be OK, though, and it’s only for a few hours.’

‘See you outside in about ten minutes,’ Shoichi said, not willing to have his mood lifted.

‘Will do,’ said Kimiko as she handed him a toothbrush onto which she had squirted some toothpaste before walking towards the women’s half of the facilities.

Having washed, cleaned their teeth and spent three hundred yen each, Kimiko and Shoichi were finally ready for bed. The sleeping area was an exact replica of that they had seen when given an advanced screening by the foreign climber; single tatami mats laid next to each other across the width of the frame already looking full from those in their party who had got into bed before them.

The size of a tatami mat was considered to be large enough to accommodate two men sitting or one man lying down. The rest hut was re-defining this historical ratio as there were two tatami for three people meaning that the person in the middle of each trio would be lying on top of the slightly raised joining seam between two mats. However, the rolled futon provided to lay out over the tatami, although thin, was fortunately of good quality so the piggy-in-the-middle did not feel quite so put out. 

By chance, Shoichi and Kimiko had been assigned spaces at the end of the rows so although sleeping apart they would at least have the comfort of knowing that just a tatami mat and wadding made from wool held in a cotton case was all that separated them.

‘Oyasumi,’ Shoichi said bidding Kimiko goodnight.

‘Oyasumi,’ Kimiko whispered gently in reply.

Within minutes of settling down on their futons and under thin blankets – the hut was well insulated against the cold – Kimiko and Shoichi were asleep.