This trip was very fun, and I didn’t know what I was getting into when I signed up, but that didn’t stop me.
The whole thing started on Friday evening, I had to rush home from work, so I could catch a ride with my friend, Olga and we rushed off to the pick-up city that is over an hour and a half away by car. We barely made the bus that would take us to the Rafting and Canyoning lodge. The bus on the way there was a party. There are no laws in Japan concerning open containers in a vehicle if you’re a passenger, so it was lively. The party bus drove for about five + hours to our destination at the Canyons lodge in Yubiso, Gunma prefecture. We arrived about 1 am, and since we had to wake up at about 7 am, everyone hit the sack.
Next morning we were served a simple breakfast that tasted pretty good. It was things like toast and cereal. I had signed up for River Rafting and Canyoning. Others had signed up for either Bungee Jumping or Mountain Biking in place of River Rafting, so there were different groups and different time slots to do our respective activities. My group did river rafting first, and then we did Canyoning in the afternoon after lunch.
River rafting was quite fun, we started off with a little run down on how to do the things so we didn’t crash, fall into the water or flip the raft. I was originally in the back of the raft with the guide, which has its own rules, but halfway through another girl wanted to switch me, so I took her spot in the front of the raft. Most all pictures shown were taken after I switched to the front of the raft.
We stopped a couple of times along the river to jump off high places into the river, but I didn’t seem to get any of those pictures from the Canyons company. But it was very fun. There was one spot in the river that was quite deep. We jumped off a high rock into the river, and I didn’t feel the bottom or anything around me except water. I was quite surprised. We continued along and the river got a little white, but it wasn’t very hard, it was definitely a river for beginners. I know that there are other rivers and canyons in the area that have various difficulties so there’s something for everyone.
We headed back to the lodge for lunch, where I was able to chat with a lot of JETs that I hadn’t met previously. Then we headed out to canyoning. I literally had no idea what canyoning was until lunch time when someone told me that it’s when you float, slide and hike down a river. The river that we were taken to had natural water slides and frequent waterfalls that we could fall, float, and slide down. Sometimes the waterfall required you to go on your back or on your front. When you slide on your front, you always go face first. When you slide on your back, depending on the type of slide it is, you must go either head first or feet first. I did all these things, and it was a blast. There were lots of little jumps and slides, and falls. It was an amazing experience.
We got to the end of our segment of river, before we were to head back to the lodge, and we were given the opportunity to go over this last waterfall that was quite large, and quite dangerous. It was definitely an advanced waterfall, so they told us how to properly go over it, and made it an option for the brave. I was one of the brave. It was a fall that required you to go down on your back head first, and halfway through the fall you had to turn to the left so you would fall into a deep pool at the base, and not headfirst into a rock. They had two guides at the bottom of the pool to catch you so you didn’t keep sliding down the river. I did it, it was terrifying. And I came up panicked and sputtering. But it was worth it. One girl who went after me caught a current in the pool or something cuz when the guide caught her she was going too fast and too strong so she took both herself and the guide over the next waterfall and down into the next pool along the river. It was pretty funny. I witnessed the whole thing. Nobody was hurt.
Afterward we took a group photo, and headed back to the lodge for dinner and a series of live concerts by local bands. It was a lot of Dubstep music, and some … I’m gonna call it “Electric Reggae.” I really liked a t-shirt I saw from one of the local bands, I ran upstairs to my room to grab my wallet, but when I had returned it had already been sold. Sad day. As the night went on, I met a lot of people, and talked and danced until the wee hours of the morning. Everywhere I looked people were having fun, either dancing, taking shots or sneaking off to hidden corners of the lodge. It was great fun.
The next morning we got back on the bus to take the five + hour trip back to our respective drop off points around Fukushima. My stop was the last one. We stopped a few times for bathroom breaks and meals. Because everyone was all partied out, the Party Bus atmosphere was absent in favor of talking and napping. I was still able to have fun and play a few games. My friend Cormac had this game called “Love Letter” which is a fun little card game that requires some strategy. I’d recommend it for small groups. It is a 4-person max game. Four of us, myself included, played this at the back of the bus for an hour or more of our trip.
When we got back to Fukushima city, Olga and I hopped back into the car and drove the remaining hour and a half back to Minamisoma. It was quite late by the time we returned, and I had to hurry to bed because of work the next day. But it was a great trip, and I would definitely recommend Canyons lodge to the adventurous spirit.
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