Setogaro waterfalls

Because of the weather the hike was postponed from Saturday to Sunday.

Participants:
Alok (car, 5)
Archana
Sridhara
Ashu
Andreas
Pelin
Vasilis
Thierry (car, 4)
Valeria

Transport: We will go by 2 cars, as noted above

Meeting time and place: Tsukuba station drop off/pick up parking. 6:10 AM.

Costs: Transport ~2,700; Club fee 300 yen.

What to bring: breakfast (optional) and lunch (compulsory); torch or headlamp, swim wear (optional), drinking water

What to wear: shoes with a good grip, preferably hiking shoes; it is advisable to bring a warm jacket or warm clothes

It is advisable that all participants send me their mobile numbers. Mine is 090 6045 7047.

Description
We are going back to one of our favourite walks (though it may be the first time for some; we haven't been there for 7 years).

Iwaki waterfalls is a easy-moderate level hike which involves walking upstream along a beautiful river valley. There are many waterfalls along the way, with the tallest close to ten meters high. Come equipped with swimming gear as there will be opportunities to swim in some of the pools as we go. In some places there are chains bolted into the rock for balance and also one or two ladders for climbing. The total walking time is about 4.5 hours, plus leisure time of about 2 hours. (You can watch a video of our last time here https://youtu.be/qxEMMAof97U )

Transport: It is comfortable to go there by train, but we cannot affords to miss any connection (last train from Iwaki is at 8:41 pm). I will decide, looking at drivers' response. If we take the train, we have to leave by 5:30; if by cars, at 6:00 (to arrive there at about 9 AM in both the cases).

Cost: Transport; either a share of petrol expenses or train fares (less than ~3,000 yen)
Club fee 300 yen per person.

Time: 5:30 or 6:00 am departure (will be announced) to get to Eda by 9:00 am.
Walking 9:30 am - 3:30 pm. Return: (if by train) 4 pm, arriving at Tsuchiura 7:30 pm. If by car, we might stop on the way to visit a beach or onsen (optional)

What to bring;
Good walking shoes (with a good grip), Hat / sunscreen, Lunch, Water bottle, Optional: swimming gear and towel

Hike to Iwaki waterfalls in early September of this year. We had to postpone it from a Saturday to Sunday because of bad weather, which upset some participants plans.

There were two options to go - by cars or by train, but at the end of August the discount ticket/pass Seishun 18 kippu was not available anymore, so train would have been expensive. Fortunately we had two cars, and we 9 participants went in them.

We started from Tsukuba center at 6:30 AM to arrive at the starting point of Seto-garo (close to Eda station on Iwaki-Koriyama line) at 9:30 (after a break at a service area on the Joban expressway). This point has parking and toilets. We started walking soon after arriving here.

It was our first time to walk here after this area was closed following the great Tohoku earthquake. The trail has been upgraded an year ago (a part of the upper trail is still closed). There are visible signs of devastation along the trail, but the trail itself is now very safe with upgraded chains and ladders (I think it is safer than earlier which had one or two risky points). Hiking boots are essential though.

It being already september, was not really summer anymore. The water was almost freezing. But still there were some brave hearts who ventured into swimming. We ate lunch in a sunny spot near a waterfall.

We were back to the starting point by 3:30~4:00 PM. We then went around to see beautiful spots nearby on the Natsuikawa river, and then headed to the Yotsukura beach, by which time the day was winding down. We then headed back by taking the Joban expressway from Yotsukura IC, and had dinner at the nearest service area on the way.

I thank all the participants for joining and making it fun! Thanks especially to Thierry for being the other driver, which made it possible for all to join. And sorry for those who found not join because of the postponement due to bad weather on Saturday, although they had tried their best to align their weekend plans with this.