The Mountain and the Ancient City

---

It's a very hot Sunday in Japan and I am writing from an internet cafe right next to Kyoto Station. It's my second day inh this amazing city and I am having a wonderful time. But before I tell you about the ancient capital, I'll talk a bit abut what I have been up to earlier this week.

After coming back from Ishinomaki, I just needed to chill out for a bit. I stayed in Tokyo at my friend Keiko's for a few nights and had a great time with her and her family. Her and her parents actually managed to explain the rules of baseball to me, as the high school championship is going on in Japan right now and the games are on everywhere you go (including Keiko's living room!). It was a lot of fun. One of the day's Keiko and I were dressed in Yukata (the Japanese summer kimono) and went to her neighborhood's festival. It was such an interesting experience. I felt really beautiful, but it was also very hard to walk and quite hot!

Before leaving Tokyo for good, I went to Kamakura for a day. I met up with two friends that I had met in Ishinomaki and we spent the day sightseeing there. Kamakura is a really nice place, with lots of old temples and most importantly: a giant Daibatsu (a giant staue of Budda). It was very awe-inspiring to see the enormous statue. We stayed the whole day in Kamakura and in the evening there was a festival at one of the temples, with tradtional dancing and the lighting up of many painted lanters. Overall, it was a great day.

On Wednesday I left Tokyo to go and climb Mount Fuji, Japan's highest mountain. It's 3776 meters high. There is a saying in Japan that everyone should climb Fuji-San at least once in their lives, so I figured I better do it now! I climbed the mountain at night in order to see the sunrise from the top. I started around 7pm and took lots of short breaks. It went quite well, I think. Climbing in the dark was a bit akward, but thanks to my mom's (or better, her boyfriend's) flash light, I was all right. The only problem was the cold. It's really hard to imagine that there could be a place so cold when you have 35 degrees anywhere else during the day. But because of the altitude, it gets really cold on the mountain. I though I was prepared, bringing lots of layers, and while I was climbing, I was totally fine. But once I got to the top at 2.30am (sunrise was not till 4.30-ish) and there was nowhere else to climb, I got really really cold. Luckily there are small restaurants on top of the mountain (no, I' not kidding. There were vending machines, too), which openend at 3am, so it wasn't too bad. I spend the rest of the time till sunrise right next to a warm fire, talking to my fellow climbers. The sunrise itself was magnificent. You will have to see the pictures to know what I mean, but let's just say it was gorgeous. There are lakes all around Mt Fuji and seeing the red light reflected in them was just beautiful. The climb down was more painful than the way up, I think. I was really steep and slippery and my knees were absolutely killing me after 30 minutes or so. But I made it down and so I now can say that I climbed Fuji-San, which does feel like quite an accomplishment.

After not sleeping the previous night and traveling to Osaka all day on Thursday, I felt like a zombie by the time I arrived at Osaka Station in the evening. However, once I met my host in Osaka, I quickly got some more energy, because she is soooo energetic herself. Sayaka was a great host and we just clicked instantly. She is a lot of fun and we are definitely on the same wavelengths. She had to work on Friday, but we spent Friday night together, along with one of her friends, which was very enjoyable. We went to a great restaurant and I got to try many different dishes typical for Osaka. It was delicious! Afterwards we went for karaoke, which is always fun. During the day I went to see Osaka castle and visited one of the main temples, Shitenno-ji. Since this week is O-bon in Japan (where the ancestors are being honored and remembered) there was a lot of activity going on at the temple, which was really interesting to observe. Monks chanting and singing prayers, people writing the names of their ancestores on thin pieces of wood to be blessed and burned and much more. After that I went to Osaka Bay area, which was great. I went on the giant ferris wheel and had some great views over the city. I also went into Osaka Aquarium and that was just awesome. I had a really great time. They have lots of different kinds of animals there, including dolphins, sea lions, huge rays and an enormous whale shark. There was also a section where you could pet some small sharks and rays, which was incredible. Their skin ranged from slippery and soft to tough and bumpy. Really cool. One of the funniest things is Osaka is that people stand on the opposite side on the escalators than they do in Tokyo. That's so weird! Sayaka told me that eventually, as you go further South, people switch sides again! Haha, I thought that was really perculiar and funny. In Kyoto people don't seem to be able to make up their mind, with some people standing on one side, and some on the other. Maybe this place is the tipping point before things switch around again for sure???

On Saturday morning I travelled to Kyoto and have been here eversince. I spent all day sightseeing yestersay and today. The city is incredible. I think this is my favorite place in Japan so far. Everything is so old. Kyoto was not bombed during WWII and it's houses and temples are therefore much older than anywhere else in Japan. There are hundreds of temples and shrines in the city and my to-do-list is very long. I reaqlly enjoy seeing the different building styles and types or shrines/temples. The range from crowded, noisy and colorful to tranquile (some with beautiful Japanese gardens), quiet and peaceful. I love seeing them all. I will be in Kyoto untill Wednesday morning and still have lots of places to visit. I can't wait!

---