Journey to Japan, Third and final part

Days 4, 5, 6, and 7

Hurrying things along a bit: The second half of our trip, we based on day trips around Yokosuka. This was both for economical reasons and for sanity.  I initially had us staying at 2 or 3 other hotels and visiting 2 or 3 more towns, until I calculated the cost and trouble of transporting us and our luggage all around the countryside.  Staying at a home allowed us to relax, as well as have a great visit with a great and generous friend. It’s fun to visit a foreign place as a tourist, but it is more meaningful to visit a foreign country to reconnect with friends.

To make things even better, our friend wanted to climb Mt. Fuji with us, which was to be the highlight of the next part of our trip, if not one of our biggest reasons for coming to Japan. Our itinerary was arranged around it.  And since our friend had a car and had friends with cars willing to help transport us, planning was simplified, although because of tolls and gas, driving is no less expensive in Japan than taking public transportation.

Many people traditionally hike Mt. Fuji through the night and plan to make the summit in time for sunrise.  My husband and older boys really wanted to do this. They had heard people tell about looking back at a trail of lights coming up the mountain and of the glory of witnessing the sky lighting up from the top of a dormant volcano.  I had heard stories of altitude sickness, hypothermia, rain, and spending lots of money to sleep on a floormat and use the toilet.  (see video)

I made most of the choices about this trip, so in the interest of wifely submission, and because I started to catch their excitement and false hope, I caved in on climbing at night.  Friday morning we woke up, had breakfast, saw a bit of Yokosuka and headed into the base to rent rain gear for our hike, on the advice of our friend, and to buy energy snacks at the commissary. We also had to get the 6 year old new tennis because she was getting blisters, and we bought a few more headlamps and some fancy insulated socks. We loaded up on Powerbars, energy gels, and even bought a few 5 Hour Energy shots for when we were really desperate. A sadsack guy asked us what we were shopping for and then told us his sorry tale of failing to summit the mountain in the day.  He filled the kids’ heads with visions of dizziness, nausea, frozen toes and bleeding blisters. Not the kind of images we were needing.

We then were supposed to take afternoon naps to prepare to hike the mountain through the night, but you can guess how that went. Everyone was too excited to sleep much, although after 3 days of walking around Tokyo and then hoofing a load of groceries and rain gear across Yokosuka, lying down felt really good.

After a carb load of pasta for an early supper, we loaded our packs and stuffed into the tiny Japanese vehicles driven by our new friends, and headed to Fuji, about 2 hours away. At the bottom of the mountain, you get on a shuttle that takes you 7 miles up to the 5^th station, a little building with snacks and souvenirs, including the iconic hiking sticks, which my oldest bought. From there, you have about 6 miles to climb, which is supposed to take 5-6 hours.  

We distributed the energy food, donned our rain gear, and started off in high spirits, praying the gray clouds we’d seen on our drive would dissipate.  About 100m into the hike, the 6 year old asked when we were going to stop going up steps. You could still see the glow of the station behind us. Before too much longer the 8 year old announced he wanted to go to sleep.  Then the 10 year old was too hot with all her gear on.  So we stopped and ate some energy food. About the time we finally had settled into a comfortable, forward moving trudge, it started to rain, just a drizzle at first. By the time we reached the sixth station and stopped to go to the bathroom, the rest of our group had moved forward. We told them we’d meet up with them at the end of the climb and wished them well.

For about an hour more we hiked on. The rain picked up, and the wind blew harder as the trees became sparser. Finally, sometime after midnight, after my husband had tried carrying my daughter part of the way, and I had told two or three stories with the message of “Keep moving, one foot in front of the other,” we decided to turn back. We could see the lights ahead for another station house, but couldn’t see any value in going up any further. 

As we hiked down we got a little disoriented because the trail was covered in a rivulet of water from all the rain. As we slowly picked our way among the rocks, hiker after hiker passed us in the same direction, all giving up on making it to the summit. Even a platoon of Japanese Army guys marched past us.

Just before we arrived at the fifth station again, our older boys and friend caught up with us. Our friend who had been staying with them decided they all needed to turn around about an hour after we did. They were angry and disappointed because they wanted to keep going. I tried to give them encouraging words, like “At least you climbed part of Fuji. Many people don’t even do that,” but that just made everyone gloomier. 

We huddled in the station house bathroom with some other Japanese and some Australians who had come to Japan just to climb the mountain.  At least we still had plenty of energy food and water in our camelbacks. The shuttle bus wasn't due to start running for another 3 or 4 hours, so the station workers were allowing taxis to come and pick people up. We thought about walking down to the parking lot, but our friend decided to see if he could drive his car up, so he ran the 12 km down to the parking lot and snuck past a gesticulating guard, saying “I don’t understand!”  We were thrilled to see him after shivering in our soaked gear for almost 2 hours in the bathroom.  The kids crammed into his vehicle, and my husband and I started to trot down the mountain, shedding layers of wet clothing as the rain stopped, the winds died down, and the sun started to brighten the sky.  

It remained cloudy, but the rain was gone by sunrise.  I began to resent my decision to cave to my husband, and to resent him for being so optimistic.  He kept saying stuff like “At least we learned something.” and “We’ve had a memorable experience,” until the lack of sleep and disappointment got to me, and I cracked: “Just admit you were wrong!” Which he did. Which means now I forgive him for it, and agree that it was a memorable experience. 

A dry shirt, and a hot cup of coffee and a funny breakfast at the Japanese Denny’s restored my good humor. Or maybe it was the natto and eggs I had. Natto are fermented soybeans, which although  coated in a mucouslike substance, have a healthful nutty taste.

Restored with caffeine, after a long chatty and scenic drive back, we devoted the rest of Saturday to taking a nap and washing wet gear at the Laundromat.  We were going to try to visit the onsen nearby, but decided to go to Saturday Mass and ran out of time. Unfortunately the 8 year old was down with a fever, which I suspect was caused by an aggravated ear infection, so the rest of the group changed for Mass at the base. They caught up with some friends we didn’t know were already at the base, so they all went together to Kurihama for a fireworks display in honor of Admiral Perry and his black ships opening the Japanese harbor to foreign trade in the middle of the 19^th century. All agreed it was a great show, and I thoroughly enjoyed the three or four hours I had to myself in the quiet house.

The sick child was miraculously cured after 20 hours or so of sleep, so Sunday we could resume our touring.  Although I was ready to claim the traveler’s/ill person attendant dispensation, I dashed off to early Mass out of guilt before everyone was up, and ended up feeling I had had a message from the Holy Spirit because the priest, who seemed to be looking directly at me the entire Mass, gave an excellent homily about letting go of anxiety and fretfulness, which are all based on fear, which can be good when temporary but not when chronic.  He quoted Merton and Aquinas, and used apt metaphors and anecdotes, proving he was a scholar and a good preacher without being showy, if that makes sense.  Wish he would come to our base.

After that moment of grace, we had a great day visiting Yokohama, Japan’s second largest city, which also has plenty to see.  We got a peek into the art museum, and had lunch and an amusing tour of the Cupnoodles Museum. The restaurant at the Cupnoodles museum featured noodles from around the world, so we all tried different types. The Italian pasta was a little sweet but pleased the picky 8 year old. I loved the Vietnamese Pho, and one of the boys got a spicy Malaysian bowl that was a hit with everyone. We spent so much time we had to renege on the promise of taking a ferry ride, and take the train back. But we still had time to ride carnie rides (I was fun mom since we failed to climb the mountain) and watch some street performers, and try some shou paio in Chinatown.

We were on a schedule because we were meeting some other friends we had known in Virginia 5 years ago.  We were still embarrassingly late to their house, but no one minded, and we had a relaxing evening catching up and sampling varieties of sake, including my favorite, yuzu, which tastes a little like the citrus flavor of Fresca. Although we haven’t often been able to take advantage of it, we enjoyed the military perk of having friends all around the world. I have to admit I’d be happy to exchange duty stations with them. The day rated as one of the favorite with the kids.

Our final day was also a good one – a trip to Kamakura, which is a smaller town with many temples and a very large Buddha statue.  It also has lots and lots of cute shops and restaurants – more inviting than the large glitzy shops in Tokyo, if also a little touristy, where we found few small gifts for family and friends. We wished we had more time and more cash.

Hurried back to base to catch the shuttle bus back to the airport (another benefit of staying close to the Navy base).  I thought we’d have enough time to go into the town of Narita where there is another shrine and a street of shops with restaurants selling eel on a stick. But once we checked in our bags at the airport and went down to get the train from the airport into town, the kids rebelled. They just wanted to stay at the airport, even though we had over 3 hours to wait because of the timing of the (free) shuttle.  So we found a sushi train restaurant to eat at, and then went to get more snacks at another little shop because the sushi was mostly squid and sashimi that didn’t fill us up.  Then we checked out every wing of the Narita airport, including my happy little origami museum and another colorful art gallery space (truly a nice airport to get stuck in), before checking in for our 9 pm flight. 

We were all exhausted when we boarded the plane. This time I brought my oldest son up into first class as my guest, and instead of sleeping, he took advantage of the perks of first class to order soft drinks and enjoy his fancy dinner. I’m debating whether the upgrade might be worth the price.

Seeing all the Japanese on the plane, I wondered what could draw them from their lovely country with all its variety, to the little island of Guam. Snorkeling? Discount shopping? A cheap wedding?  I imagine they all return to Japan from their vacation here happy to be home.

And I was happy to back in our own comfortable bed in the wee hours of the morning. I loved our trip, even if the younger kids weren’t as impressed as I was with Japan.  Since returning I’ve been digesting Donald Keene’s The Aesthetics of Japan and I also finished Sawako Ariyoshi’s The River Ki on the flight, which is set during the transformative Meiji period near Osaka, an area we didn’t come close to. Both books only heighten my appreciation for the clean lines and awareness of beauty and impermanence in Japanese art and literature. I want to read some LafcadioHearn, who helped to introduce Japanese literature and art to the European world at the turn of the 20^th century.  I’d still like to learn some Kanji. The world is so full of a number of things…

The house where we staid in Yokosuka

Yokosuka seems to welcome Americans

Excited to be real mountain climbers.

Geared up and ready to go.

Still smiling but soaked to the skin. 

Fuji from afar.

Some legends of Mt. Fuji here.

Statue by Nara at the Yokohama Museum of Art.

Fun Capoeira exhibition in Yokohama former drydock.

Yahoo! Kiddie Coaster!

Super swings.

Fun at the Cupnoodle Museum.

World of Noodles restaurant.

Did you know cupnoodles came in so many varieties.

The inventor of cupnoodles, Momofuku Ando, is quite the inspiration

Would you like some noodles?

Noodle art

Talented balancing act.

And even the manhole covers are artful.

Yokohama

Landmark Tower in Yokohama, another tall building
with world's fastest elevator, which we didn't ride

Even Japanese children like to play in fountains.

Time for frisbee while someone seeks a toilet.

Shopping China town.

Why is the Bocca Della Verita in Kamakura?

Kamakura buddha

Buddha says thanks for the watermelon and flowers. 

Buddha's sandals.

Inside Buddha. Cool.

Even the gravel is swept in Japan.

Plastic food.

Another temple.

Yum! Friendly lunch place with Japanese/French/Italian fusion food.

Goodbye Kamakura

Yokosuka

What happens with multiple cameras at work.

Thanks, Japan!

Shopping in Narita airport

Goodbye Japan.