so i started teaching on september forth. these are simple lessons, basically i'm talking about myself for thirty minuets (or rather trying to stretch my activity for just over thirty min, and because it's japan and they do have it planned to the min). the lessons are okay, but i'm still working out how to keep the kids attention and enthusiasm. the other reason they are probably not the best lessons: fuji. so i went to mt. fuji for the weekend of the second and third. this was a hiroshima-AJET (association of JEts) trip, therefore it was rushed and intense. i got back after midnight sunday night, the bus arrived at hiroshima station at 11:10pm. my train was at 11:37. there were some other girls taking the same train, so that was nice. the trip STArted at 5:30am on saturday when i woke up. i got all ready and was just on time for the train i had to catch, then i realized i didn't have my headlamp. light, when walking up a dark mountain, is a necessity, so i ran home, i tore apart my apartment (it's still trashed) and i still couldn't find it. i had to say screw it and catch the next train. i was supposed to be at hiroshima eki (station) at 7:10, i caught the 7:10 train. i was about 20min late and caused everyone to be late for the first time during the trip (as we were the first pickup point). the bus ride was 10 and a half hours. i sat in the front with dob, a third year that is pretty cool. he's from the u.k., near liverpool. the bus stopped every 2 hours, i think it's the law so that the driver can rest. snacks were purchased and then lunch at these many stops. i was still worrying about my headlamp and hoping to buy a flashlight or something along the way. i did get the cutest stuft 'animal' ever. its my cuddle buddy for japan now. it's a gourd which is used as a traditional way to drink sake. his name will eventually be a brand of sake that i like...once i find one. after the really long drive, and a couple movies (there was a vcr on the bus so we watched snatch and clerks) we arrived at station five of mt. fuji. the stations start at number one, at the bottom, and go to nine, then 10 is the top. station five is where most people start, it's right below the tree line, and has a lodge vaguely similar to timberline. i felt a little wussy starting at the highest road, but by the end i would say i would never start any lower. at station five we all quickly hopped off the bus and were immediately chilled by the cool mountain air. we had 15min to change and get our stuff back on the bus before it had to park for the night.
a couple of the girls were realizing that they didn't bring enough warm clothing. i had jeans, white-beater, batman t-shirt, new thermal, powell's hoodie, blue fleece, windbreaker, longjohn pants-for later, warm socks, converse, scarf (katie's) and my orange and pink kitty hat. i was feeling like i brought too much. for my bag all i had was the little guy from by backpacking bag, so i had to tie my extra hoodie and jacket to the outside. after changing, i bought my walking stick--the walking stick is a must as it is both a souvenir that you get stamped at each station AND the only way to make it up certain parts of the trail--i also asked 'light, arimasu ka?' (do you have any lights?). i bought an $18, very heavy, 'stylish' yellow headlamp, but hey it worked and i was glad i had it. the lodge closed at 8pm, the restaurant closed at 7, we were meeting at 7 at the restaurant. someone's 'good' idea. by the time we actually got in line for food all they had left was katsudon (deep fried pork) or curry. i had the curry, which had beef in it, yech. but it was food and it ran out, too. after 'dinner' john, isaac (two guys from seattle) and i went up to the third floor to sleep. we got comfortable on our three pseudo couches, isaac documented the napping with photos, and we were then promptly kicked out after only 5 min of horizontal rest. technically the lodge was open for another 15min. grr. but everybody was taking off, so i joined dob and the other 3rd/2nd years and headed out. mind you i didn't sleep on the bus, i woke up at 5:30 that morning, and it was now 8:30pm or so...to say the least this was going to be a long night. the beginning of the trail was pretty easy. i was feeling ambitious and looking forward to my upcoming workout. it was very dark and we were already pretty high up. looking out over the landscape below we could really only see clouds. it looked like the ocean. it was so se-real. looking up the mountain, we could see the lights of 'fuji town' or rather the stations that were servicing all the tourists. there were quite a number of gaijin, but mostly japanese people. our group was around 50 kids. we ran into another group of JETs that had had the same idea, hike the weekend after the season is over. there were also some other foreigners who we could have brief conversations with. i hiked up with dob and was happy to discover he also fears heights and was in the sam kind of shape i was, so we took it slow. the way the hike works is there are stations (6, 7, 8 and 9--six and nine were closed) and then sub-stations for each of the main ones. at each station you can get a stamp on your stick, which is pretty cool cause its actually burned into the stick. i made the mistake of listening to the girls who had done this before and only got stamps at the main stations, so my stick it pretty bare with only 4 stamps. also at each station they sell food (snickers bars and cup o' noodles and the like) plus hot coffee and oxygen cans. i of course scoffed at the oxygen, that is until i was close to the top and was having to consciously take long slow deep breaths (thanks yoga) to get enough air. i bought one snickers bar, and ate one cliff bar (thanks katie and elena) on the way up.
by station 8 i could barely keep my eyes open i was so tired and i decided that i had to rest if i was going to make it up the last 2 1/2 hrs to the top. lucky for me in the stations they have sleeping areas so you can rest on the way. now i thought this was ridiculous, except for if you got to the top early and want to snooze before sunrise, but at the point of station 8 i forked over my 3000yen and dob and i slept from 1:50 to 2:30am before heading out again. i barely slept, but i started out again with a definite spring in my step. the last bit to the top creaped along as the traffic jam had started. it was an actual line to the top for the last 2 hrs. now this did end up working to my benefit as i was then going slow enough that i didn't get altitude sickness. at around 5am the sun started to rise. we weren't quite to the top, but tiredness and still more line to wade through, dictated that we just sit and enjoy the sunrise from nearly the top. it was quite beautiful, not all that i'd hoped for (after hiking for 8 hours or so). but i took some photos, texted alex and mayumi (yeah i got reception up there) and enjoyed part of my last great harvest savanah bar. after the sun peaked it's way over the morning clouds we started up again.
the top was hilarious. there were just so many people, shops and civilization. okay, civilization is a slight exaggeration, but for the highest point in japan, on top of a barren volcano, there was a lot of crap up there. if we had been in season you could possibly be looking at a postcard from the mt. fuji postoffice on the peak, but it was off season--barely--so it was closed. zan nen. i used the toilet, bought my last stamp, a plaque with the date on it, and then met up with dob to head down. on a tangent...on the way up we saw this cute puppy, haro-chan, a of couple times. we also ran into him at the top waiting to head down. at that point he had a blanket tied to his back, socks on his two front feet and the finger from a glove around the tip of his tail. yeah, it was cold and he was cute. i had all my warm things on (at the hut, where i napped, i had added my longjohns under my jeans) and i was still freezing while sitting and watching the sunrise. (after the sun was up) on the way down, it was actually kinda warm. kinda. sooo...back to the order of events, after no real rest and a 8 hr (or so) hike we got on the trail down the mountain. it was only 5k, supposed to take 3-4 hrs. the was path very different from the way up. on the ascending trail there's a lot of points that were actually climbing. the whole trail was defined by chains guiding you to the top; these were very useful at the points that you had to work your way up steep rock slopes that were relatively sheer for a trail that anyone it supposed to be able to do. this climb involved a process of placing my walking stick properly, then finding a place for my foot, grabbing the chain with my other hand and heaving myself onto the the next level. this doesn't seem that bad till the air is thin, you've had no sleep and you've been walking up a hill for 5 hrs. ironically opposed to this, on the trail up, were the points where it was (basically) paved steps; these usually indicated you were near a station. so...back to the trail down: this trail was a decent slope of and loose pumas gravel. not nearly as bad as the way up, except when you're afraid of heights, you're tired and you really just want to be down this goddamn mountain. the first stint didn't seem that bad. we knew it shouldn't take that long because its only 5k, the race for the cure is only 5k. then after about an hour of trudging down the slope we ran into a sign that told us we had 4.5k left. we'd only gone half a fucking kilometer in and hour. we were screwed. but we had to keep going. dob and i kept running into amy (from new york) and paitra (from new brunswick, canada) so we kinda joined up with them. soon it was 9:30, the time we were supposed to be meeting at the bus, and we still had two hours to go, ay least. at this point we ran into kate (from pdx) at the 7th station bathroom. we took a break to catch our breath and such, then our guide (and miranda) caught up with us. he, our guide, decided to go ahead and tell the bus that we really were coming, the rest of us tried hurry up the pace. i had a nice conversation with amy about expectations of JET and the big question of one year or two. we caught up with paitra, miranda and dob caught up with the three of us, and then we all made the final stint at our five different paces. 11:30am we were at the bus. everyone else had been there for hours. the embarrassing moments of getting on the bus, last, were pacified by the fact that we still went to the an-sen (public bath) and lunch at a local hotel at the lake at the bottom of fuji-san. the trip ended in another 10 1/2 hr bus ride (which involved some sleep for me, a little of usual suspects (wish it was the unusual suspects instead) and dob's favorite, the goodfellas. and that is that. i woke up for work at 6 this morning. found my way by bike for the first time, stopped at 7/11 to print photos for class and made it in before my supervisor. i am absolutely exhausted.
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