お茶の間留学

For my birthday (November 25^th) I took a short trip up to Tottori prefecture to visit a hot spring and climb Mount Daisen. I was really looking forward to this trip because my schedule doesn't allow many chances to travel. I decided on Daisen because it had been recommended to me by several NOVA students. My friend and I rented a car and drove up to Tottori on the 24^th November, arriving late at night. The hotel we stayed in was cheap but comfortable. We went to sleep soon after arriving so we could get an early start the next day.

      On the 25^th, we drove from the hotel to a nearby hot spring, which I was really excited about since this was my first time visiting a hot spring. However, it wasn’t what I expected. I was expecting something natural, but it felt like a modern facility. Regardless, natural or not, it was nice and relaxing. From the hot spring we went to Mount Daisen. Before making our way up the mountain we stopped by the Milk Farm at the base of the mountain, and I bought water and snacks for the climb.

      I knew Daisen was going to be cold, but I was unprepared for the snow. I was wearing a light down jacket, jeans, and sneakers that I had treated with waterproof spray. All of the other people climbing the mountain had proper snow boots and walking sticks. My friend and I slipped many times on the ice and snow, but we did our best to tread carefully and eventually we made it to the summit. It was clear that day so the view was especially beautiful. Climbing down the mountain was difficult because our shoes had no traction, but after getting back to our car we drove to another hot spring to warm up. This hot spring was a lot better than the first one. It was outdoors and the atmosphere was very relaxing. Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay another night because both of us had to work the next day. We drove back to Osaka that night.

      Visiting Tottori was a fun adventure and I'd like to go back someday. Until then, I'm looking forward to my next trip, which will be Kinosaki hot spring and Takeda Castle in Hyogo prefecture, on January 28^th-29^th.

I was expecting：～を期待していた

stopped by：立ち寄った

I was unprepared：準備していなかった

proper：きちんとした

slipped：滑った

tread：強く踏む

eventually：最終的には   

traction：滑り止め機能