One

This post is called 'one' for two reasons. A) because it is my one year anniversary since arriving wide eyed in Japan 365 days ago and B) Because that is the name of my absolute favorite 'Sex and the City' episode when Brady turns one years old, and Steve and Miranda get back together. The reason I am in 'Sex and the City' mode is because the movie has FINALLY come to Japan!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay ya yay!!!!! And I am going to see it tomorrow with some girlfriends. SO excited about that!!! We are a little behind the rest of the world because they need to figure out how to translate the dialogue into subtitles.

Yeah, one year in Japan. Even the air smells familiar, is that strange? Things feel the same in the air as they did when I first arrived. At the moment I am sipping a nice white wine contemplating what to say about the past year, but there really isn't a way to sum things up so simply. Maybe something will come to me another day. However my anniversary was great. I spent the day reading outside in the sun, beautiful weather today, then went swimming, and am now going to cook a fabulous meal of salmon with a white wine and garlic marinade with a salad.

Last Sunday I volunteered at the Fukui Natural History Museum. It was great! One of my higher level students is a paleontologist who works for the museum. First I was shown around the place for two hours. It was great being able to go into all the secret rooms, and storage areas, so much of what they actually have isn't even on display. It was interesting to go behind the scenes and see how things are run. In the overwhelming moth ball smelling animal storage room I saw all the animals that they aren't displaying at the moment, wild birds, deer, bears, etc. My student Junko then showed me a famous Japanese bird that has been extinct for only 10 years. I'm pretty sure it's name was Nippon something or other, and it was white with a red head. They don't display it because it is very rare, and they don't want the colours to fade. This may sound really nerdy, but everything she said was fascinating, I feel like I know Japan and its animals so much better now. After that, I spent my time trying to write an English FAQ sheet so that the person at the front can answer questions for foreigners if they ever come to the museum. I think I will also write an English guide to the museum. I didn' t go this week, but I think I am going back next week. Then on the 14th, there is a moon viewing party on the roof with a big telescope.

Recently at work I've been given several more classes to teach. Even though it is my job and I shouldn't feel annoyed, I naturally totally did. I was feeling very burnt out last week after climbing Fuji and then working all week. So, I've decided to actually take the vacation days that I am allowed to take, and am planning a trip to TOKYO at the end of September. And have requested a few other random days so that I don't start to dislike work. I only have two months left, and they are looking like a really good two months now.

Okay, well my salmon and wine is waiting for me at home, so goodbye for now.

Peace out,
Hat and Bailey xoxoxoxooxox
(I am totally actually wearing hat right at this moment (in case you were wondering))

Hat climbed 3776 m above Japan

The travelling hat has climbed higher than 99% of the Japanese population.

My journey to the top of Japan started in the little city of Fukui. We left town at around 11 am. After driving for about 6 hours, we finally arrived at the Subashiri 5th station at 2000m. It was cold, wet, foggy, and rainy..........YAY lets climb a mountain!!!!!! Not just any mountain, Mt Fuji. There were about 10 people in our group. Myself, my boss, my friend Lesley, and the rest of the group were my students. First we acclimatized for about two hours in the 5th station mountain hut eating hot curry and writing post cards. Equipped with warm clothing, ample water, and a lovely headlight I felt fairly prepared. Then at around 8:45 pm we started our long and treacherous journey to the top. I actually had no idea what I was in for. The rain thankfully subsided as we started, but everything still felt damp.

The fog made the white spots on this picture.
That dollar store walking stick saved my life.
Our whole group at 2000 m.
At 2700 m.
As we were climbing the dampness subsided. We eventually had climbed above the clouds, and then were faced with tons of stars and a perfect bright full moon. From that point I rarely needed my head light because the moon lit our way. It was a beautiful sight to be climbing with the white clouds below us and the stars and moon above us, while on the side of a huge mountain. We stopped every now and then to gain our breath and wait for the group to catch up. There are several stations along the way where climbers can get food or stay the night. We didn't enter any of them, as they are mostly closed at night. The higher we climbed the colder it got. And boy did it get cold. I was freezing!!!!!! The wind was extremely chilly. At one point I stopped because I saw a lovely large rock that I wanted to hide under, away from the howling wind.
About half way through climbing up, I started to feel the effects of the altitude and felt really sick. I felt like I was hungover, but starving, and too tired to eat. I had to keep going though, I couldn't stop, I was making it to the top before sunrise even if I had to puke while doing it (that made Lesley laugh). Eventually Lesley and I realized the time, and came to the conclusion we had to go on ahead without the whole group. At the 8th station all the routes up the mountain meet, and this creates an irritating bottle neck. We plowed through people all cued up to reach the top. There were several large tour groups just not moving. As time was running out, we stepped up our game. We, along with everyone else, were breathing quite heavily trying to get as much oxygen out of the air as possible. Then as we were still climbing, we saw the colours starting to spread across the sky.
Finally making it to the top at 4:25am after climbing for 7 1/2 hours, I was EXHAUSTED. Lesley and I had made it!!!!!!! やた!! We found a lovely front row ledge to sit on and watch the sun come up over the cloudy horizon. It was an amazing sight to behold.

These pictures are no comparison to the actual thing. Being able to look in every direction and see this ocean of clouds being draped in colour by the rising sun. Japan really is the land of the rising sun, or goraiko ごらいこ. It was amazing to think that I was sitting on the top of Japan at 3776m.
After watching the sun slowly rise over the horizon, we decided to walk around the top of the volcano. This was a HUGE mistake. Already exhausted from the climb up, I didn't realize that to walk around the top would be another 2 hours of walking up and down hills. Although it was absolutely beautiful, putting one foot in front of the other became an arduous task. So unnecessary. But after walking around, and finding the true highest point marker, snapping some fake smiling photos, we headed to the post office. That's right, the highest post office in Japan. This is where we mailed some post cards home.

Fuji-san is one big crater of red rocks and dust.

The picture above says it all. Dead tired.
So, by the time I was ready to make the decent down I had already been awake for 24 hours. Going down Fuji was possibly one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, physically and mentally. Basically we had to walk down on sand and small rocks. Sounds nice right? Well it wasn't, it was literally hell. Sometimes we would run down, kind of like mogul skiing, but without the skis. I have videos that one of my students took, but can't upload them on here. And when someone was in front of you, the sand would be blown up into your face. So basically the pictures below are how I looked.

And the whole time all I wanted to do was reach the point when we would be below the clouds..... it took forever for that to happen. All I wanted was to be where the normal people in this country were walking around.

I took the picture below to remind myself of how I was feeling at that exact moment. It was horrible.

It took 5 hours to get down. Every body part was in pain, my legs hated me. When everybody made it down, we drove the bus straight to a nearby onsen. That hot water has never felt so good on my aching muscles. Then we proceeded to drive for 8 hours home, stopping at every rest station just so the drivers would stay awake. I maybe slept an hour on the way home. It was a very tiring journey. We finally arrived home at 1 am.

So what can I say about Fuji? An absolutely amazing experience. Although it was the most difficult physical thing that I have ever accomplished, I wouldn't have changed a thing. Hiking up past the clouds in the middle of the night under a full moon and stars, and watching the graceful sun rise over an ocean of white fluffy clouds is truly a once and a life time experience. And the thing about good and bad experiences, is that one tends to only remember the good parts and block out the bad. Would I climb it again... no, probably never. Once is enough thank you.

rain rain go away, come again another day

I am supposed to be climbing Mount Fuji tomorrow night, the highest mountain in Japan, and an irrefutable Japanese iconic symbol. However, the forecast for Sunday evening and night calls for %60 chance of rain and thunder storms. Am I still going to climb...yes. Am I going to get extremely wet and grumpy...most likely. Am I going to try my best to reach the summit.... definitely.
The climbing season is restricted to the months of July and August, I really only have two weeks left to climb it, so it's basically now or never. Verdict...to climb indeed, and cross my fingers there is no lightening in my path to the top of Japan. If we get there and the people at the 5th station say it is too dangerous, I will be highly disappointed, but it won't be the end of the world. In another day, time, place there will be other mountains, and other tall peaks to summit.

But for now I am still hopeful, and preparing for the bitter cold and rainy climb ahead.

Beer Garden & Mikuni Fireworks

Last Sunday we all met up and went to a Beer Garden in town. Owen is back from Scotland
to visit Misato for two weeks. Good times had by all. BUT I made the HUGE mistake of sitting in front of the grill, thereby dubbing myself chef for the night. With a two hour limit it is difficult to drink as much beer as possible while grilling meat with chopsticks, WHILE also trying to fan away the immense amount of smoke blowing in every which direction.

After the Beer Garden, where better to go than Bears Bar?? After badly singing some karaoke with Alex and Miho I somehow ended the night there all alone with the owner and his friends. I don't think I magically knew how to speak Japanese, so I'm sure it was an interesting conversation.

The next day I woke up hungover and wondered how I was ever going to get through a boiling hot day on the beach. But after we arrived at the beach my hangover subsided. We had a wicked day of swimming, tanning, and general beach day fun times. The beach was PACKED with people all eagerly awaiting the fireworks display that would commence later on that night. It was kind of like a beach festival. There were even girls and guys in their traditional clothing. I also met some of the new English teachers in my city.

Our camp for the day.
Buried man, he was even smoking before I nabbed this one.
Holy Asian beach. Wish I had a tent. It was soooooooooo hot, and the water was not cold.
Yukata ladies on the beach. Their hair always amuses me. Yay fireworks!!!!!

はち (eight) 八

I don't know if you believe in lucky numbers or not, but lets for a minute talk about the number eight. This number is very lucky in Japan because of the way it is written 八, going from small to large to bring good luck.

On 2008/08/08 I had 88 days left until Australia, coincidence.....? well, yes of course, but that doesn't mean it isn't something to consider.

えと.....

Still no sign of Stinky, he has officially flown the coup. I am both sad and happy for him. It still smells in that area even though he is gone.

On another note. I am climbing Mount Fuji next weekend. The weather looks like it will be okay, but we are still worried about rain. Or more importantly thunder and lightning. Last weekend a 53 year old Japanese man died on Fuji. He was struck by lightning between the 6th and 7th stations.

Fuji is also an active volcano, not dead at all, just dormant for the time being. Its last eruption was in 1707, and they say it won't erupt again for another 100 years or so. I feel safe.

いいですよ!!

So long Stinky

So there's this dog that I ride my bike past almost everyday on the way to the gym or grocery store. I have named him Stinky, well, basically because he is very very stinky. I'm not just talking wet dog kind of stinky, I'm talking mouldy foot/cheese smell combined with beer gone bad. You can literally smell him a block away. No matter what time of day I ride past, he is ALWAYS outside tied to a rope. And when I say always, I mean I've passed him at 9:00am, 3:pm, 10:pm, and even on the way home from the bar at 5:00am. It is definitely dog abuse, especially in the summer where the heat humidity is unbearable. I don't think I have wished for an animal to die, as much as I have wished for Stinky's death. He is old, and stinks, and I feel so so bad every time I go past. But Stinky has become my friend, and I usually buy dog treats to give to him when I ride past. He is kind of like my Japanese muffy. Well for the past week he has been constantly crying outside when I ride past. BUT for the past two days in a row, there has been no sign of Stinky. No smell....no sad dog....no Stinky. Could it be true, has Stinky finally kicked the bucket?? Fingers crossed he has passed away peacefully, FINALLY. But I will be sad not to see my smelly friend every morning.

Hat saw the sunset...

On Monday I went to my usual afternoon yoga class with Marie sensei. She seems to be wanting to punish us lately. Who can casually do the front splits with both legs while trying to look like one isn't in agonizing pain. Who I ask?
Then in the afternoon a bunch of us went the the beach to enjoy the sea and watch the sun gracefully set. Hat was happy to be roaming the streets of Japan again, it's been a little lonely hanging on my wall.

Takatsu sunset
Then we decided it would be fun to all ride bikes into town to watch the fireworks that mark the end of festival fun times. We stopped at a bridge and saw the fireworks in the distance.
After that we all met at Bears Bar for some drinks and karaoke. Owen is back in town for a week, so it felt a little like the old gang was back together.

Fukui Fenix Festival 2008

Last weekend marked the beginning of August, as well as the beginning of summer festivals and celebrations. In our little city of Fukui we had the Fukui Fenix Festival. It is basically four days of traditional dances in the streets and on the stages, lots of lantern decorations, people of all ages and sizes in Yukatas (summer Kimonos), and lots of festival food stands. I'm not sure what it actually celebrates, and neither did anyone else, but it sure was a lot of fun.
On the first day we all dressed up in traditional festival attire. I wore a 'yukata'. It is similar to a kimono, but not as hot, and much easier to put on. I borrowed it from one of my students. We headed for the centre of it all to drink and be merry with friends. They set up a huge stage in the middle of the park, and people basically sit and watch the show, eat and drink with friends and families. There were sooooooooooooooo many cute tiny children running around in little yukatas, I wanted to steal them all.

We also had a visitor from Australia. Steve's friend Phil came to stay with Lesley for the week. So we basically dressed him in a Jinbe (men's summer outfit)and handed him a fan. Initially objecting to the fan for fear of his manliness being diminished, but after a couple beers was more than ready to pose for pictures.

Yes this is a traffic guard hard at work. I was just doing my drunken part to raise the moral of the underpaid city workers.

After the festival was over for the night we naturally headed to Bears Bar. And then I ended up walking home at around 4 am, minus one yukata. Try walking fast in one of those things.
A bunch of high school girls in yukatas.
The second day of the festival was a little more subdued. We walked around for a bit, and headed for the park to our usual spot to watch the hip hop competition, as well as some cheerleaders doing their thing. After the traditional dances called yosukoi were over, we hopped on the bus home.
Taiko drums.