It's Climbing Season! (A View from the Top)

Mt. Fuji's climbing season is off to a chilly start. Last Friday, a couple of our Gauntlet family members braved their way to the summit, tossing a few snowballs when they were able to catch their breath. The gravel "down" path was closed because of snow, making for an arduous and crowded descent via the "up" trail (all of those stairs, ugh!). The huts at the very top were closed, but climbers were able to get their summit stamps at a lower station (gotta get those stamps!).

The reward for extra trouble? A beautiful view of the crater (and no wind at the top).

Journey along (acrophobics beware)...




Fifth Station (starting point) at 6:27 AM. Looks like a lovely day.




On the way up at 6:39. Lovely? More like foreboding.




It's 7:52. Say, that looks a little steep.




8:40. Now that's steep!




Three and a half hours of climbing (9:50). No end in sight!




Looking down at 10:22. Is this really a good idea?!




It's 11:56. Almost there!




12:17. Finally made it! Oh look, the huts are closed. :(




Making it all worthwhile!

A Nice Day in Ebina

Today at the Vina Walk mall:

That's the Marui.

If you'd like to watch an amusing tour of the mall, I found this YouTube video entitled, Japanese Food TakoYaki Octopus Balls Shopping Mall Ebina Japan.

Included in the short video is a visit to the Rock Inn music store, but they seemed to have "overlooked" the most distinctive guitar. Good thing I snapped a picture!

What to do with Wikimapia

Wikimapia, listed under the "Getting Around" links, is not just another map. Note all of its interactive boxes. Hold your mouse over a boxed location, and you will discover the identity of that building or complex or park. Click on a box, and more information is often forthcoming.

Need to find another Daiso store? Type "daiso" in the search box, and you'll get a list of stores, locations, and how far they are from your current map setting. Click on one, and the map will take you there. And how about IKEA? Seek and you shall find. :)

Wikimapia is also useful for finding the answers to many "What is that?" questions. For example, navigate around Tokyo or the Yokohama port area with the view set to "satellite". It's quite handy for identifying the malls in Machida, too.

The link is preset to our local area.

Yokohama Visitors' Guide

I found another great site to add to my "Japan" links.

Yokohama Visitors' Guide is overflowing with useful information, especially for us day travellers who want to know where the malls are - er, I mean places of cultural significance.

On the subject of malls... if you click on the Attractions tab on the home page, you'll see that Yokohama is further categorized into specific regions. This is the where it gets fun. Click on an individual area, and the page will display an interactive map marked with important locations. Click on a shopping mall, for example, and you will be transported down the page to information about the mall, including a description of what is sold therein.

If that isn't enough, the site also has a fantastic web camera link on the home page. These are live images! You can select different viewing areas with the scroll bar, or choose from presets. After dark, set it for minatomirai (click "Start Control" to see the drop-down menu), and watch the ferris wheel light up, along with all the blinking lights on Landmark Tower and other large buildings. Oooh, I'm now watching one of those cruise boats with all the white lights. With the scroll bar I am following it. Neat! I sure wish I had found this website sooner. When the July fireworks (port anniversary festivities) take place, I think I'll enjoy them... from the camera, ha.

Japanese Girl's Day

March 3rd is Japanese Girl's Day (Hina matsuri). You can read more about Hina matsuri in the February 27th edition of Stripes Kanto*.

From About.com:

March 3 is Japanese Girl's Day called hina matsuri (hina doll festival) or momo no sekku (peach flower festival). A set of hina dolls wearing ancient kimono is displayed at homes of Japanese girls. An ohina-sama doll (the Empress) and an odairi-sama doll (the Emperor) are set on the top shelf. Then, sannin-kanjo dolls (three court women), gonin bayashi dolls (five court musicians), and more dolls, and hina-arare (rice crackers) and hishi-mochi (diamond shaped rice cakes) are placed on other shelves. It's the day to pray for girls' happiness and health, eating special food, such as chirashi-zushi (colorful sushi), clam soup, sakura mochi (sweet rice cakes), and more.

Excerpt. Read more at gojapan.about.com

At the Yokohama Doll Museum, the hina dolls (Girls’ Day dolls) are exhibited from February to March every year. See link for more information about the displays, hours and admission prices. From the Minato Mirai Line: 2 minutes walk from Exit #4 of Motomachi/Chuukagai Station.

* The Stripes Kanto link will automatically update to the latest edition. Expect this to occur on the Wednesday prior to the Friday publication date. If you'd like to read the article and missed the online version or the paper copy, let me know - I am now saving the online files.

Japan National Tourism Organization

What a great site!

I added it to my Japan links, along with a companion site, the Visit Japan Channel.

JTNO has a wealth of information about Japan: history, culture, travel information, attractions, shopping, and more. The site is neatly organized and a joy to navigate. Whoever designed it should organize the entire internet.

Where to start? The links on the History and Culture menu (located on the left side of their home page) lead to brief articles about unusual yet intriguing topics. For example, Japanese Colors and Shapes introduces the visitor to everything from cherry blossoms and moss, to high-rise buildings to vending machines.

Traditional Annual Events are listed by month, and an interactive map groups festivals together by regions.

There is so much more. The companion video channel (You Tube) contains beautiful, high-quality productions narrated in English, as well as fast-paced video collages of the sights and sounds of Tokyo. Have fun!