On Tuesday August 5th Mom and Dad drove me to the cities to catch at 10:50am flight to Chicago where I would meet Katie for our long flight to Japan. However, after getting to my gate in Minneapolis I soon realized that my flight was delayed. Unfortunately it was delayed for about 2 hours which meant that I missed the flight with Katie to Japan. I was put on a flight that left 4 hours later, so Katie waited for me at the airport in Japan. It was actually quite fortunate for me because the plane that I was on was very empty and I ended up with the four middle seats to myself so that I could lie down (that seems to never happen)! I got to Narita about 8:30 on the 6th. Since my flight got switched, the airport lost my check bag (which again worked to my advantage because I was going to have to pay to store it at the airport until the 16th so this way I did not have to)! Katie was waiting for me in the arrival haul and we boarded a train for an hour long trip into Tokyo to our hotel.
We started our first day in Japan by walking around Tokyo and enjoying all the busy passersby. We went to a coffee shop, had lunch, and went to the Tokyo Skytree. This is a 364 meter tall broadcasting tower. In 2011, it became the world’s tallest tower, but was since surpassed, making it now the third tallest tower. After this we went to the Sensō-ji Temple. Leading up to the temple is a market where you can buy various foods and crafts. I tried mochi there! For dinner we went to a place where our table had two grills in the middle of it and we cooked a sort of pizza like substance called okonomiyaki. It was pretty tasty! Then Katie and I went back to our hotel to plan the next couple day’s details.
On Friday we took the bus to the 5th station of Mount Fuji. The worker in the store told me that there was a typhoon coming so as I was trying to ask him if it was still safe to hike the mountain when two guys (Dave and Ramzy) over heard me. They told me they would be willing to walk with me to the 7th station (where I was spending the night in a mountain hut) and from there they would continue to hike up the mountain.
At 2pm I started hiking up the mountain with Dave and Ramzy as Katie headed back down via bus to her hotel for the night. It stopped raining shortly after we started hiking and we made it up to the 7th station in no time (1 hour 45 minutes). I checked into my hut and by 5:30pm was in my sleeping bag and tried to fall asleep. The huts are not very luxurious as you sleep on the ground in a room with about 5-10 other people, but resources up on the mountain are limited. I swear the entire night long, the couple next to me was digging in their backpack. Opening and closing zippers and unpacking and repacking their noisy belongings that were wrapped in plastic bags for extra noise haha. It was so annoying that I hardly slept at all. By 11pm we were all woken up and got ready to make our night climb to the top of the mountain.
A head lamp was necessary as the trail was uneven and you had to climb up rocks for most of the ascent. I quickly met up with three guys (Joseph from Singapore, and Raymond and Eric from Taiwan) who were all working in Japan for the year. They were very kind and I spent the rest of the hike with them. At first I was only wearing capris, a tshirt, and a jacket. However, the higher up we went the more cold it got. It was so cold that I also put on a second pair of pants, three long sleeve shirts, a t-shirt (used for my neck and ears), and my rain suit to block the wind. There were so many people on the trail that you could not climb as fast as you may have wished. We had started hiking around 11:30pm and did not make it to the summit until 4:20am. A perfect time to make it up to watch the sun rise at about 4:40am. It was so beautiful and we were well above the level of the clouds.
We stayed up at the top soaking in the view and finally getting warm in a hut where we had some much needed hot tea. We started hiking back down at 6:30am. I thought the hike back down the mountain was more difficult because the steep switchbacks were hard on my knees. It took us about 3 hours to get down. Joseph, Raymond, Eric, and I had breakfast together before I met back up with Katie.
Interesting Facts: Mount Fuji is 3776 meters (12388 feet) tall and is the 35th highest peak in the world. It is an active stratovolcano and recently added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Trail: I took the Yoshida Trail which is the most popular and probably the most recommend for first time hikers up Mount Fuji. The trail is 7.5km up and 7.6km down.
Tip for future hikers: I recommend either buying a walking stick or bringing some along as it really helped me (especially on the way down). However, I was unable to take my walking stick on the plane (without having to check it) because it was too long. I ended up mailing mine home with the extra yen that I had. Consider either buying a small souvenir type one (which may not be helpful) or expect not to keep it as a souvenir. Bring warm clothes and a head lamp/flash light. Also there are no ATMs on the 5th station or above so plan accordingly.
Katie and I took the bus back down the mountain and then hopped on the train to go to Kyoto. We arrived at the Kyoto station at 5:30pm and headed to a local Shingon Buddhist temple. A woman in a kimono told us all about the temple and much about the Buddhist faith. After this we went across the courtyard into this woman’s house where she performed a tea ceremony. It was in a traditional looking Japanese room and we sat on our knees on cushions on the floor. Everything that she did to prepare and pour the tea was so precise (even the direction that the tea cups are turned matters). She made a type of green tea that was very expensive and of high quality. We had three rounds of tea. The first two had no more than a couple drops of tea in our cups. However, the taste was indescribable. It was so good and the taste in your mouth lasted for minutes afterward. After this we went to a restaurant where we tried many different types of Japanese food.
Sunday a typhoon hit so it rained most of the day. But we braved the rain and checked out Nara! First we went to Hōryū-ji (Hōryū Gakumonji) a temple with lots of walking grounds that contain various things such as sanctuary hall, pagodas, monks quarters, lecture halls, libraries, etc. Next we had lunch before heading to Tōdai-ji Temple. This temple is known for having lots of sika deer that greet visitors as they enter. These deer are literally everywhere and if you have any food watch out! There was also a small museum located here that we visited filled with statues, scrolls, and paintings. We also went to downtown Osaka to walk through a market area and try the famous takoyaki (fried octopus). Then we went to a Shabu Shabu restaurant for dinner which is similar to the Taiwanese version called Hot Pot.
On Monday morning Katie boarded the train back to the Narita airport to catch her flight back to Taiwan. I headed to Kyoto today to check out more temples. First I went to the Ginkaku-ji temple (Silver Pavilion). I was lucky because I got to see men working on the sand garden due to the Typhoon that hit the day before. The Ginkaku-ji also had beautiful Japanese gardens. Next I went to the Kinkaku-ji (Gold Pavilion) which also had beautiful Japanese gardens. For a snack I tried green tea flavored ice-cream, which soon became a daily occurrence because it was so good! I also visited a temple called the Kiyomizu-dera temple. I ate at at a kabob place for dinner; it was good!
Tuesday I saw the Osaka castle in the morning and then had Italian for lunch. After lunch I went to a Japanese guitar studio to learn how to play the shamisen (Japanese guitar); this lesson was an awesome experience! My instructor wore a kimono and we sat on the typical Japanese mats on our knees on a pillow. I learned how to play Syamisen (a typical Japanese song about the cherry blossoms). The guitar has three strings made out of silk and you hold this triangular shaped pallet thing that you would use to pluck the strings. After this I went to the Tsūtenkaku (the Osaka tower) to get a good look at the city. Then I explored Korean town and walked around a bit.
On Wednesday I went to the Toei Kyoto Studio Park. This was a theme park where a lot of Japanese shows were filmed. You can walk along a traditional looking street and see people dressed up as a geisha and a samurai! Afterwards I ate at a sushi restaurant where sushi plates went around on a conveyor belt and you could take any that you wanted to eat. After lunch I walked around Arashiyama area which is filled with bamboo forests and it was very beautiful.
Thursday morning I traveled to Hiroshima for the day. Once there I took on a ferry to see the famous Itsukushima Shrine (also known as Miyajima). I got off the ferry and explored the island where again there are many deer present. Next I took the ferry to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museum, dedicated to the horrific dropping of the world’s first atomic bomb at 8:15am on August 6, 1945. This was a very moving experience. Afterwards I took the Japan Rail to Okayama for the night.
Friday I went to the Ohara Museum of Art and spent a long time looking at all the beautiful pieces in the art museum. For lunch I ate at a noodle place where you could see them making the noodles! After lunch I saw the Seto Ohashi Bridge which is a very long bridge near Okayama and then went to the Shizutani School which is up in the mountains. This is the oldest public (free education) school for the common people. It was complete in 1701 so it is now over 300 years old! I woke up bright and early on Saturday to catch the train all the way to the Narita airport. I flew back to Taipei and a driver (sent by ICA) came and picked me up. I got to my apartment at about 11:30pm on Saturday the 16th.
Tips for future travelers to Japan:
- Buy a Japan Rail Pass! Traveling from place to place in Japan is extremely expensive. I thought I could get a Japan Rail pass when I got to Japan; however, you must buy it before you are in the country.
- The time of year you travel matters! Mount Fuji is only open for hikers July, August, and the beginning of September. Sumo Wrestling Fights are only held in about three months out of the year (August unfortunately was not one of those months). And of course the famous cherry blossoms only bloom during the spring.
Japanese Words that I learned (spelled phonetically to the best of my knowledge):
- Ohio: good morning
- Or ee got oh: thank you
- Oh ee she: very tasty
- Cone ee chi wa: hello
- Hi: ok
- Sigh a Nara: bye
- Ee tal a key ma: blessing before/after eating
Overall I had an amazing experience in Japan that I will never forget! 🙂
Rachel Belinda Gulbranson 