The accessibility requirements we added were mostly met, but the fact that the entire mountain was a cedar forest was a major sticking point. With a whole mountain involved, the number of cedar trees was staggering. If those trees released their pollen all at once, the site would be unusable for a good month or two. None of us suffered from hay fever yet, but if we were showered with that much pollen, it wouldn't be surprising if we developed it on the spot. I’d heard that allergens accumulate in the body until they hit a breaking point, and then the allergy finally manifests.
Spending a fortune on a mountain only to risk developing a lifelong allergy didn't sit right with me.
"The price is within budget, but the fact that it's a cedar mountain is a bit of a dealbreaker," I said.
"Yes, well. Once pollen season begins, the trees there apparently release magnificent clouds of the stuff alongside the surrounding plantations. I’ve only heard stories, but they say during that time of year, the entire sky looks hazy and yellow."
"...Ugh, that's a bit much."
As Yuta-san described the mountain scattering enough pollen to shroud the sky, looks of mingled disgust and bewilderment crossed our faces. Exactly how much pollen did it take to haze over the sky? I wondered if the reason the original owner, a farmer, had no successor was that no one wanted to live in an environment where it literally rained pollen. Severe hay fever can cause respiratory distress and, in extreme cases, can even be life-threatening.
Even without that risk, anyone would hesitate to buy into a landscape where the very air turned opaque.
"Because of those factors, a lot of this size and in this location would normally command a higher price, but it’s been discounted significantly due to the local environment."
"It would be a nuisance for a couple of months a year, but outside of that... wait, that wouldn't work for farmland, would it? The peak pollen season is exactly when you'd be starting your spring crops."
"Yes, that’s exactly it," Yuta-san replied. "The original owner apparently chose vegetables with specific growing periods so he could avoid working while the pollen was flying."
"If even the owner had to go to those lengths, the situation must be truly dire."
If even the person living there had to structure their entire life around avoiding the pollen, it had to be a nightmare. I thought they should just thin the cedar trees out to a reasonable number, but to actually fix the problem, they’d have to fell a massive number of trees across the entire area, including the neighboring mountains. Between the logging costs and the difficulty of coordinating with multiple landowners, getting everyone to agree on a massive felling project would be nearly impossible. Furthermore, large-scale logging required government permits and impact reports, which would only lead to more red tape.
We couldn't exactly go around turning the surrounding peaks into barren hills just because the pollen was annoying.
"The location of this property is good, but hearing that... It’s true the pollen season is relatively short, but the idea of being unable to use the site—or even wanting to go near it—for a month is a problem."
"I agree. If the number of cedar trees on the mountain were reduced, the dispersal would drop, but there are currently no large-scale logging plans for this property or its neighbors. Even if someone did perform mass logging, they’d then have to pay for landslide prevention work."
"And those prevention costs fall on the landowner, right?"
"Yes. Depending on the location, there might be public subsidies, but generally, the owner is expected to cover more than half of the construction costs out of pocket."
Looming hay fever, the need to coordinate with stubborn neighbors to fix the environment, and high costs for logging and landslide prevention... Yeah, that was a 'no' from me. While the transportation and other factors fit our criteria perfectly, and the property would be fine as long as we avoided that specific window of time, I really didn't want to deal with it.
Yuji and Hiiragi-san looked just as conflicted as I felt.
"I see. Yuta-san, I’m sorry, but we’ll have to pass on this property. A site where activity becomes difficult, even for a short period, is a tough sell... especially when the cause is so hard to fix."
"Haha, quite right. I understand."
"The price and the general vibe were fine, though."
"Understood. I'll search for other properties along those same lines."
After a brief discussion, we officially turned down the first property. Yuta-san looked a little disappointed, but his expression suggested he found our refusal perfectly reasonable. Aside from the brief period of seasonal unusable time, it wasn't a bad property, but for our specific purpose as a training ground, the inability to use it year-round was a significant flaw.
It was a shame, but we decided to shift gears and look at the second option.
After a short break for tea, Yuta-san began his presentation for the second property. This one was located in a mountain valley near a local railway station.
In terms of pure land area, it was significantly larger than the first.
"This property is a plot located in a corner of a mountainous region. There is a local railway station nearby. From the station in your city, you’d have to transfer once, but you should be able to reach it in about an hour to an hour and a half."
"A transfer, huh? Does that hour and a half estimate include the waiting time for the connection?"
"The estimate is based on a standard online search, so you can assume it includes transfer time. However, I only ran searches for morning, noon, and evening. If you travel outside those windows, the frequency of the local line drops, so you should expect the transfer to take a bit longer."
"Thank you. For now, we'll budget about ninety minutes for travel by train."
If we could get there in ninety minutes even with a transfer, the accessibility wasn't too bad. I’d have to keep the schedule in mind since local lines ran so infrequently, though.
But the 'nearest station' meant the property itself was still further out, right?
"Yes. The property itself is located at the end of a mountain road, about ten kilometers along the national highway from the station. There is a local bus, but it runs quite rarely. Given your physical capabilities, I suspect it would be faster for you to run than to wait for the bus."
"Ten kilometers... that would take us about thirty minutes at a light jog."
"Yes. Based on what you’ve told me, that sounds about right. It’s a mountain road, but the incline isn't particularly steep."
"If it’s not that steep despite being in the mountains, does that mean the station itself is already at a high elevation?"
I wouldn't call it a mountain railway, but it sounded like a local line that wound through the peaks at a gentle grade. For us, mountain roads weren't much of a hurdle, but avoiding steep slopes made travel a lot easier.
"That's exactly it. Compared to the mountain we climbed together when we found 'that' before, it’s practically flat. The mountain road is a paved two-lane highway, so the conditions are good for running. There are no sidewalks, but the shoulders are wide."
"I see. It sounds like we can reach the destination without any trouble, whether we use the bus or go on foot."
"Yes. Since it’s a mountain road, vehicle and pedestrian traffic is light, so I don't think you’ll be in anyone's way if you run. However, there are almost no streetlights, so visibility drops to near zero after dark. You’ll need to bring equipment to make yourselves visible, like portable lights for night jogging."
I nodded, thinking Yuta-san’s advice was spot on. A person suddenly appearing on a pitch-black mountain road running at the speed of a car... that was the stuff of urban legends. For our own safety and the sanity of any drivers we might encounter, visibility gear was a must.
It was helpful to have these small details pointed out; you often don't notice them until someone brings them up.
"Now, for the property details. The plot is a section of a mountain valley, measuring 15.8 hectares."
"15.8... so roughly 400 meters by 400 meters."
"The lot is more of a rectangle, actually. Still, the total area is comparable to a massive shopping mall."
"The size of a shopping mall, huh..."
The raw numbers didn't give me much of a feel for it, but the comparison helped me visualize the scale. A piece of land that big... wasn't it almost too large? I started to worry if we could even manage or utilize that much space properly.
"Regarding the layout—while it's part of a mountainous region, the land is actually quite isolated thanks to the national highway and a small stream that flows through the area."
"So the highway and the stream serve as the boundaries for the property?"
"Exactly. Furthermore, the trees on this land are a mixed natural forest. Unlike the first property, this isn't a cedar plantation. Therefore..."
"We don't have to worry about the pollen?"
Yuta-san nodded at Yuji’s hopeful question.
"Yes. You can't ignore it entirely, of course, but it isn't at a level that would cause serious health concerns."
"That's a relief. I've been fixated on that ever since the last description."
"Understandable. Continuing on—as I mentioned, the land is geographically defined by the highway and the stream. It’s a slope that descends gently from the highway toward the water, and the area near the stream has a wide, flat riverbed. However, I strongly advise against building anything on the riverbed itself. When heavy rains cause the river to swell, the water level rises enough to cover that entire flat area. If a building were washed away, it could block the flow downstream and potentially trigger a debris flow."
"That would be dangerous. Natural disasters are bad enough, but causing a man-made one is out of the question."
You often see news reports about heavy rains triggering debris flows that crush downstream towns. If we ignored the warning and built something that caused a disaster, the consequences would be devastating.
Just as Yuta-san advised, we’d have to keep the riverbed clear.
"But if we do that, wouldn't we have to build on the slope?"
"Yes, that would be the safer option. While it's not a single flat plain, there are several spots where the incline is quite gentle. If you want to build something, it would be best to level one of those areas."
"Are those gentle spots large enough for a building?"
"You'd need to do a bit of grading, but there's enough space to put up something like a small lodge."
So we could at least secure a place to rest. In our case, even if most of the land was sloped, it wouldn't really interfere with our training. And a bit of 'grading' or 'leveling' was likely something we could handle ourselves with manual labor.
"It sounds like a pretty good property."
"The fact that most of it is sloped is the main drawback, but for your intended use, I didn't think it would be an issue."
"The size is more than enough for us to run wild. So, how much are we looking at for this one?"
When Yuji asked for the price, Yuta-san pointed to a figure in the paperwork.
"Excluding fees, it’s approximately 25 million yen."
"25 million... that’s significantly cheaper than the first one."
"It's priced this way because it's in a remote mountain area. Additionally, because the majority of the land is sloped, it’s difficult to use for industrial purposes."
"True. Building a large-scale facility on a slope costs far more than on flat land. If there were a hot spring or a scenic landmark to draw tourists, the value would be different, but as for that..."
Yuta-san looked regretful as he confirmed there were no such attractions nearby. It would be impossible to run a mountain business without some kind of draw.
"I see. It might be a downside for you, Yuta-san, but for us, the lack of tourist attractions is actually a plus. It means fewer eyes on us."
"Haha, unfortunately for me, you're right. That was one of the reasons I selected this property for you. It's an isolated corner of the mountains with very little public traffic—a perfect fit for the conditions you requested."
"Thank you."
The price and the conditions seemed incredibly good. I really wanted to see this place for myself. Picking up on our interest, Yuta-san made a suggestion.
"Would you like to go for an actual viewing now? It takes about ninety minutes by train, but we can get there in less than an hour by car."
"Wait, is that okay?"
"You all seem quite interested, so I think it’s best to see the real thing."
We looked at each other and shared a brief nod. Yuji spoke up as our representative.
"We’d love to. It sounds like exactly what we’re looking for, so we'd definitely like to see it."
"Understood. Let's head out for the site visit, then."
And so, we set off with Yuta-san to inspect the second property.
Kiritani-san had an anxious look on his face as we left, but I wanted to tell him not to worry—it’s not like we stumble across some rare, world-shaking discovery every single time we go for a walk.