A Look Back On January

 It's the end of January, and a month of successful tours at an interesting time of year!

Today I'll look back on it and show you some pictures so you can get an idea of what Minoh is like in January.

How cold is it? Too cold to cycle? 

While it was cold and we had to dress accordingly, it was basically fine! 

Having cycled the mountain roads in January before, remembering it as being severely cold on the descent, I was apprehensive at the start of the month. I was prepared to have to make some disappointing cancellations in case of frozen roads for safety reasons.

However when it came down to it, over the total of 6 tours that ran, the road didn't freeze any of those times (despite there being some snow at the side of the roads at the top of the mountain on some days), it was basically fine, if chilly. On all apart from one of the tours, the temperature was between 4 and 7C, and only on two days did it feel really cold - and that was on the way down.  

Thankfully, everyone came dressed appropriately for the weather (warm jackets, jeans), some didn't have gloves but I lent the spare pairs out, and took hand warmers along the way for people who wanted them. Interestingly when offered, most people said they were good without them.

Probably another thing that made it warmer than I remembered in previous years, was when descending I kept the speed down a lot lower, due to being in responsible tour guide mode, which made that winter headwind a lot easier to deal with.

In any case,  everyone seemed pretty comfortable and happy with the experience which was a big relief!

Side note: was this year unusually warm or cold?

According to this , it was basically average, although the first half was unusually warm.

What's Katsuoji like in January?

January is a very unique time of year for Katsuoji - that's because its the time for locals to bring back the branches they got the year before, and get a new one with "omamori" charms to hang of it. To this end, entrance to the temple is actually free up until January 5th, and they have several temporary structures around the complex, each one selling a specific type of charm. For some reason the one that stuck out to me most was the 家内安全 (home safetey - ie no falling down the stairs, fires etc).

Then they also exhibit the rows of decorative sake barrels, each of which is sponsored by a donor, which get incinerated at the end of the month.

To add to the new year atmosphere, traditional new year music plays as you walk though the complex, and they have works of art in the theme of the new year. 2026 is year of the horse, so they had some cool horse imagery, and the pun, "すべてが馬くいっている" (everything is going great/horse - it makes sense in Japanese).

All of this means the first 10 days of January are really crowded, but for once its 90% locals rather than tourists. The carpark becomes way too popular and you see cars parked down the road leading up to the temple in places you never usually see them.

After about the 8th though, the numbers completely drop off and it becomes the most empty I've ever seen it. So mid January is a great time to visit for people who want to avoid big crowds.

Another thing you can see only at this time of year is also snow! Which looks very nice on the mountain.

Monkeys!

The rate of monkey encounters was very high this January. About one every two rides, whereas its usually more like one every five or so. Everyone who came was happy to see them, it's always a nice bonus when we run into them.

    

I also encountered the Monkey-Clapper for the first time.

Monkey-Clapper is a guy on a Honda CT 125 (cool bike!), who rides up to the waterfall carpark and claps his hands at the mountain. When I asked him why he was clapping, he said he was a city employee and the clapping was to deter monkeys from coming over the fence and into the carpark.  

What's the waterfall area like in January?

Less crowded than usual which is nice. Because the leaves are gone from so many of the trees, you can see further through certain areas. For example you can actually see the waterfall from the top by the carpark area, whereas its usually blocked by all the foliage.

The busiest month yet for Minoh Cycles!

Although I only started doing tours in September, January had by far the most bookings, with a whopping total of 13 bookings, and 24 people in total. Although 2 of those bookings (4 people in total) were cancelled, it still felt like a lot.

This was a bit of a surprise, considering January one of the least popular months for travelling to Japan, and I thought the cold might put people off anyway. But it seems like the new years period gave a bit of a boost, with lots of people having time off work then or gaps between semesters.

I was happy to visit my first visitors from Singapore and the UK, both places I've lived before. It was great to have someone to talk about yong tau foo with! 

Conclusion

To summarize what cycling to Katsuoji and the waterfall in January is like:

• cold but not too cold
• lots of interesting unique and seasonal stuff going on a Katsuoji
• less crowds than usual
• more monkeys than usual

Thanks for reading!