"Mountains, Appetite, and Me" is a manga series that has been serialized on the online manga site "Kurage Bunch" since 2015. It follows the protagonist, Hibino Ayumi, a self-proclaimed solo climber who hates being called a "mountain girl," as she climbs mountains and eats the meals she eats at the summit. It's a gourmet outdoor story that will make you want to climb mountains and get hungry while reading. The recipes are so authentic they've even had their own cookbook released. Furthermore, since the author's own hobby is mountain climbing, the depictions of mountain climbing, drawing on her own experiences, have become a hot topic. Here, we've ranked the best scenes from "Mountains, Appetite, and Me."
#10: Nearly Getting Lost?! Lessons Learned from a Crisis
Source: Mountains, Appetite, and Me ©SHINCHOSHA
While climbing a mountain, Hibino Ayumi comes across a stream that isn't on the route to the summit. She tries to calmly check her map, but struggles to open the zipper on the pocket where she keeps the map. Panicking, Ayumi takes off her shorts, turns them inside out, and manages to tear open the lining of the pocket with a knife and retrieve them. Using a compass and a map to check her current location, she still can't figure it out, and begins to panic again. So, to calm herself down, she decides to make a meal. She makes instant salmon porridge mixed with homemade garlic and green onion miso. At this point, Ayumi realizes that she has forgotten to bring her chopsticks and spoon, and is about to panic again, but she quickly comes up with the idea of washing a fallen tree branch and using it, and regains her composure. After finishing her meal and calming down, Ayumi begins to look for the hiking trail using the map, knowing that "if you get lost in the mountains, head for the ridge." Somehow, Ayumi manages to reach the hiking trail. By that time, it's completely dark. This is a scene in which Ayumi gains a lot of experience from a difficult situation.
No. 9: Enjoying Autumn in the Mountains!
Source: Mountains, Appetite, and Me ©SHINCHOSHA
One day, at the end of autumn, Hibino Ayumi climbed a mountain. The autumn leaves had completely fallen, and she gazed up at the bare forest, enjoying the seasonal scenery. They seem to be having a great time, raking up fallen leaves and throwing them around. Upon reaching the summit, they find a tempura restaurant serving seasonal fried foods. There, Ayumi enjoys freshly picked, seasonal wild plants and mushrooms. After the meal, she enjoys reading a book and uses a fallen leaf that has turned red for a bookmark, fully enjoying the seasonal mountain scenery. This is a memorable scene that embodies the charm of "Mountains, Appetite, and Me," which depicts the joys of each season.
#8: The Mysteries of the Mountains? A Mysterious Old Lady and a Strange Experience
Source: Mountains, Appetite, and Me ©SHINCHOSHA
In March, Hibino Ayumi was hiking a rural mountain. Walking through the thick fog, she wondered if a fox might fool her on a day like this. But deep down, she was excited to try being tricked. Suddenly, an old woman who appeared to be a local appeared out of the thick fog. She warned her, "You'd better not enter the mountains today." She then added, "Don't look back. Even if you're invited, wait quietly." She then left. Feeling a little scared, Ayumi continued on, and sat down on a sofa bench she found along the way to eat some sakura mochi she'd bought at a convenience store. She decided to head down the mountain after finishing her sakura mochi, and immediately began eating them. However, with each of the four sakura mochi she ate, one disappeared, and with each additional one, another one vanished. Breaking into a cold sweat at this strange occurrence, Ayumi decided to head down the mountain and stood up, starting to walk, when suddenly, someone grabbed her backpack from behind. Ayumi then follows the old woman's advice to "not look back, and to wait silently even if invited" and stops. It is unclear how long she stood there, but after a certain amount of time, she lets go of her backpack. Ayumi quickly leaves. When she returns home, she finds two crushed sakura mochi in her backpack. This is a famous scene that depicts the strange events that Ayumi experiences that are unique to the mountains.
No. 7: Alone with a Man Deep in the Forest...
Source: Mountains, Appetite, and Me ©SHINCHOSHA
I was climbing a certain mountain. At a bus stop near the trailhead, another man got off alongside Hibino Ayumi. It seemed the man was also climbing the mountain. The man in question is Usagi Yukio, a solo mountain climber. As they stand at the mountain entrance to begin their climb, Yukio, deciding it would be rude to walk behind a woman, takes the lead. Seeing Yukio moving swiftly, Ayumi decides that Yukio seems familiar with the trail and follows him to avoid getting lost. However, Yukio loses the trail along the way. This leads to Yukio and Ayumi walking together, searching for it. After an hour of wandering around, they finally make it back to the trail and decide to take a break, sheltering from the rain. Yukio then treats Ayumi to "adult cocoa," a mixture of milk cocoa, sliced ginger, and whiskey, and the two relax over the cocoa. Yukio remarks, "Having tea deep in the forest on a rainy day with someone who got lost with me...it's kind of dramatic and fun." Ayumi's heart was taken aback by his words. However, from the conversation that followed, she found out that Yukio was married with children. It was a short moment, but it was a rare moment when Ayumi felt the excitement that only the mountains can offer.
6th Place: Solo Climbers Summiting
Source: Mountains, Appetite, and Me ©SHINCHOSHA
One day, Hibino Ayumi decides to take on the challenge of climbing Kaikoma-ga-Oka and Sengaku-ga-Oka in the Southern Alps for a three-day, two-night climb. They decided to use the Nagaegoya campground at Kitazawa Pass, located between Kaikoma and Sengakugaoka. There, they met fellow solo climber, Kayama Eira. Both planned to stay the night before on the first day and climb Kaikoma on the second, so they decided to climb together. The two immediately began their ascent of Kaikoma. While wondering whether they should talk or keep pace, they seemed to enjoy themselves, sharing the spectacular views along the way and the joy of reaching the summit. They chatted idly on the way down, sharing the joy of climbing the mountains with someone. On the third day, the two decided to take a different route to Sengakugaoka. While Ayumi rediscovered the ease of solo climbing, she also felt a little lonely, perhaps because she had also discovered the joy of climbing with someone. They met Eira again at the summit and had a meal together. This is a memorable scene in which Sayori, who calls herself a "solo climber," discovers the joy of climbing with others.
5th Place: Sayori Discovers the Joy of Mountain Climbing
Source: Mountains, Appetite, and Me ©SHINCHOSHA
This happened after Komatsubara Koiko was appointed as a company manager. Taki Sayori has just joined the company as a new employee, but because she's a quiet person, Koiko and Hibino Ayumi have a hard time getting to know her. So Koiko plans a mountain climbing recreational trip. Koiko, Ayumi, Sayori, and Hirumura Naoki from the accounting department head to Mount Takao. They successfully reach the summit and enjoy Kumamoto's local cuisine and shochu, which Sayori has prepared for them. Afterward, Koiko and Naoki take the cable car down the mountain, while Sayori and Ayumi relax and chat as they descend. After descending, they enjoy a soak in the hot springs directly connected to the entrance of Mount Takao. Sayori was originally a member of the mountaineering club, but for various reasons had stopped hiking. However, after this hike with the four of them, she says with a happy expression, "Today, for the first time, I thought mountain climbing was fun...maybe..." The four accounting department members become closer, and this is a memorable scene in which Sayori discovers the joys of mountain climbing.
4th Place: 2,899m Altitude! A Magnificent View from Mount Aka
Source: Mountains, Appetite, and Me ©SHINCHOSHA
Ayumi Hibino took paid leave and headed to the Yatsugatake Mountains for a four-day, three-night trip. The Yatsugatake Mountains are divided into North and South Yatsugatake Mountains at Natsuzawa Pass. Ayumi planned to start at North Yatsugatake and head south over three days. After completing the first day, she set out at 5:00 AM on the second. However, at 10:00 AM, she was hit by heavy rain accompanied by thunder and was stranded at a mountain hut. She checked the weather afterward, but it didn't improve, so she decided to stay the night at the hut. On the third day, the weather calmed somewhat, but the rain continued. She left the hut at 9:30 AM and headed for Akadake (2,899 meters), the highest peak of the Yatsugatake Mountains. The weather was still bad, and the surrounding area was shrouded in clouds, making the view completely invisible. At 11:15 AM, she began the final steep climb just below Akadake's summit. Hoping for clear skies, Ayumi took each step. When she looked back, the clouds had completely cleared, revealing a magnificent view. Ayumi couldn't help but cheer, and it seemed the other climbers were cheering along as well. It's a memorable moment, unique to the mountains, as people are moved by the breathtaking views that only those who climb can see.
3rd Place: What did you gain from your trip?
Source: Mountains, Appetite, and Me ©SHINCHOSHA
While descending a mountain, Hibino Ayumi encounters Kuroren Nanami, who is traveling by car. By chance, Nanami gives Ayumi a ride to the station, but after hearing about a secluded hot spring nearby, she decides to stop by. After enjoying the hot spring, the two make and eat meat sauce curry. Nanami has a wealth of outdoor knowledge and seems to enjoy traveling freely, but before she set out on her journey, she had experienced a lot and had become distrustful of people. However, during her travels she met many people and was able to regain her faith in people. Ayumi tells Nanami, "I long for a free life like yours, Kuroren-san." However, Nanami replies, "Freedom can be lonely sometimes." It's a great scene that gives a sense of the weight and experience of Nanami, who has gained so much through her travels.
Second Place: Mountain Friends Made at a Mountain Con
Source: Mountains, Appetite, and Me ©SHINCHOSHA
When her junior colleague, Taki Sayori, reported that she had registered her marriage, Komatsubara Koiko, a senior colleague, became anxious upon hearing the news and decided to attend a mountain con with Hibino Ayumi. On the day, 20 men and 20 women gathered to climb Mount Tsukuba. Following the usual mountain-climbing convention format, Ayumi took turns talking to various men. One man caught Ayumi's attention, a man named Kowashi, for various reasons. When Kowashi fell, he stood up on his own without taking Ayumi's hand, and he ate lunch alone, so he didn't seem particularly at home at mountain-climbing events. Kowashi, who had previously failed in marriage, told Ayumi, as she walked next to him, that he wasn't suited to this kind of place and that she should talk to other people. However, Ayumi somehow felt like talking to Kowashi a little more, so they climbed the mountain together. Kowashi admitted, "I don't like mountains, they're exhausting," but added, "But the view's beautiful. I want to show it to my kids," and seemed to enjoy the mountain a little. Finally, the mountain-climbing event ended, and it was time for a couple's session. Kowashi had disappeared, claiming that his child had a fever. In the end, neither Ayumi nor Koiko are successful in pairing up with anyone at the mountain party, and they board the bus home. There, the organizer brings Ayumi a letter he says he received from Kowashi. In it, he writes that he's getting old and had given up on meeting anyone, but that the idea of there being a woman like Ayumi who will talk to him has made him feel a little better, and that he's also decided to take his son and climb mountains here and there. When Koiko, sitting next to him, asks if it's a love letter, Ayumi replies thoughtfully, "Yes... that's right... I've made a mountain friend in my heart." It's a memorable scene, as if Yama and Ayumi have been able to introduce the charm of the mountains and new joys to Kowashi, who had become pessimistic about life.
No. 1: The Magic of the Mountains That Makes You Speak Wonderful Words
Source: Mountains, Appetite, and Me ©SHINCHOSHA
Hibino Ayumi took a paid vacation and visited the Yatsugatake Mountains for a four-day, three-night stay. Around 6:00 PM, Ayumi reached Tengu's inner garden (2,400 meters above sea level) and gazed upon the golden sunset of the Northern Alps. Nearby, a group of male college students were nearby. One of them muttered, "I've decided ever since I was a child that when I propose to someone special, it'll be in a place where I can see a sunset like this." His friends, who appeared to be his friends, responded with teasing, "Huh? So you're talking about that already?" "Haven't you been dating your girlfriend for a month?" "Have you kissed yet?" Ayumi seemed embarrassed and said, "Forget it." Ayumi thought to herself, "There's something magical about the mountains that makes you accidentally blurt out the kind of wonderful words you wouldn't normally say down below." Hearing these wonderful words, this memorable scene further reaffirmed the allure of the mountains.
Ranking of the Best Scenes from "Mountains, Appetite, and Me"!
Source: Mountains, Appetite, and Me ©SHINCHOSHA
What did you think? This time, I've ranked my favorite scenes from the outdoor and gourmet manga "Mountains, Appetite, and Me." As the title suggests, this work features a variety of scenes, including those that capture the allure of mountain climbing and those that highlight the bonds between people. There are many other memorable scenes to discover, so be sure to check it out. Thank you for reading to the end.
