投稿日: Oct 01, 2017 1:3:50 PM
Scribe: Chotto Matte Ne
Hares: Good On Top, Cliffhanger
Date: September 10th 2017
Start Time: 3.00
Start Location: Mutsuura Station
Weather: Sunny and HOT
Run Type: A to B
Distance: Eagle 10k Turkey 8ka
Hashers: 19
Meeting in a small park, a hundred meters or so southeast of the station, our group of hashers met and made small talk in the shade of a trellis, before a brief explanation of the trail and markings was made by our hares. The group was mostly comprised of the regular hashers with a couple of hash veterans, visiting Japan and our hash from Washington DC. When someone asked, “how long is the turkey and the eagle”, we received a somewhat smart-arse response from Cliffhanger. He proceeded to draw a T and an E on the ground with one arrow being shorter for the turkey and a longer one for the eagle, saying, “the turkey is long and the eagle is longer.” Someone also asked how many check backs there were and with a little pause Cliffhanger responded, “hmmmm, I can’t remember if we have any check backs….”. We all kind of knew that this was not going to be an easy trail with the hard core running pair of hares that laid out the trail, but this gave us even less confidence that they would go easy on us.
As we set off into the neighborhood we wound around flat ground for a bit but we knew that this would be short lived. A long check back grouped the FRB’s back with the rest of the group fairly early in the run. Then the ups and downs began, in the standard fashion of the Hayama Hash House Harriers. With the check backs and well planned, difficult check points and the heat beginning to really ratchet up, the group worked its way through the tight street neighborhood, realizing this was not a trail that was going to be run very quickly at all. As we spent most of the first quarter of the run in a fairly tight group, working together to unravel the trail, we were all of the sudden passing the train station where we began.
Arriving at the turkey eagle split, we were into the forest now with the eagle arrow pointing up a fairly steep rock face with a few ropes and the words, “be careful” written on the incline. The trail got deep into the forest and provided some really nice trail running, with some nice vistas down from the hills, where the group began to thin out a bit. Dodging some huge spiders and a snake that was at least a meter long, we made our way out of the forest, down into an area that became somewhat familiar. Running under the Keikyu tracks we discovered we were at Kanazawa-Hakkei station.
A second turkey eagle split was not too far from Kanazawa-Hakkei station and we were back into another nice little neighborhood with winding narrow streets and yes it was still hot; like super hot. Fortunately there were a few vending machines along the trail where many hashers decided it would be a good idea to try and stay hydrated. We were headed towards the sea, most of us realized as we trudged on eastward. This was a little concerning though, since we surely were getting close to the end, and anyone fairly familiar with the area knows there are not a ton of restaurants out towards Tokyo Bay. We ran along and across a few canals and then were in Nojima Park running along the bay with views out towards Hakkeijima Sea Paradise. We then ascended what we all hoped to be our final hill, a quite difficult hill with the heat, but one that afforded some great views over the water. Luckily it was the final hill and as we made it to the bottom we were greeted with the Beer Near marking.
As the hashers filed into the park where we would have our circle, after the challenging run, we found a great spread of snacks and some rather interesting and good beers on ice. The circle began after we all cooled down for a bit, with Tapeworm (being one of the few mismanagement in attendance) leading the circle. We were treated to some Riesling aptly named Cliffhanger where we toasted the hares for putting together a great trail.
Once we finished the circle we headed on a 10 or 15-minute walk back towards Kanazawa-Hakkei station, to the on-on restaurant along the seaside. We were seated at several long tables in a row, providing for great opportunities to socialize and enjoy the extensive drink options and the wide variety of food the restaurant prepared.
With many of the hashers quite comfortable and with their bellies full, the restaurant staff finally convinced us that we should indeed head home and not sleep there for the night. Heading out into the night towards the train station, we were all quite satisfied and grateful for the afternoon and evening we had spent together: a good day indeed.