When I was in middle school,
I would have never guessed that I'd be climbing mountains.
Yet, here I am now.
I walked all the way here on my own.
I'm tired, yet I can't sleep.
But it's unlike that one night I spent in a mountain shed.
I wonder what scenery I'll see tomorrow.
My mind's abuzz with excitement, and I can't sleep.
Aoi-chan.
Aoi-san.
Could you come outside for a second?
The sky cleared up.
It looks like it'll be nice tomorrow, too.
Kaede Saito-san.
She's one year ahead of me at my high school.
She's my senpai in mountain climbing, too.
The fox, the dolphin, the foal...
I can't believe they're so visible.
Kokona Aoba-chan.
She's knowledgeable and ladylike.
She's a dependable middle schooler.
They're both my precious friends.
My mountain buddies.
But the reason I started mountain climbing...
The first person to invite me to the mountains...
was her.
Hinata Kuraue.
It all started when I ran into Hinata again.
Wareiwa Bridge
"First Date at Mt. Tsukuba!?"
Summer break felt so short.
September 1st
Shimada Furuhashi
Mt. Tanigawa
Oh, yeah... I haven't given Hinata anything to thank her
for the gift she gave me at Mt. Fuji.
Morning!
How was summer break?
I mean, we saw each other almost every day.
Morning.
Morning!
M-Morning...
It's a new term...
I saw the night scenery from the Sky Deck at Sunshine as a memory of summer.
It was amazing.
Yeah, it was like a chest full of jewels.
It was so windy.
Lucky!
Have you seen the scenery?
Get it?
What the heck?
Have you never seen the night scenery from anywhere, Hinata-chan?
I guess I've seen some during the fireworks festival at Tenran Hill.
Night scenery, huh?
I wonder if I can combine mountain climbing and night scenery for my gift to Hinata.
Hanasaika Susuki
Hikari-san, do you know of a place on top of a mountain with nice scenery at night?
Did you finally find a boyfriend, Aoi-chan?!
Oh, no! We have to let Mom know!
No, I'm going with Hinata!
Oh.
Sure. Right.
The view's really pretty at night from Mt. Tsukuba.
You can get pretty high up by car, and you take a ropeway to the top.
You can see all of Tokyo!
Even though it's in Ibaraki!
Hikari-san knows a lot, surprisingly.
I wonder if we could walk up Mt. Tsukuba.
I could surprise her with the scenery, and...
Come on, it's so boring walking here at night.
Whoa, what the heck? That's crazy!
That's it!
Thank you!
I'll think about Mt. Tsukuba.
Good luck on your first date.
Aoi-chan!
Please keep your relationship appropriate for a high schooler.
Hanasaika Susuki
I told you, that's not what it is!
Mt. Tsukuba...
877 meters above sea level.
It's not that high, but it's one of the top 100 mountains in Japan, huh?
It'll be hard to get to and from Hanno, but there's a shuttle bus from the station.
If we take the ropeway back at around this time...
Mom would just barely be okay with it.
Hey, Hinata, about the break after next...
The sun's setting.
Are we really climbing now?
I wanted to change things up a little.
You brought a headlamp like I told you to, right?
Yeah.
Mt. Nyotai Peak 1.8km
Mt. Tsukuba Shrine 2.1km
Look, it's called Mt. Nyotai.
Maybe it'll give you a nice figure when you climb it.
I doubt that'll happen.
There are toads everywhere.
Toad oil is a local specialty here, apparently.
Why?
It's supposed to be good for your skin.
Free Jumbo Slide
A jumbo slide!
And it's free!
What are you, a kid?
Hello.
It's well-maintained and easy to walk on.
This is just the beginning.
Walking like this, just the two of us,
reminds me of the time we first climbed Mt. Tenran together.
Even those sloped trails were pretty tough back then.
Mt. Nyotai Peak 0.8km
Tsutsujigaoka Descent 1km
We're out in the open.
They said it's the remnants of Benkei Tea House.
Benkei had tea here?
No, there used to be a tea house here named Benkei Tea House.
Let's take a little break.
Mt. Nyotai Main Hall
Mt. Nyotai
It was like hiking up until now,
but there's supposed to be a challenging rocky stretch called
the Shirakumobashi Course up ahead.
Be ready.
You couldn't even find these trails if you didn't have a light.
Why are we going up at this hour?
You'll see when we get there.
"Benkei Nanamodori"?
Benkei again.
Are we going through here?
Whoa, crazy!
It's a miracle that it's never collapsed during an earthquake.
Mother's Womb Pass
"Pass through the rocks,
and you'll be reborn."
Where?
It's too dark. I can't see.
In'yoseki.
It's too dark to see this one, too.
Aoi...
Boo!
What are you doing?
Er...
Mt. Nyotai Peak 750m
All these rocks are amazing.
Rimen Daikoku
Mt. Fuji was amazing, too,
National Treasure
but it's even more thrilling here, since there's no one else around.
I think I like this kind of thing.
Really?
I'm glad, then.
Mt. Fuji was like this, too.
But I'm okay now.
Maybe I've grown since then.
I wonder if I could make it up Mt. Fuji now.
Mt. Nyotai Peak
Huh?
Is this the peak?
No way!
There's no view here!
You can get up this way.
Top 100 Japanese Mountains Mt. Tsukuba
This is awesome, Aoi!
It's more than I expected.
I heard this is called night hiking.
This comes really late, but remember that Mt. Fuji doll you got me?
This is in return for that.
How is it?
Aoi...
It's gorgeous here!
I'm so glad I came! Thanks!
You're welcome.
I could look at this forever.
I don't want to move for a while.
Don't forget we have to catch the bus back to home.
Yeah.
Hey, Hinata...
Yeah?
What was it like at the top of Mt. Fuji?
It was pretty.
There's nothing above the ground.
It was like I was taking a walk in the sky.
I wish you could have seen it.
Yeah?
I was thinking as I was walking today...
I want to get in better shape next time, and learn more,
and take on Mt. Fuji again.
Do you think I can?
Let's give it a shot, then!
I'm rooting for you!
Thanks.
If you don't make it again, we can think about that then.
I'll do my best.
Yeah.
We're taking the ropeway down.
Okay.
Hikari-san really helped me out this time.
I wonder how she knew about a place like this, though.
Couples everywhere.
Hikari-san must have come with her boyfriend.
V!
We're kind of like a couple, too.
We're leaving!
Come on, let's check it out for a bit.
The lights are so pretty.
No way!
That really kills my determination.
My second Mt. Fuji attempt is off to a rocky start.
To Be Continued
To be continued.