Today I am aching in places I didn't know existed. Of the places I do know exist, my shoulders are tensed up, my feet feel like jelly and my back is crying. It's all understandable since I hiked 20km through mountains and slept on wooden boards two nights this past weekend. Oh, Japan. You have a funny take on "camping."

To help raise funds for our team we went camping near Utoge Falls at the weekend, a mountainous area out the back of Bourke, as us Aussies would say. After running around like a chook with its head cut off on Friday afternoon, trying to get my act together and trying to get to the train station on time, we arrived at the campsite around 7ish unable to see a damn thing except the outline of tents and a Swiss-style reception building that sold ice cream and water pistols. Settling in for the night, we found all the tents set up and ready to go, something I'm not used to at all. I was a boy scout back in my day and camping meant fumbling around in the dark trying get the tent to stand up straight and banging anchor poles into the ground with the back of my shoe. It also meant sleeping on the warm earth. Not in Japan. Here "camping" is sleeping on wooden boards installed underneath the tents. No wonder my back is crying.

Our team was joined on the first night by Maureen, Adam, Kory and Nate. After stuffing our faces with food after a long day at work and scrambling to get to the campsite we had a little bit to drink and then discovered a zipline. A lot of fun in the dark when you're intoxicated.

Fast forward to the next day. The Shizettes turned up early and we all set off for a day of hiking in the mountains. We walked to the picnic table at the top like we did last time and the split in two, some of us continuing on to find the mythical pond and some returning back to the campsite. I call the pond mythical because we followed the signs to where they said the pond was supposed to be and then found a new sign that said the pond was actually a further 10km away. Maybe next time.

It was a tiring day to say the least. I was physically and mentally exhausted by the time we got to the steep uphill battle through the leaves but I quietly pushed on. I knew that if I thought about it too much I would want to stop and I didn't want to do that. Eventually we got back to the road and then the waterfall and walked down to the combini for some well-deserved ice cream. The Shizettes joined us before an old man bought us all ice cream (nice!) and then proceeded to ask where we were all from and then make fun of our features (mmm...)

We got back to the campsite to find our group had expanded and everyone was already having a nice time drinking and waiting for the yummy smelling food to cook. A huge thank you to Luthor and Toby for bringing food and cooking and just being fantastic. They definitely made it a successful night. Later in the evening Jeff and Luthor got onto their guitars and belted out a few tunes for some impromptu karaoke. All in all it was a great night with great people.

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