Splendors of Japan
Day Three – 13 May 2014
Mount Fuji!
Weather: Well, I will just say I woke up to rain, fog and 16 C….
At least I woke after 8 hours of solid sleep. I tried the Main lobby buffet and it has a larger seating area and just as good a selection as the upper buffet (which has no view this morning thanks to the cursed fog!).
I’m in the bus at 8 am with about half the tour and no sign of Kimiko and the rest of the group. Turns out they were waiting with Kimiko in the lobby. At 8:10, she came out and found us on the bus.
After many bows and apologies, we were off. The A tour (the group doing the 10 day tour that doesn’t go to Hiroshima) had left at 8. We would actually catch up with them. The nice part about leaving the city in the morning is that you’re going in the right direction. The traffic on the other side of the road was blocked for mile after mile. I honestly don’t know how people do that day in and day out. The population of Tokyo explodes to from 12 to 16 million on a working day. Kimiko talked about the people employed as pushers and pullers in the subway. She said people don’t have a problem being pushed and pulled. She said they have a thing called sleep standing in the subway in the morning and that if you have to carry something heavy….well, no problem. Once you’re in the car, it gets supported by all around you. Although, if you drop something, you’re out of luck. There’s no bending down to pick it up.
Kimiko started with a lesson on how to say good morning. She said it was easy as it sounds just like a US state. Ohio.
She said we can get away with that. I equate it to “mornin.” A “Good Morning” would be like Ohio Gozimus. And “Isn’t it just an awesome morning” would be like “Domo Ohio Gozimus.” (My translations, not Kimikos’.)
Though, she said “Domo” can cover pretty well everything by itself. Thank-you is similar. I look at “Arigato” as “Thanks.” A “Thank you’ would probably be “Arigato Gozimus” and a “Thank you very much” is “Domo Arigato Gozimus.”
I’ve gotten into the habit of just bowing and smiling.
As we passed all those people in standstill traffic, Kimiko told us that the expressways are a result of the 64 Olympics (the first Olympics held in Asia). Our hotel, the New Otani, was also built for those Olympics, which are coming back to Tokyo in 2020.
One thing that surprised me was that Japan was not driving on the right side. They drive on the wrong side. (LOL). Kimiko explained that (like the knights in England), the samurai like to keep their left side close to the wall as it was their exposed side. Interesting how a similar custom half a world away led to the evolution of driving on the wrong side for both societies.
Bowing also came from the samurai as it is a symbol of trust. If you’re willing to bow, exposing your head and looking away from that person, you are showing that you trust them. There are several degrees of bowing.
15 degrees – basic bow to most friends/colleagues. My favorite bow.
30 degrees – a bow to customers and teachers.
45 degrees – to important people or to apologize. Increase level of respect.
90 degrees – to your proctologist.
Oh wait. No, the ninety degree is for severe apologies or on special occasions. It’s a way to show an immense amount of respect. The kind of bow you’d make to the emperor. (It doesn’t show subservience but respect in that instance).
90 degrees and on your heels – Boy, are you in trouble. It’s for severe apologies in which trust was broken.
And it’s how husbands bow to their wives after a late night out with the boys.
Kimiko admitted that they even bow while on the phone – out of habit, I imagine. She said a handshake is okay as they know it’s an international tradition.
A hug and kiss like the French do would likely get you slapped.
Fist bumps are coming in with the young.
Women tend to put their hands in front of them when they bow. Men…not so much.
As we drove, Kimiko gave us the itinerary for the entire tour. She showed us the route we will take to Mount Fuji which is about 100 km away.
The upper blue route has construction on it so we’re taking the lower red route and will stop at a rest stop and make a decision there to go to Fuji or to Hakone first. She’s not sure if the fifth station on Fuji is open. She said it stayed closed late this year because of heavy snow and didn’t open until end of April. It usually closes if it’s raining.
As we pulled into the rest stop, we could see the bright glow of the sun through the fog. Then we discovered the world’s largest, cleanest, coolest public washroom. It was so big, it had a map with lights to show people which stalls were available. A light was also outside every stall to indicate if it was available.
And yes, the seats were heated. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh….
I went into the mart in the same building and got a Coke and saw Mimi-san again. We’ve gotten into the habit of saying each other’s name as if we hadn’t seen each other in years and then hugging. Then we chat and off I go. LOL
As we return to the bus, the decision is to go to Hakone first. Yes! That gives the fog more time to burn off of Fuji.
As we drive the 40 minutes to Hakone, Kimiko gives us a lesson in chopsticks. She held up her drawings again and showed us the minor infractions which included:
Spearfishing: using the chopstick as a fork.
Hovering: holding it over several dishes as you decide.
Search and Rescue: digging through a large bowl looking for your favorite pieces.
Pushing: moving a bowl with the chopstick.
The major infractions include
Vertical placement: standing them up in the food as it represents how food is offered to the dead.
Pass maneuver: passing food from chopstick to chopstick. It reminds them of what happens after cremation in which the bones left over and picked up by chopstick and passed to another chopstick holder who then puts it in an urn.
Of course, we all think back to the meals we just had and wonder if we did something minor or major.
Hakone is a volcano. The town is actually located inside a huge caldera 42 km wide and is a resort area. Mt Hakone erupted 4000 years ago and further eruptions created the hills inside the caldera and created Lake Ashi.
It’s known as the Great Boiling Valley where they are famous for boiling eggs in the hot springs which turns the eggs black. She said that if we eat one egg, we will get 7 years more life. Two eggs, 14 more years. Three eggs, we die from too much cholesterol.
Our first stop is at a foggy Lake Ashi. Just a quick photo stop where I come across pictures of cats with tags around their necks. We ask Kimiko what they mean and she said they stand for their jobs. There’s a manager, a worker, a trainee etc.
Then I see two of the trainees sitting off to the side….with the tags still around their necks. They’re goofing off, licking each other.
Still have seen more turtles than cats.
After Lake Ashi, we head up the hill and given that it’s foggy, Kimiko gives us a choice – the gondola or bus to the top. So we vote and the majority vote to take the gondola. (Though you can stay on the bus if you don’t like gondolas). This one is a very modern Swiss built system.
Each car is designed for 18 people.
Eighteen Japanese people.
Kimiko divides us up into three groups of eight.
Gee, Kimiko, what are you saying? LOL
I’m in the first car with Kimiko and as we go up, the hot springs on the side of the hill become visible. Kimiko is beside herself saying they were reported to be foggy just an hour ago. So, we take some pics when suddenly she stands up and squeals…Mt Fuji!!
After my heart returned to its proper spot, I turned around to see this ghost appear out of the fog. Beautiful! We go crazy taking pics and laughing with Kimiko over her enthusiastic reaction. Oh, I wish I had a picture of her face.
We got to the station at the top and while we waited, we moved to an area to the side where we could see Mt. Fuji through the window. Now, trust me, if you see it, take a picture. The fog is in the valley and sure enough, by the time we got outside, it had rose high enough to hide the peak.
We were given 40 minutes to check out the area which is full of hot springs. We could walk ten minutes up to the hot springs to see them boil the eggs.
As I walked up, I looked up and saw a basket carrying the boiled eggs being moved down to the main area on the mini cable car. Really cute. When I got to the top, you could see muddy boiling pools and a guy had cages full of eggs under the surface.
I didn’t try the egg as I expected it would taste like sulfur but those that did try it said it didn’t taste like sulfur. And we were headed for lunch anyway. Lunch was at a nice hotel in Hakone. Nice grounds and a large koi pond.
Lunch was beef that was delicious. A thin steak with a delicious sauce. And a jello fruit dessert. As we ate, we were all watching the hills to see if the fog was lifting and by the time we went out to our buses, the fog had lifted and we headed to Mt. Fuji which was still hidden behind a low fog. Kimiko still didn’t know if the 5th station was open, but we would check.
As we drove, she told us about the Shogun government. Below the Shogun there were about 300 feudal lords who were like govenors and the Shogun (who themselves are former feudal lords) feared rebellion so they introduced travel restrictions that restricted travel for everyone but was meant to restrict the lords from getting together to plan rebellion. They set up checkpoints around the country and one had to have a passport with a facial description. If it didn’t match, you didn’t pass so if you face-planted into the ground at some point and got scars on your face, you were out of luck as the scars wouldn’t match the passport description. The Shogun further restricted the lords by requiring that they live in Edo for one year and spend one year at home, but while at home, their wife and children remained in Edo as hostages. Though I imagine they used a different word. Maintaining the two households also kept them weak as it took 60% of their income so they couldn’t afford to revolt.
About 150 years ago or so, an artist traveled to the 53 stations between Edo and Kyoto and drew the scenery around each station. It became a bit of a tour guide for people travelling between Edo and Kyoto. Kimiko had postcards depicting these pictures and gave everyone one.
She told us that Fuji was an active volcano and it last erupted in 1707. On average, it erupts every 300 years.
Okay. Now, do the math.
Kimiko said it used to be overdue….until yesterday morning.
Say wha?
Then she laughed. Nope. We are good.
She said the eruption would have enough warning signs to promote an evacuation. (Granted, five months later, a volcano to the northwest erupted so suddenly, it caught hikers on the slopes and a number of them didn’t make it to safety).
The 1707 eruption was well documented with 49 days of earthquake activity before the eruption which lasted 2 weeks. It dropped 3 m of ash on Hakone and 5-10 cm on Tokyo. It took seven years before the farmers could return to the slopes to farm. The Edo government helped by initiating a program to till the ash into the soil. Even though Fuji gets a lot of rain, there are no rivers. The water goes through the porous rock at a rate of 5mm per year. The water at the base is apparently very pure as it can take 100 years for the water to filter down.
Some people call the mountain Fujiyama but that isn’t used a lot here. Fuji or Fuji-san are more typical. The 5th station is the highest that we can go by bus (7000 ft) but there are a number of stations leading to the top. The 8th station and above is owned by the shrine.
We approached the base of Fuji and passed the second station. Kimiko still wasn’t sure if the 5th was open and after a few minutes, she announced to her delight that it was open and asked if we wanted to go up. She said it might mean a later arrival in Tokyo and we had no problem with that given that the fog was behind us and glorious Fuji was in front of us.
The climb took about 30 minutes up a series of switchbacks. Before long, there was snow on the sides of the road – to the delight of the Australians. The view from here is really for the valley below as the view of Fuji is what you’d expect being on the side of the mountain.
With a telephoto, you can see at least two of the stations above.
We spent about 30 minutes there and after throwing a few snowballs, we headed down. Since some couldn’t use the Japanese style toilets, Kimiko said we would stop at the 2nd station but that only those who needed to use the bathroom should get off the bus.
Well, when we pulled into the lot and looked back at Fuji, we all suddenly had to use the bathroom. Granted, we didn’t go very far from the bus. Fabulous view in a clear blue sky!
The funny part is that the A tour had followed us down the mountain but kept on going and missed out on a fabulous photo opportunity. I would even say that if you don’t get up to the fifth station, don’t fret too much. The view of Fuji from the 2nd station is amazing. (And you can see the valley from Hakone).
It’s possible to climb Mt. Fuji, usually in July and August. Kimiko says that 300,000 people a year climb it and most in that two month period. She climbed it once and said that was enough. As she says, a wise man climbs it once. A fool climbs it twice.
She could have walked around the crater but by the time she got up there, she had had enough. Meanwhile, she was being passed by kindergarden kids. And Kimiko is in great shape. I’d be in a snowback about a thousand metres below the crater.
The trip from the fifth station back to sea level had an interesting effect on my Coke bottle. I had the same thing happen when I flew from Puno in the Andes to Lima. The air pressure in the bottle at the fifth station, 7000 feet, is less than it is at sea level, so as we descended, the higher pressure crushed the empty bottle.
We headed back to Tokyo a little after 4:30 and got back to the hotel by 6 pm. En route, Kimiko put on Sumo wrestling that is on TV every day between 4 and 6 pm. She explained the rules. The simple objective is to get the opponent or any part of him outside the ring. There is no weight classes in Sumo, so you can have a David vs Goliath situation. In some cases, the smaller wrestler is quicker and is able to use the larger wrestler’s weight against him.
I was a fan by the time we pulled into the hotel. Kimiko said that we made awesome time. I was ready for a relaxing evening in my room getting ready for our first day on the road.
Funny how settled in one can get after four nights in the same room. By 10:30 I was done and out like a light.
Go to Day Four
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