Fuji-san

i owned that mountain. one of the hardest physical achievements of my life, and well worth every moment.

so, when we last chatted, i was leaving from Shinjuku station, Tokyo, on a bus headed for the base of Mt. Fuji (known as Fuji-San, in japanese). instead of heading to my hostel near fuji on monday morning and spending a day hanging out before the hike, i just went ahead and did it. there are two recommended ways to do the hike: (1) hike up to near the summit and stay at a mountain hut overnight, ready to finish the hike at sunrise (leave at 2am, sunrise at 4); or, (2) do the entire hike overnight. I took option (2).

i got off the bus and onto the trail around 10:30 at night. it was pitch black, with the only light emanating from my own headlamp and the flashlights of other hikers, and the innumerable stars overhead. i had my ipod with me to set the scene. first up, radiohead "in rainbows." girl, you haven't listened to that album until you've heard Nude, Reckoner and House of Cards while climbing Fuji in the dark. the hike to the summit takes about 4 hours, and although the first hour was fairly easy, it quickly turned into a challenge. pulling myself up on rocks, and making sure my feet didn't slip in slippery lava flows (not magma, the dirt was hardened), while in the dark, while not having slept since the night before, this was some task. there were many a mountain hut on the way up offering a seat out front to rest your legs, or a cup of cocoa. i brought most of my food and drink with me, as the huts were not exactly on the cheap side of things.

as i continued up the mountain, the air kept getting colder. near the summit, we were near the freezing point, and the winds were wicked fierce. we were all cold. but the weather and the hike and the experience formed a sense of comraderie amongst hundreds of climbers who didn't know one another and who were from all over the globe. i met two great Danes (Hans and Louisa), an ex-californian now Sendai resident named Mercedes, and a great group of Chinese hikers whose names i don't recall and with whom i spoke in gestures and smiles (no english for them, no chinese for me). watching in the distance as a procession of colored lights made its way up the winding paths to the Fuji summit, i was absolutely overtaken with awe. this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and i'm so thankful i was able to take part.

dealing through cold, aching legs and muscles and lack of sleep, we hit the summit around 3am (i managed to get myself to the front of the pack, which included all ages and sexes, from 10 to 60 - at least those i know about). while we waited for the sun to rise, the nearby hut opened up and served up hot cocoa, coffee, udon and rice (for a fee). we struggled to warm outselves while watching the black sky slowly turn into magnificent shades of pinks, yellows, blues, reds, oranges and more. we were above the clouds, and as the sunlight pierced through them below us, we saw a sight provided to only the lucky few. clouds rolled up the mountain below us, and we were awash in sheer beauty. i recall being awestruck and unable to turn my head from what we were witnessing. ethereal beauty, to say the least. wait'll you see the pictures, that don't nearly do this sight justice.

we watched the sunrise for an hour or so, until the sun had risen well into the sky. i chose, with others, to forego the walk around the top crater, as the clouds and winds had amassed in great force, making visiblity nearly nothing and further tearing deep into our bones. i needed to warm up (feeling in my extremities was slowly decreasing), so i began the descent. in all, it took about 2.5 hours to make it down the mountain - steep switchbacks and sliding rock made it a challenge, but accompanied with an ever-rising sun (and a packed ipod), the hike was sublime. indeed, we climbed fuji in the dark of night, unaware of what lay beyond the mountain. while fuji itself is a volcano, and containing little in the way of vegetation, such cannot be said for the valleys, lakes and mountains surrounding it. as all of those came into view, i again found my jaw on the ground, agape at the natural beauty before my eyes. so. happy.

by the time we reached the bottom, everyone was ready to pass out - we had been hiking for nearly 8 hours, having started at 10 at night, without any sleep. faced with a mixture of deep cold and a fine layer of dirt and perspiration, i knew i needed a hostel, and i needed it quick. i caught the next bus into the small mountain town of Kaguchigawa (sp?) where i found my hostel, got a shower, and filled my belly with dumplings in broth. then, onto another new experience, the onsen.

onsen are natural hot springs bringing up nearly scalding water into japanese style baths. they are to be experienced in the nude, and are sex segregated. this water was hot, but man did it make me melt. the cold quickly eroded and my muscles turned from tight and sore into fluid masses, unable of even the slightest contraction. i can't wait to go again after dinner. and in every onsen i can find here on out. hot tubs ain't got nothing on this.

i just rearranged some of my intinerary to include Osaka - i am going to be there next weekend to see what has been described to me as a city out of Blade Runner, taste the legendary nightlfe, and behold the Tenjin Matsuri, one of the three biggest festivals in japan.

tomorrow, i head to nagoya for more new experiences, as i will sleep at a capsule hotel (http://www.nisshinkanko.co.jp/healthy/cp/cp_english_top.htm), check out the Robot Museum, and attend a SUMO TOURNAMENT! work.