Today is Wednesday so I have a few days to catch up. On Saturday I arrived about 1:30 at my hotel, met my friends for a quick dinner and shopping for our Fugi trip. It was an early night - in bed by 9:30.
We left for the bus on the subway about seven o'clock and arrived at Shinjuko station to catch the bus. Yamada san, our guide, was such a sweetheart. He had given me his cell phone number to call when we arrived at the station. He came looking for us and made sure we got on the bus. Yamada San had spent seven years in Australia so his English is very good. I had made the reservations so all six people in our group were called Cindy San for the rest of the trip. It was a National holiday weekend in Japan so the traffic was horrendous going to Mt. Fugi. When we arrived at Fugi we ate the lunch we had brought and started to hike.
Luckily it was not raining, the sun was out and it was beautiful. There were 44 people in our group and we started out walking very slowly. It seemed weird to us but we later realized why - the low part of the path was flat but the path very quickly got very steep and at times rocky. The silly Americans started walking way too fast and I, for one, paid for it later. We hiked for four hours and stopped at a level of 3000m. At one point I would walk a little ways and then have to rest (Mindy carried my pack.) Yamada san would always wait for me. The head guide asked him to bring me to the front of the group and the guide helped me by setting a slow pace. So, I led the group. He would say, "Slow, slow". It really did help to walk a slower pace and I was able to keep going. An amazing thing in Japan, when the guide asked me to come to the front, the Japanese were telling me "Hang in there!"
Now one of the memorable times on the mountain. We were to stay at a hut which I had heard had bunks and futons. Well, I did not expect group bunks with 120 people sleeping in the same room. When an employee showed us to a futon where five of us would sleep that was about the size of a double bed we all got the giggles. Not only did we have that size of bed but the people on the next futon were placed so that their feet reached to our waist. Needless to say, we laughed many times and did not get much sleep.
We went to bed at five in the afternoon and the group was going to leave at ten o'clock at night to hike six hours to the top. Even though I had had some trouble I was still considering the hike until my better judgement took over. The group hiked in pitch dark, it rained, it was about 40 degrees with 20 mile an hour winds. The route was pretty straight up and the three that made it said it was very dangerous and the most grueling thing they had ever done.
Rick and I went back down the mountain and met Toni who had ridden part of the way up on a horse and stayed at a hut at a lower level. We started down at six o'clock in the morning and arrived at the level where we started at 7:30. The three that made it to the top arrived at that level at 9:00. The bus was to leave at 9:30 but did not leave until 11:00 as three older people did not get down from the mountain - Yamada san was very worried. We arrived home on Monday at five, stinky, tired and elated. Even though I did not make it to 3676 m I am proud of what I accomplished and will forever remember our Fugi experience.
Tuesday in Tokyo a group of us got up and went to the fish market at 5:30 in the morning. What an experience! Every kind of fish you could imagine, so much activity and all of it is over by mid-morning.
Later in the morning Mr Otsuka arrived for our meeting at the National Science Museum with all teachers in the project. We got on the subway during rush hour and for the first time I experienced the fold yourself into the subway car. We were the last two on the subway - you stand with your back to the crowd - push yourself into the car and suck in your stomach to get the door closed. It's a common practice when the subway is crowded. At the museum a researcher demonstrated soil study techniques and talked about how the museum could help in Japanese classrooms. We discussed our projects and clarified the requirments and got a package of fast plant seeds. We spent time exploring the museum and saw a demonstration on toys that were constructed during the EDO period of history six hundred years ago. The wooden gears and mechanisms were amazing.
After the museum a trip again on the subway to the Japanese paper store - fun! They even have paper that is made with leaves.
A fun farewell dinner party and a night at the Irish Pub - I'm tired today as I had to finsh my ten page paper that was due today.
posted by Cindy Grabe at
11:12 PM
