Challenge: Mt Fuji

Task: Survive!

It was a challenge not to be taken lightly. We were faced with a mountain 3776m high and we didn't know what to expect.
From Tokyo, we caught a couple of trains to Kawaguchiko, an area at the base of Fuji-san. Then we unloaded our luggage at the hostel we booked for the night after the climb, and got ready the necessities, trying to pack as light as possible hoping that it wouldn't be too cold at the summit.

At 6.30pm a bus took us to the 5th station of Mt Fuji which is about 2400m high. It was already raining and looked like it was going to rain all night. So equipped with new raincoats and walking sticks (a must for the hike; these can be stamped at every station at about 200-300yen each), we began our overnight trek.

The climb up was made more difficult in the dark, (plus I didn't have a torch, so had to rely on others' light) and at times we had to clamber up rocky steep inclines on both hands. Some of us had difficulty adapting to the thinning air as we ascended. And you couldn't climb for too long as you just got tired really easily and needed plenty of breaks. Every step felt like a 100 steps.

There are 10 stations on Mt Fuji that you could stop at to get a hot cup of coffee (even beer) and something to eat, at phenomenal mountain prices! A cup noodle cost 500yen and choc bar around 400yen a piece. And you also pay 100yen to use the toilets.
The 7th and 8th stations had several "half" and "quarter" stations along the way, which made it quite confusing to know exactly where one was.

It got really jam-packed with people between the 9th and 10th stations as the path became quite narrow. At times I was dozing off while standing up waiting in line! I did give myself quite a fright a couple of times when I awoke to find myself teetering on the edge of the mountain.

The conditions were really cooling down even more and we didn't have enough warm clothes to put on. At around 4am we stopped. We were still about an hour away from the last station. But we wanted to make sure we could watch the sunrise instead of waiting in a queue of some sort. So in freezing and windy conditions we awaited the sunrise.
It was a beauty. As if there was a choir from the heavens accompanying its debut of the day, it opened up its arms of warmth and comfort upon our tired and aching bodies.

We trudged upwards again after mustering some super-human strength we didn't really have. Victory came slowly....more lines, more patience, more strength....we saw the torii gates of the last station but it just took forever to get there.

And then we did. At around 6:40am after 9 hours of climbing, Rich and I walked through the gate holding hands up in the air and let out a weak "woohoo". We suddenly found some energy to pose for photos, eat a bowl of ramen and take in the view. And then crashed on a bench for half an hour.

We spent about an hour at the summit, exploring the crater a little. Mt Fuji isn't beautiful; it's really just a rocky reddish-brown dormant volcano. But the views you get from the top is just breath-taking.

I still can't believe I've climbed Mt Fuji....and I'm not even going to spoil it by mentioning the way down. That was a downer.

See photos here and here.

Tokyo - the modern city

It's the summer holidays! Time to explore a little more of Japan....so we went to Tokyo for 5 days.

What can I say about it? It's modern and cleaner than its sister, Osaka. Its just bigger and better. More international too, with many tourists and expats living there. Some of us felt we didn't get stared at as much.

We stayed at a really dodgy hostel called Kowloon House. Maybe it was trying to live up to its namesake as I felt like we were in some homeless district and not in Tokyo. The dorm-style room (yep, one BIG open plan room) has 2 sets of 8 beds made of steel scaffolding. Quite uncomfortable even with a futon on the wooden 'bunk'. It had all but one toilet and shower to share amongst 14 other guests. No privacy unless you were like the "obasan" (old aunty) that has been living there for around 5 or 6 months and had made a curtain barrier around her bunk with all her clothes. She's Japanese and was quite strange, probably not much older than us. She would turn off the lights and mute the TV volume right in front of you while you were watching it! Not the most sociable personality.

This isn't the cleanest place I've ever been to...but you do get what you pay for, at 1500yen a night. That's really cheap considering Japan's reputation for expensive accommodation. So it just gave us an excuse to try to stay out as much as we could.

We visited (not in order cos my poor brain can't remember):
Shinjuku - just another shopping district. Our trip began here at Shinjuku station after almost 9 hours on a bus.

Shibuya - with its massive pedestrian crossing and neon lights. It's also home to the famous Hachiko statue (a statue of a dog), and nearby was an air-conditioned tram car where people could just sit and escape from the sweltering heat. And there was also the expensive and trendy Omotesando Hills, the "Champs Elysees" of Tokyo (where you watch the rich empty their bulging wallets). We also had fun at an izakaya with all-you-can-drink. Mind you, they were very stingy on the alcohol!

Asakusa - an overly touristy temple area with many souvenir shops and apparently a red-light district we walked pass! Last time Rich and I was here, the souvenir strip leading up to the temple was open-air, but it had been converted to an undercover shopping arcade this time. Such a pity, as it blocked the view of the temple from the entrance. All for the sake of tourism.... Another highlight was taking the water bus down the Sumida River towards central Tokyo.

Roppongi Hills- with its cool cafe/restaurant/shopping area, and a movie theatre where we saw Batman: The Dark Knight.

Tsukiji Fish market - for an early morning fishy tour (we got there around 7am) and then a scrumptious sushi breakfast after. Still can taste the melt-in-the-mouth sashimi!

Central Tokyo -
*Marunouchi - walking around the Imperial Palace gardens and trying to get into the palace only to find out it was closed...again! Rich and I don't have much luck with this place - we were faced with the same situation last time. We also headed to the Tokyo International Forum. This amazing piece of architecture looked like a massive glass ship. There was a kids convention being held there...looked like fun. Rich was quite taken with it.

*Ginza - Tokyo Tower has great views of Tokyo and yummy curry restaurant that looked like a science lab.

*Harajuku - with its massive park filled with lots of music, interesting groups (including several 50s rockabillies and one group practising bagpipes!) and great shopping for the girls! Not as many Japanese dressed in cos-play as we'd thought. It was just relaxing being surrounded by so much green.

Aoyama - we visited the Meiji Shrine and watched a traditional wedding procession. Beautiful bride in a white wedding kimono, with a rather darkly clad entourage of guests in her tow. We also bumped into another ECC teacher in the middle of the park.

Akihabara - where the boys went to a maid cafe (the waitresses were dressed in maid outfits and can feed you if you wanted like Tommy Lee Jones in a "Boss" coffee ad!) and checked out the electronics city.
Check out more photos here and here.

And of course, Rich and I went to the New York Grill & Bar in the luxurious Park Hyatt in Shinjuku, and chilled out with several cocktails, feeling lost in translation...

Before we landed ourselves with the mega task of climbing Mt Fuji...