I love being up in the air. I especially love being up in the air with good views. When we awoke in Yamanouchi, the weather didn't look promising. It was a rather gray and rainy morning, and so I figured my hour-long glider flight with Nagano Gliders Association had been cancelled. I was thrilled, however, to find out that we were still on. We waited a bit for the weather to clear before gliding, and I was unsure that it would, but into the cockpit I went!
At first, it seemed really cloudy and I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to see anything. Once we flew over the clouds though, the Japanese Alps made a stunning appearance! Check this out:
Unfortunately, we couldn't see much to the east because of the cloud cover, but we were able to see Mt. Fuji in the distance. I was so distracted by it that I completely forgot to take a photograph!
With a smooth landing, my gliding experience with Hirano-san came to an end.
While gliding isn't particularly advertised around Japan, it's most definitely something that everyone should do! It makes accessible the beautifully inaccessible. Be sure to combine it with a trip to Yamanouchi and Ryokan Biyu too! Feel free to contact Craig Shaw at craig@forestrescue.com to help you arrange this incredible experience!
Interested in Gliding over the Japanese Alps?
**Special thanks to Japan Experience for sponsoring my journey. As always, all opinions are my own.
