October 9, 2008

PLEASE NOTE: I HAVE INCLUDED SOME WEBSITES THAT WERE ON BROCHURES BUT I HAVE NOT ACTUALLY VISITED THESE LINKS SO DO NOT KNOW IF THEY WORK OR IF THE CONTENT IS WORTHWHILE.

This morning I got up and called Pat, Jennifer & Mom. For breakfast there were new delicacies such as octopus dumplings. I passed but did try some of the veggies. I took some photos of the many vending machines in our lobby. One sells newspapers, a cigarette machine where each pack has a number on it from 1-10. I suppose this is the strength. There was also a machine that sold beer and different kinds of liquor.

We were given these cute large plastic bags with elastic on the bottom. We need to put these over our large bag because we will not see it for two days. We packed overnight bags for our next two nights hotel stay.

One thing I forgot to mention in yesterday's diary. You are not allowed to smoke while you are walking in Japan. There are signs on the sidewalks to this effect. Every 100 yards or so there is an ashtray. If you want to smoke you must stop and have your cigarette. Yuki gave me a little portable ashtray. This is a little foil envelope that you can hold open to ash your cigarette into and then discard the butt. You can probably fit about 3 butts into it but I will save it to bring home.

The day looks great. Nice and clear. Well it is about time for me to get everything loaded up for the day's journey. Will write more later.

Well, it is the end of the day and I will likely have to write the longest diary I have ever done!

Before leaving Tokyo we stopped at the Meiji Jingu shrine. We entered the area www.meijijingu.or.jp/english/index.html

Immediately we saw the Taruzake (cask sake). It is matured in wooden casks made of Cypress. Casks are often presented to Shinto shrines as offerings. The brewer's logo is displayed prominently.

We then headed towards Mt. Fuji. www.yamanashi-kankou.jp/fujivisi I happened to be sitting in the front seat of the bus today and was really the only able to get a really good view of Mt. Fuji. I tried taking a photo through the front windshield but did not check to see if it turned out. By the time we got to the visitor's center, the mountain was covered in clouds and could not be seen. We watched a short film in the visitor center about the formation of the mountain. We also learned that the climbing season is only from July 1-August 26. Many people make the climb at night so that they can be on top for sunrise. The climb takes about 6 hours.

Mount Fuji is Japan's highest peak by far. Dormant since 1707, the volcano first erupted 8-10 thousand years ago. Its upper slopes are loose volcanic ash, devoid of greenery or streams. Until 100 years ago it was considered so sacred that it was climbed only by priests and pilgrims; women were not allowed until 1872. Today pilgrims are greatly outnumbered by recreational climbers. The top is not a single summit, but a crater rim.

We then had lunch at a place called Café de Boulogne. Unfortunately, the tables were set in groups of four and there was one table for two meaning I had to sit with Rubin. He did not say one word to me during the entire meal. After lunch we started our drive up Mt. Fuji. It is possible to drive up to the 7,560 foot of the 12,365 foot mountain. At the beginning of the drive we were told about the license plates on cars and two special emblems. One must be displayed on each car where a person has had their license less than a year. The other must be displayed on cars where the driver is older than 75.

We also saw a Doggy Park that Yuki says has 230 varieties of dogs so that people can go to see what they look lie and play with them. The best part of the drive was the foliage. As we climbed higher the orange, red and yellow leaves were as pretty as I have seen in Vermont & New Hampshire. There was a place for our bus to pull out to see the summit. This was still behind clouds but the clouds were moving quickly and finally we got our view. Not before I had taken as many photos as Dad had slides. Our last stopping point was the 5th station. This is the point where the tree line stops. I was able to get a few foliage photos but they don't depict how beautiful it really was.

We had to retrace our steps down and then set off for Hakone. This drive was spectacular as well. We went on very windy roads up and over lush pine forests and beautiful meadows filled with tall Japanese pampas grass. Along the way we stopped at a 7/11 for provisions and it was interesting trying to figure out what things were. The other important part of the trip was our lecture on the hot mineral baths at our hotel and the fact that you have to be nude. So much for the bathing suit I brought.

By the time we got to our hotel it was dark. At this hotel our names were on the door and we had to take our shoes off to enter our rooms. It will now take me several paragraphs to describe the inside. Immediately inside the door was a rack filled with different size slippers. To the right, the first door was a toilet. There was a pair of blue slippers with the words "Toilet Slippers" on them. There is a weird mechanism to flush. It took me a while to figure it out. On top of the toilet is a sink. When you flush water comes out of the faucet and into the sink and then into the toilet. I guess this is to save water. You wash your hands and then the water you used to wash fills the toilet bowl. The last thing about this small room is that the toilet seat is heated and it feels very unnatural when you sit. I will either have to figure out how to turn off that feature or get used to it.

Next there was a sliding wooden door that opened onto a raised platform covered with Mats. We were told not to walk on the seams or bindings. The only thing on the floor I this room was a low table and a wooden back with a cushion. On the wooden table was a TV guide in Japanese, a tray with a teapot, a bag of green tea and a donut. Once you stepped down off the platform, there was a carpeted area with two twin beds, a nightstand with a safe under it, two chairs and a coffee table. I have a corner room and there were three large wooden panels with opaque paper insets on the walls. These slid open to reveal large windows. I will have to wait until morning to see what the view is.

Going back to the raised platform room. There is a ledge that has a huge electric thermos with hot water in it to make the tea, a round box that contains tea cups, a telephone and a flat screen TV. Next to that is a cabinet that has cushions and more of the wooden backs. When you opened the cabinet there was a tray of items that at the time I saw them did not know what they were. More on this later. Back in the entry room there was a sink and mirror and yet another room contained a shower and very deep bath tub.

I had barely got settled when there was a knock on the door. It was housekeeping and a girl was there to help me get ready for dinner. And now for what was on the tray. There were cotton kimonos of every size. She selected the best size for me. She showed me how to put it on and then put one of the many red sashes around my waist. The tie goes on the side for women and in the front for men. There were also little jackets that could be worn.

It was now time to head to dinner. We went to a private room where there were 17 trays set up each with their own wood back and cushion.The trays contained so many items that I will have to wait until I can look at the photos to describe everything. There was a little glass of something alcoholic, a bowl of different kinds of raw fish with sauce, a plate with four little items on it depicting the four seasons, a burner with a bowl on top that had beef, water, mushrooms and assorted other things, a cute dish that had chrysanthemum flowers and walnuts (this was my favorite), a small plate that contained different varieties of Japanese pickles and I'm sure I am missing something. Then there was a man who sat in the corner and was making tempura. He prepared shrimp, fish, zucchini and green pepper. There was a little dish of sauce on our tray and a little bit of grated ginger. We were supposed to put the ginger into the sauce and then dip the tempura in. Everyone was busy using their chopsticks but I ate my entire meal with my fingers. After all of this food they brought us another covered dish. I tried it but didn't like it. The lady next to me asked what it was and was told it was fried scum. Then a bowl of white rice. Then a bowl of soup was brought out and finally the desert which was a slice of melon and a very small piece of cake.

It was the most interesting meal I have ever had and we all had fun. One other thing we noticed is that Rubin, the 85 year old Jewish man from New York has been really hitting on our guide who cannot be much more than 25.

Several of the women in our group were going to take one of the baths but I am still not over jet lag and knew I had a very long diary to write and decided I will go tomorrow.

When I arrived back to my room, the table in the middle of the platform had been moved aside and there was now a mattress on the floor. I was really excited because there was a large pillow and a great looking comforter. After discovering that I did not have the internet I began the daily diary. I just could not get it finished and decided to go to bed.

I was in shock when I got settled in to find that my "big fluffy pillow" was actually filled with perhaps pebbles or dried beans instead of feathers. Every time you moved there was a crunching noise. I got up went to one of the beds in the room and settles for the postage stamp size pillow. I was just dozing off when all of the sudden there was a tone like they have on ships when they make an announcement. A lady started speaking in Japanese and I jumped up to try to find when it was coming from. The voice was coming from a vent and I was afraid that maybe there was a fire or something. I waited to see if the announcement would be repeated in English but it was not. I then saw that there was a volume dial on the wall. I just turned it to the off position.

I am still not over my jet lag because I was awake at 3:30 a.m.