As it's the first pleasant morning in Tokyo in about a month, I must go running in about ten minutes. That settled, the story of Fuji needs to be told. Please don't be critical of poor quality and/or brevity. And Kyoto stories are on their way next time around. But for now it's FUJIYAMA, Never Again:

1300 hours 2005/06/25 -- Andy and Elizabeth leave their hostel in Kyoto on the shinkansen for Mishima. Elizabeth has read that there are buses that will take our little mountaineers to the gogome (fifth station of the mountain) and that the last bus leaves at 4:30.

1500 hours -- Andy and Elizabeth arrive at Mishima only to discover not only are there no buses leaving from Mishima, but the sole station from which there are buses at this time of year (official climbing season doesn't start until 07/01, a fact everyone Elizabeth consults for help seems to point out.) is almost exactly 180 degrees around the mountain -- a 2 hour bus ride. Andy kind of wants to throw in the towel, as does Eliz. They are exhausted from a crazy schedule in Kyoto, and kind of angry.

1602 hours -- Nevertheless, they buy tickets for the bus (no thanks to the less-than-helpful woman at the ticket window who is scornful of Elizabeth's much-improved Japanese. Rar) and settle in for forty stops accompanied by the narrations of a really endearing bus driver.

1730 hours --Andy and Eliz are the only people on the bus and are trying to psyche themselves up for the climb. They can't see the mountain from the back seats, so decide to move to the front of the bus to consult the driver regarding their surroundings. He points out Fuji's barely-discernible-because-of-the-haze sillhouette to the west and our protagonists' spirits are refreshed anew. After further chatting the bus driver become s Andy's favorite Japanese person thus far encountered. Eliz kind of agrees. He is simply lovely. Even though Andy and Eliz are the only riders, he continues to announce every stop in Japanese and also says some muddled thing over the loudspeaker every time they go around a curve in the road. It's funny.

1830 hours -- They arrive at Kawaguchiko Station. The air smells of pine and altitude, the station smells of dust and aged wood, and the mountain is beckoning. They weigh their options. The bus took a little longer than expected, but still there is plenty of time for an ascent. Andy sees a group of gaijin eating pasta nearby and decides to ask for advice. Lo and behold they, too, are planning a night ascent and need a few more bodies to pad their two taxis up to the top (to cut down on fare). Andy and Eliz are IN. They make a quick trip to the 7/11 for some water and snacks with their new friend Rob.

1930 hours -- Andy, Eliz and Rob head up to gogome in taxi number two. 4,000 yen (each) later, they arrive at gogome and meet up with taxi number one. Andy and Eliz have no map and no flashlights so they latch on like parasites. It's ok.

2030 hours -- The Ascent Begins. It's easy, and the stars are awesome.

2145 hours -- The group realizes they are on the wrong path (the caterpillar path, in fact) after being beckoned by the owner of a Yamagoya (mountain hut) at the seventh station. They quickly correct their error and, after discovering they are way ahead of schedule, decide to hang out at the seventh station for awhile. There Eliz buys coffee for 400 yen along with many Japanese hikers . . . it seems like the appropriate thing to do to fit in.

The ascent continues in this fashion (with lots of resting because the allotted time for climbing the mountain is about 4 hours and they don't want to reach the peak until 4 am) until the ninth station. It starts getting really cold.

0300 hours 2005/06/26 -- Andy, Eliz and Rob realize that the group has been resting too much. Feeling a little fresher than their co-climbers, they decide to sally forth in order to make it to the peak by 0400 hours. Thus ensues a very difficult hour of climbing. The trio's spirits are bolstered by the many many Japanese hikers (impeccably clad in mountain gear, some using walking sticks capped with tinkling bells) hiking in single file around them. Physically this climb is not difficult, but the altitude lessens the effectiveness of each breath, so the blood is pounding in Elizabeth's head and her legs are confused. Onward ho.

0400 hours -- They reach the summit! It is beautiful and cold and the air tastes sweetly of relief. Andy and Eliz and Rob have some snacks and run around taking pictures while trying to stay warm (it's right around freezing, a huge contrast from the 85ish-and-muggy weather in Kyoto that morning) There are a lot of folk at the top, many Japanese and many foreigners, doing the same. The sun kind of starts to rise but is obscured by clouds. Nevertheless, the scenery is much more diverse than Eliz had expected. Lovely.

0500 hours -- Andy, Eliz and Rob decide to hike around the crater to kill time while still waiting for their co-climbers. Owch. The crater rim is not flat. It goes up and down and up and down and our protagonists' legs are not yet refreshed. They don't make it all the way around the rim because such a trek requires a little ice-hiking, and Eliz and Rob are neither keen on this nor do they have crampons, ice picks, etc.

0600 hours -- After quasi-circumscribing the crater, Rob spots the rest of the group and thus begins the descent. One member, Grant, is in bad shape.

0700 hours -- Grant is taken to a mountain hut for water and green tea and a nap. Two other members stay with Grant. Andy starts to feel like he's come down with altitude sickness (he has a history of it), so he sprints off down the mountain with promises to meet up at the fifth station. Eliz waits with Rob for Rachael, the 7th and last member of the group, and they descend.

0730 hours -- After almost making the same mistake themselves, Rob, Rachael and Eliz realize that Andy has gone the wrong way. Given his brisk pace they decide it's best not to chase him. They hope he has the common sense to get back to Kawaguchiko station. Eliz is nervous since Andy can't speak Japanese. Our protagonists continue their descent.

It's kind of unpleasant because the sun is beating down at this point, while the volcanic rock and dust is making its way into shoes and the spaces between toes, etc. The scenery is nice, though -- the trio is above the cloud line and the ground below is lush and green and shrouded in mist.

1100 hours -- Rob, Rachael and Eliz reach gogome. There is no sign of Andy but not much they can do. Rob needs to catch the noon train to get back to Yamaguchi by night, and Rachael and Eliz feel filthy and exhausted. Suffice it to say, at this point all they care about is getting back to the station. They catch the first bus and Eliz promptly falls asleep, feeling more exhausted than ever.

1200 hours -- They reach Kawaguchiko Station and Rob sprints off to catch his train. Eliz uses Rachael's phone (hers is in the locker at the station, a locker for which Andy has the key) to try to call around looking for Andy. She is really frustrated and tired and not up to making decisions and solving problems. Eventually she gives up after Rachael leaves, buys some Milkys at the 7/11, and sits and waits for Andy.

1400 hours -- Miraculously Andy shows up after having ridden buses all around the mountain. Eliz is beside herself with relief. They buy tickets (for the wrong train -- whoops -- but they get on the right one) and begin the three hour train ride home.

And thus ends the eventful tale of our Mount Fuji climb. Needless to say, when we got home we showered and then fell asleep like babies on the floor of the living room. Exhaustion. But it was great fun. Weather-wise I think we were really lucky, and in general the chain of events that took us to the summit was pretty fortunate. Great thanks to our five co-climbers, who were all much more prepared than us. Craaazyy times.

It's nearly the longest day of the year! Bonanza. I wish that meant the hottest, too, since the thought that over the next few months the days are going to become increasingly shorter, uncomfortably humid and opressively hot is really depressing.

I love my new guitar! Now I can play maybe 5 or 6ish songs with varying certainty. It's really relaxing and I have baby callouses on my fingers. Fun.

This is the last time I'll report before having visited Mt. Fuji (and scaled it), amongst other things, those things being a trip to Kyoto (for "sightseeingz?") and more Tokyo tourism. Andy, an old Seattle-dwelling friend from high school, is coming to visit and will be my companion for these exploits.

Lastly but certainly not Leastly, Happy Father's Day dad! Have FUN!

Yesterday I had to work only a half day because I have training tomorrow, so after my easy morning I met up with Michelle and she helped me picked out a guitar in Ochanomizu. I totally* knew what I was looking for, but nonetheless we canvassed the dozen or so guitar shops within one block, asking for English speakers and testing each guitar with MicVat's own tried and true (though not to the Love Below original) marker for success; the GGGGGGGG version of Hey Ya. Don't knock it 'til you've tried it. Anyway, we ended up back at the shop with the most proficient English speaker on the block. He may or may not have been really shady, but regardless I walked out of there with a guitar (it's a Takamine, I don't know if it's good but it sounds p-r-e-t-t-y and the creator of the GGGGGGGG version of Hey Ya says it's ok), a warranty, and some free stuff including a used stand that somebody had literally just dropped off, a case, a set of strings -- maybe all that stuff is standard?! I don't know. Anyway, now I have a fun new toy.

Aoki-san, my new Japanese teacher, says I have to practice hiragana and katakana by emailing him in the alphabets and reading his corrected replies. This study is easier than I had originally thought it might be because the iBook OS provides a handy feature for toggling (so it says -- it may just be me but I had to look this word up . . . embarrassing) between scripts that allows the user to input roman letters and then choose the desired result from a list of phoenetically apt hiragana katakana and kanji. Exciting. Not that I've managed to reply to him just yet . . . it's still a slow process.

It's Japan's rainy season in full force. This is an official season, not one I've made up like frawgie season or sakura season; it actually exists, and it IS rainy and kind of miserable. But at least it's not too hot, so no complaints.

*in no way

I recently (albeit briefly) had a crisis upon realizing that I'm not very funny anymore. I laugh a lot, but I think that's only because my standards have lowered. What has happened to the days of Power Hours with Da and speculation regarding consumption of the last Miller High Life? Does this paucity of genuine humor have something to do with the fact that I have a real job and am half a globe away from the origin or such humor? Could be, could be. Fortunately, a recent dose of Will Ferrel infused cinematic experiences just may be the key to resurrecting my keen* sense of all things funny.

In addition to enjoying the comedic stylings of Will F., recently I've been running again with quasi-regularity, which feels awesome. I've also recently been working maybe too much -- yesterday, usually of my weekend days, was spent teaching at Tachikawa for a friend who in turn will work for me when I'm in Kyoto in two weeks. In addition to working, more recently I've explored the Asagaya Jazz Bar scene. And even more recently I've contemplated the presence of a woman who smelled distinctly like a man on the Women-Only Keio Line train car. And most recently (today) I've scampered all around town to the tune of a trip to the city office and then the Koban to get fingerprinted for bike registration (really!), too many hours at the Mac store in Ginza, even more time reading my second Haruki Murakami novel on the subway and a trip to Tokyu Hands in Shibuya. Wao. The only thing I didn't do was the one thing I really wanted to do, which was buy a guitar in Ochanomizu. Maybe next Tuesday? I'm going to learn!

Feel Good Inc., by the Gorillaz, has been dancing on my eardrums all week. That plus Gypsy Death and You, The Kills; Scar, Missy Higgins; Fit But You Know It, The Streets; and Ruin My Day, Jon Brion,** comprise a large portion of my listening as of the latest late. Hurrah for a fixed iPod.

*asterisk for the sake of an asterisk
** list for the sake of a list

With the flooding of the rice paddies comes the croaking of the frogs. I guess it's that season, if such a season exists. I think it's probably much like sakura season, minus the boxed wine and the piles of trash and everything else except the word Season. I like it -- croaking frogs provide for good runnin' background music. Not that I am really runnin' a whole lot lately . . . too much Tokyo in my veins. But I'm trying.

p.s. Happy Graduation to my cousin Sarah!

p.p.s. Happy Broadway to my brother, who once started a blog and filled it with youthful idealism and then abandoned it and went on to other things like Broadway. Not that I really care . . . I mean, nobody really likes Broadway anyway. Something especially despicable and broadway related is that song On Broadway by The Drifters . . . as if anyone actually catches a Greyhound bus for home, they all say. I hope that Barry Manilow has done of a cover of On Broadway at some point in his career. If not, maybe he'll do one upon reading this post after googling his name + broadway (which he probably does most nights. You too can try it: "Barry Manilow" + Broadway!). Woah, my blog is nowhere to be found . . . but there is a reference to "Give My Regards To Broadway," so I guess Barry has already tapped into the Broadway-as-song-feature market. Anyway, did I mention that my brother is now employed on Broadway? Well, he is. Whatever.