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Published: August 9th 2005
pregame
Chris, myself, & Gordon...getting up the nerve to go sing...Welcome back! It is dumping buckets upon buckets of rain outside as I sit here to begin this blog. This is only 2nd time that we have had rain and just like the saying goes: when it rains...it pours...a lot. Since I last posted it has been no less a whirlwind of events to the most extreme degree.
Last Tuesday, Brent, Gordon, and myself headed to Kichijoji to pick up our mate Chris Adams at the bus station. After a 13 hour flight, a 2+ hour bus ride, and an hour wait he was glad to see some familiar faces. We basically shuttled him home, cleaned him up, and headed right back out to see some of Tokyo's finest nightlife. Chris was feeling hungry and as was I, so we decided to hit up a local eatery to fuel up...can anyone guess what Chris' first meal in Tokyo, Japan was?...here's a hint: McDonald's! I didn't complain...I ordered my first Big Mac meal in a foreign country...too bad the poor girl serving us thought I said 8 Big Mac Meals and rang it up as 3,000 yen (around 30 bucks)! After a pretty good Big Mac and full stomachs we walked
Brent Sing
Brent giving a stunning rendition of Tag Team's "Whoomp...There it is!" around the Kichijoji area taking in the sites. We made our way into an Izakiya (Japanese Pub...I know I spelled it wrong too!) for a quick drink to celebrate our homeboy's arrival. As we were sipping on some Asahi Dry's, our waiter brought over 4 little dishes to our table. None of us remembered ordering anything except the beers. He explained to us in broken English that these were "gifts". "Gifts"?...Huh...so we took a gander into the bowls...it looked pretty much like large snail shells with a big snail hanging out. Brent and I dared each other and went first...tasted like cold rubber...cold salty-sea-water rubber. Gordon followed suit and Chris just pushed his bowl forward. No as bad as I thought it would have been. Unfortunately none of us had our cameras for this momentous occasion! So, you will just have to close your eyes and just picture the scene. Jet-lag seemed to be creeping in on Chris, plus we had work tomorrow...so we rolled back to the house and got some rest.
After a full day's work and a full day of roaming the streets Tokyo, the crew decided it would be in our best interest to induldge
Gordon Sing
Gordon...a little Stone Temple Pilots...solid face... in some Japanese culture for the evening: Karaoke. I haven't sung in front of people since I was in chorus back in high school. Luckily we would later find ot we were in private Karaoke rooms...perfect for the onslaught of butchered songs. The four of us hit up a local watering hole for a pre-sing drink. After that...there was no turning back. We had some help in finding a good place to make donkeys out of ourselves...2 girlies from work that Brent and Gordon having been talking to. They showed us the door...all we had to was walk through it. After we all had a song under our belts, there was a mad dash for the microphone each time a song ended. It was a blast. The pictures should do it some justice. Needless to say, I think we scared one of the girls off because she left after 2 songs. Highlights included: Gordon...U2's Beautiful Day....Me...Incubus' Wish You Were Here...Chris...Green Day's Basket Case...Brent...Tag Team's Whoomp There It Is. Other funny sights: Chris and his rendition of Metallica's Enter Sandman...Me constantly standing on the bench during Beastie Boys Fight For Yor Right...Brent & Gordon and Madonna's Ray of Light...Gordon ending the
Johnny Sing
Me...standing on the couch...trying to do my best Eddie Vedder for Pearl Jam's "Alive"...pretty sad... night with a Marilyn Manson song...pure insanity. I can see why the Japanese love Karaoke. It is blast to get in front of your friends and let your inhibitions down and belt out songs you have been secretly singing in your car or the shower. It is 100% pure fun! We have already figured in one more visit to Karaoke before we all spilt and og our separate ways. Again...time was not on our side...we head home to re-charge the batteries and to get ready to do it all over again tomorrow.
With the climb of Fuji-san looming in the distance, we all decided to lay low on Thursday to save energy for what lay ahead. Chris, Brent, myself decided to hit some food and do a little Pachinko. Yes...you heard right...Pachinko. Never heard of Pachinko? Pachinko is large craze in Japan...moreso than Karaoke...believe it or not. There Pachinko Parlors all over Japan. The are 2 right when you step off the train in Higashi-Kogeni (our area). Pachinko is basically a giant pinball machine in which you try to score a lot of points to gain more steel pachinko balls. Score enough steel balls...win some cash...pretty much gambling. Pachinkon
Chris Sing
Chris...the Karaoke menu...sillyness...switched at birth? Parlors are really loud and really smoke filled...just like casinos in the states! Within 5 minutes, my man Brent was down 1,000 yen (around 10 bucks) so he called it a night. Chris and I stuck with it to see what kind of damge we could do to this place. 10 minutes after Brent left, Chris and I were finished. We took our "winnings" to the attendant...who seemed like he was laughing at us...and he counted our steel balls...total damge: 700. What did that get us? 8 boxes of Koala cookies. No cash. No gold. No fame. On the brightside, the cookies are very good! At least we know not to go back to Pachinko...Pachinko = Lose Money Fast! Thursday was in the books...bring on Fuji!
As soon as I opened my eyes Friday morning I knew it was going to be a full-on long day...the last day of our first session here at Day Camp and Mt. Fuji loomed in the distance. The actual camp day was rather interesting. On the last day of camp, they invite all of the campers families and friends to observe a typical camp day. Every class that came in to active games
Pachinko 1
Brent & Chris trying to figure out how the Pachinko Machines work... has an average of 18 kids...on this day each kid had at least 1 family member...sometimes as many as 6! They parents and families watched very intently at everything their child did...with cameras flashing and vid-cams rolling they documented everything! It was a little stressful early on...but once I got into a groove everything flowed smooth. After we shipped the kids off...the camp director and her husband treated the staff to a nice bar-b-q. Chris was able to attend and score a free dinner for himself...plus he got to see us in action at camp. As soon as the time for departure neared, we loaded a bus and headed off for night climb up Fuji-san.
We arrived at the 5th station of Mt. Fuji's base and geared-up to get ready. Aside from myself, Brent, Chris, and Gordon there were about 19 other people from Summer Day Camp attempting the climb along with us. I could already start to feel the adrenaline flow through me as we stretched and took "before" pictures. I was ready for this...I just didnt really know what to expect...yet. The group shoved off at around 9:30pm full of laughs and jokes...mostly thanks to the antics
Pachinko 2
Chris & I...we're losing...badly...why are we smiling? Sill no clue how this game works... of Gordon, Brent, Chris, and myself. As we cruised along the early path of Fuji-san, I could tell we were in for an adventure any way you put it. About 25 minutes into the climb things started to get real. The group of 23 people slowly started to break into groups...just like in the Tour De France...you had a Lead Group...A few Chase groups...and of course a Peleton. Our foursome were right up in the lead group. But this was in no way, shape, or form a race. We even all agreed that we didnt have to prove any type of masculinity to each other. But we were racing one thing: daylight. We wanted to summit Fuji with enough time to get ready for viewing the sunrise. It is tough to describe what the trail was like because it varied from section to section. All of it was switchbacks...and the grade varied from hilly to full on STEEP! Plus all you could really see in front of you was whatever your light on your head covered. I was expecting a challenge...but nothing like this.
When we made it to our first rest area one thing was VERY clear: Climbing
Fuji Pre-Climb
This is right before we set out for the climb. Look at those fresh & smiling faces. Ready for anything... this was going to be a real test. Physically, Mentally, and even Spiritually. The joking & talking had drifted to almost silence to conserve energy for the next section. I slid my one earphone on and turned on my IPod to get some tunes flowing in my head. All along the trail up Fuji we were passing loads of tour groups slowly trekking up the same path. I think I said the phrase "Sumi-ma-sen" (excuse me) like one million times as we squeezed by them on the narrow trail. I soon found myself falling into a pattern of: planting my stick, grabbing the guide rope, move right leg, move left leg. Multiply that by a zillion and add a pretty gnarly pace...it was taxing to say the least. Our lead group began making frequent water, snack, and rest breaks to save energy for the final push to the summit. Nearly 3/4 of the way up I downed a bowl of noodles and a box of Koala cookies (hmmmmm...maybe we did win at Pachinko?). We couldn't stop too long for fear of cramping, tightening muscles, and just the plain fact that it was getting cold real fast.
I could write
Fuji Mid-Way
1/2 way there...smiles have changed a little. Still we having a blast. Who knows what time it is! a novel on this night alone. The one thing I am thankful for is that I was climbing with 3 of my brothers. We all had each others backs and we were constantly there to push each other or to wait for the other. We worked together to summit Fuji. When we reached the final 2 sections of the climb, we pushed our hardest. These 2 sections, to say the least, were by far the most difficult of the entire climb. We all were literally climbing with all fours on the ground up and around rocks. Once we finished the sections, we all sat and let out a sigh..."are we at the top?" one of us said. "Yup, this is it" answered a voice in the dark. Relief...pure relief and satisfaction filled my brain. We did it. We climbed Fuij. It was around 3 am. Not too bad. We shedded our sweaty and cold clothes for some warmer gear. Took some pictures and then just waited for the sun to come up. Of course there were vendors hocking Fuji goods...I bought a T-Shirt...anyone shocked? It says "Top of Mt. Fuji" on it. Sweet.
At around 4:15am, light began to
Fuji Summit
At the TOP! We conquered Fuji-san! Around 3am. From left clockwise: Brent, Gordon, Chris, Myself, & Ben (15 year old...headmaster's son) show across the clouds. I was having trouble just taking in the moment. It was amazing. It was one of the most real and at the same time surreal sunrises I have ever experienced. Here I was, Japan, welcoming the day to the world. How do you put those feelings into words? Look at the pictures...I hope they do it some justice or evoke some feeling of warmth in you.
When we got our fill of the top of Fuji, we decided to begin our trek down. You know the saying "Everything that goes up must come down"? Well, that is the saying that was on repeat for me the entire way down. I then realized that climbing to the summit of Mt. Fuji is only 1/2 of the experience...and to get the full appreciation for what you just did you have to slide, slip, and almost fall down it! Around 12:30pm we made it back to our house. Exhausted I showered, ate some food, and then laid down in bed for a loooooooong sleep. I woke up around 8pm to east some dinner...but eventually passed back out for good around 10:30pm. The old Japanese saying goes like this...I
Food TIME!
Myself & Chris gettin our eat on...plus we needed to get warm. The sun was just about to start peeking out along the horizon... think...: "You are wise to climb Fuji once...A fool to climb it twice." They did not have Brent in mind when they came up with that saying. My man destroyed Fuji for the 2nd time! As we were heading down home we all started laughing and joking again. Gordon even started a round of "What is the minimum amount of money that it would take you to do that again right away?"....my answer: One million without blinking. Honestly I am still trying to wrap my head around the climb. I am proud of myself for doing it. I am proud of all my homies who did it with me.
Sunday was almost as action packed as Friday. Although I was pretty sore from what Fuji had just done to me, I still wanted Chris to experience more of Tokyo. Brent, Gordon, Chris, and Myself ventured to Harajuku to view...you guessed it...Harajuku Girls for Chris. It was blazingly hot out...one of the hottest days I think since I landed in Japan. Hot = Not a lot of Harajuku girls...don't get me wrong...they were still there...but not as many as we would of liked. We did some fun souvenier shopping...did I
Sunrise
Here comes the sun... spell that right? Then Chris and I split with Gordon and Brent and headed towards Jingu Stadium for a Baseball Game. Brent and Gordon headed back to our neighborhood for a "Matsuri" festival.
Once Chris and I navigated the Metros and Subway lines of Tokyo we found ourselves in front of Jingu Stadium. The game was the Yakult Swallows versus the Yamamuri Giants (who are like the Yankees of Japan)...so needless to say it was a pretty big game. We made our way to our seats and got our souveniers...especially our clappers...essential for any Japanese ballgame. I wont go into too much detail because baseball is baseball...no matter how you slice it. There are differences though: the fans. They love their teams. They chant for their teams. They cheer for their teams. Non-stop cheering and songs. It is awesome and it is lacking in American sports I feel. I notice it in European Soccer games, Rugby matches, and Japanese Baseball & Soccer. Chris and I did however do our best to bring America to this ballpark. Example: Heckling the umps and Standing up for huge high 5's when a run was scored. We got some real funny looks...but the
Sunrise 2
...c'mon...c'mon... looks were all attatched to smiles. All in all it was definitly worth the trip. Especially for the noodles and tempura!
For Chris' last night in Tokyo we took him to Shibuya for a cool dinner: Shabu Shabu. Brent had been raving about going to one for awhile and we figured the best time would be now. It is basically a fondu/melting pot type of place. All-You-Can-Eat-All-You-Can-Cook for 90 minutes for around 2000 Yen. Hopefully the pictures do it justice. We lasted about 60 minutes before we hit a wall a fullness. Paid our check and took to the streets of Shibuya. Lots of lights, stores, cars, and of course people. Every type of fashion you can think of...they have it here is Tokyo and even some you would not even expect.
Chris took off early this morning for his flight home. With all the activity and madness it seemed like he had just got here. He left with a TON of goodies for his family and friends. It was good to have him out here.
Well, I am over 1/2 way done my stint here in Japan...but there is still a good amount to see and
Sunrise 3
Hopefully you can understand why it is hard to put something like this into words...it just wouldn't do it justice... do. I just found out that Burton Snowboards has an office here in Tokyo...Shibuya actually...and I am going to try and hunt it down and see what the deal is! I know...I know...I'm a nerd. As always, thank you to everyone who drops me comments...they are the best...and they all put smiles on my face. I hope everyone is doing well. Take care of yourselves. Enjoy these last few weeks of summer. Until next time...
Your Boy-yo in Tok-yo
Johnny
Shabu-Shabu...
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Barbie
non-member comment
Impressive!
Wow! What a week! Mt. Fuji is beautiful! I'm glad you are having a great time and buying all those tee shirts! We miss you lots...Love Barb, Ken, Sarah (at Grammy camp), Ashley and Stephen.