Blogs from Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan, Asia

Not too exciting, since I visit Mt. Takao all the time, but I went last year to see the autumn foliage and wanted to make sure I went this year, too. Originally I had planned to go with Jocelyn, but she ended up bailing so I was sort of at a loss when I would take my trip when my friend Kelly said she was going the very day I was scheduled to go with another friend, Rie. Must have been fate!! Therefore, the three of us ended up traveling together and had a very wonderful time seeing the colors, eating dango, and buying good luck charms at the temple on our trip. ... read more

After my last hike along the Mt. Jinba trail, in which I only made it over 2 mountains, I decided to go back today and see if I could tackle more! Of course, as per the euge, the weather on my "weekends" is terrifically awful, but I didn't let that stop me. I set out early this morning eager to see what I could with the admittedly crappy weather - overcast and rainy, though still very warm, which was nice. I ended up getting to Mt. Takao at about 10 AM, and wanted to take the longer trail I'd taken back in November, but opted instead for the Biwa Trail I took last time. I must have been bookin' it, because I made it to the summit in under an hour. The clouds were hanging VERY ... read more

Takaosan (Mount Takao) is a sacred mountain less than an hour away from Shinjuku. The Yakuoin temple and Shinto shrines on Takaosan are dedicated to good fortune. I guess that you can imagine what that means for a visit on a weekend in these difficult times. We visited twice; the first time we had little time to spend and went up by cable car; the second time I went alone and hiked through the woods over the trails to the top of the mountain which was preferable. Both visits the fog in the distance covered the view of Mt Fuji. The Yakuoin temple and shrine areas are beautiful but packed with visitors even during the week. I hiked up the Inariyama trail and passed all the other hikers by going my own speed, most of the ... read more

Hello Everyone! Today was my first full day in Japan. I am staying with a friend in Hino, Tokyo, Japan, until my orientation for school begins. My friend took me around Hino, where I ate some green tea icecream and checked out a shrine. Afterwards we did a little bit of 'eyeshopping' to pass the time. She also took to me to a tech store to get some stuff for my computer and there I learned how considerate and honest the Japanese people can be. They handled my computer with serious care and did their best to find the part, in the end they did have something that could help me out, but they said that it would be better to go elsewhere because their price for the part was a bit expensive and it would ... read more