Fujisan! Fujisan!

We did it! We finally saw Mt. Fuji yesterday. It was spectacular. We took a bus up to 5th station at 3000 meters. There are a series of 10 stations along the route ascending Fuji. We think 5th station is about 700 meters from the summit.



The bus ride up was hair raising. But at some point, we turned a bend and had a great view down the side of the mountain and, for the first time, realized we were above the clouds. Not long after, we looked up and were finally able to see the summit of Fuji for the first time. It was beautiful.



It was damn cold at the 5th station but we had a great view and took loads of photos. We stayed for about an hour, had a cup of coffee and then boarded the bus back down.

When we arrived back at the bus stop, I looked in the direction of Fuji, and there it was! It was the first time we had seen it from the ground. Our stay at Fuji had been plagued by clouds and fog. But now, there it was towering over us. It was only visible for about half an hour.



This has been the highlight of the trip for me so far. I am really regretting not having the chance to climb to the summit however. After having been up there, we could have done it yesterday but just didn't have our act together in time. We are considering extending our stay in Japan so perhaps I will have another shot.

Mmm...mountains

Tokyo has been our home for the past four days...and we were definitely bummed and tentative about leaving. But, now we are in Kawaguchiko - which is where Mt. Fuji is located...and we both agree its an amazing and welcomed change. When we were in Tokyo, we were in a hotel - just the two of us. This was a great first step into a new country. But, now we are at this awesome hostel called K's House. Its really fun to interact with and meet new people - esepecially other travelers. Also, I have to say - this is the nicest, and cleanest hostel I've ever been to. We got here in late afternoon, went to the grocery store...cooked up a big meal in the hostel's kitchen...and now have been chatting, drinking beers, and playing cards with some of our new friends.

Mainly though - we are just in awe of how absolutely beautiful it is here. We left the bright lights, big city - for a teeny mountain town. Its definitely a striking change - but its also a lot more me (especially since this time of year, i would normally be in Killington anyway!)

We are surrounded on all sides by mountains. The train ride from Tokyo was absolutely awesome... Tucker probably took 100 photos of the mountains before we even got off the train.
The weather isn't the greatest. Its very foggy and cold. And, in fact we are strongly discouraged to climb the mountain at this time of year. However, we are still praying the clouds clear up so we can at least really SEE the mountain. ALL the mountains here are beautiful...but we came to see Mt. Fuji. So, hopefully - we get to do just that.

Japanese Breakfast!

UPDATE: This was supposed to be a video but Picasa F'd us. Here's the link: Click here to see us eating a homemade Japanese breakfast

 

Culture! and um, Saki.

We have become very cultured over the past few days in Tokyo! Yesterday, we headed to an exhibit at The National Art Center (in Roppongi.) We saw lots of beautiful paintings and Tucker took tons of pictures. (To be posted soon.) The building itself was completely amazing...some of the most modern and funky architecture we have seen since we got to Japan.

After that, we went in search of some real deal local cuisine. After getting lost in circles in Roppngi for an hour, we finally found a tiny little restaurant. We were very confused at first as to what the man was saying to us as we entered. He kept saying what sounded like "Sit! Sit!" but he was pointing outside. Finally, we realized that the way this worked was this: you choose what you want to eat from this little vending machine. You pick your meal and hit the button, and it spits out a ticket - and then you hand the order ticket to the man. Apparently, this is common procedure during busy times in Japanese restaurants...so they don't need to hire a waiter to take your order etc. We thought it was really peculiar, though, in this situation - as we were the only people in the place besides the man and the chef! Ah, well. We had fried rice and noodle bowls. (Will, I took a photo of the food just for you!) It was delish.

Last night, we went out and stayed up past 8pm for the first time in forever! We met up with Ayako and Makiko, friends of my friend Matt Z. It was such a relief to go out with people who spoke English! We had such a great time. Not only did we get to go to a super awesome restaurant ("Izakaya") that we never would have found if we weren't with locals, but we didn't have to worry about the language barrier. By the way - they have a button on the table that you press- and a waiter appears! How awesome is that?? You never have to wait. Ayako and Makiko took good care of us and ordered so much good food. Then... the saki began. I have never seen nor drank so much saki before - but it was really good! I actually can say that I can taste the difference between different kinds.

First we drank Japanese sake - the typical kind.
Next one was Shochu. (slightly stronger but really good)
And we finished with a sweet one, called Ume-shu (Sake with Plum)

After getting a bit tipsy, we walked around Shinjuku and stopped to play a video game! We will post video soon.

This afternoon (Friday), we continued with Culture... by attending some real Kobuki theater at Kobuki-za in Ginza. The sets were amazing and the costumes and makeup were all really beautiful and detailed. The story was sort of confusing- even with the English translation in our ears - but we both really enjoyed the show. The one thing we are treally curious about was this: throughout the show - audience members would shout randomly. Something like "hiyabaya!" We didn't know why they shouted, or when...or what it meant. It seemed to me to be something like "Bravo!" but I'm not really sure. In any case, it seemed so special to be seeing this traditional Japanese art form - right in Japan. I felt lucky for sure.

My comments of the day:
- I'm concerned about what other countries think of the U.S...and of Americans. Our lack of our own cultural identity made me almost sad and embarassed, when discussing it with our Japanese friends.
- The Japanese seem to make really good use of everything; there is little waste. Paper, space...nothing. They recycle everything. Its really admirable.
- We love Japan. Its our home right now! We are slightly sad and nervous to leave for China next weekend!
- Tomorrow we head to Mt. Fuji...and after that to Kyoto (Boston's sister city! How is THAT for a fun fact?)

Thank you for reading. We love your comments and messages!

Sushi Showdown

Now I know what your wondering, because I once wondered it myself. In the question of Man vs. sushi, sushi vs. man... who will win?
Well, I can tell you now.
The answer is not man.

The Sushi Showdown
After trying to sleep past 5 am, due to jet lag, Tucker and I finally rolled out of our hotel around 7:30 AM. After starting our day in a truly Japanese way (OK FINE, we went to starbucks), we hopped on a train. We went where every tourist goes in Tokyo, when they can't sleep till a normal human hour: the Tsujiki Fish Market. We were actually too late to see the fish auctioning, but we walked around for a while, seeing the bustling market vendors and then finally decided to sit somewhere and taste some of the "freshest fish in the world."

Nestled next to each other was tiny restaurant after tiny restaurant (they are so tiny!). There was a line outside of one, which we assumed had to be a good sign - so we got in line as well. After a short wait and a lady yelling where to stand in a language we didn't understand, we got in. The place was like 2 ft wide and had about ten seats total - all at the sushi counter. We sat down and they asked us something we didn't understand. We struggled to answer. So, the sushi chef (see photo) showed us this menu w/ pictures and basically implied "this is what we serve." (or "this is what you will eat.") Tucker replied with a resounding "HAI!"

As the chef prepared our sushi, he asked the one thing he knew how to say in English "Where are you from?"
I responded "USA. Boston."
He thought for a second...and then responded.
"Boston. Daisuke Matsuzaka?"
We replied "YES!! HAI!"
We had had a conversation! Success!

Soon enough, the sushi started coming. And, we were in over our heads. The chef just placed piece after piece of unrecognizable sushi and fish on our plates. A few things were good, but after a little while - we realized they weren't going to stop giving us more fish, and we had to continue eating b/c otherwise, it was rude. I started to get panicky. Eating sushi at 9 am is one thing, but eating stuff you don't want or like is another. Some of it was sort of grossing me out. I got really hot. I looked around for an exit. I started flipping through the phrasebook as fast as I could to try to find how to ask "Where is the bathroom" but I couldn't find it. The chef and waitress saw me looking at the phrase book and waved it away, saying "eato! eato!" and then pointed at the line outside. Apparently, we were eating too slowly! I looked at Tucker who appeared to be happily(?) throwing it all down, so i decided I also had to power through.
I finally quietly checked in w/ Tucker and he was like "oh my god, the sushi is never going to stop. We are eating too slow. we have to finish..."
I eventually admitted to myself I was going to be rude, and not finish everything. There was no way to "move the food around" either to make it look like I had eaten it all.

Tucker paid. 7000 yen (around $70) for the two of us.

We left and stood outside. We were quiet. I offered Tuck a piece of gum. He yelled YES so loud and then said, "that was the most money I've ever spent on something I hated in my whole life."
What a morning!
It was definitely the freshest fish I've ever had. And it was definitely an experience. But it was no Inman Square Spice and Rice.
Welcome to Japan. Sushi showdown? Check.
Or check mate? Whatever.


Other highlights/thoughts of the day:
- Friends who have been to Asia before said we should be prepared to be stared at. I have to say, though, besides two adorable Japanese girls asking to take a photo with us in it, we haven't been stared at all. In fact, its quite the contrary. I am the one doing the staring - at white people. I think, every time i see a white person - i'm just curious to know where they are from, if they are American or whatever. So apparently, we aren't the starees - but more the starers.

- After walking around taking photos of everything, carrying and using a Phrasebook, and stopping to look at EVERY map we see - we will never make fun of tourists we see in Boston ever again.

- People constantly say something to us in Japanese and we have no idea what they are saying. And for some reason every time - i look to Tucker for an answer. haha like HE speaks Japanese ?!

- Our Japanese is really lacking. Basically we just say Origato (thank you) over and over again. At least we are polite!

- DANA JAY BEIN- today we saw this huge line in the street, that was being crowd controlled by cops. We had no idea what was going on. We finally get to the front of the line - and realize they were all waiting to get into the brand new H&M! Haha. I have some great photos of the chaos that I'll upload soon. This line spanned for BLOCKS!

- We saw some absolutely beautiful gardens today. Check the photos labeled "First day in Tokyo."

Tomorrow night, we are having dinner with a friend of a friend. It will be nice to have someone who speaks Japanese order for us.

oh, Happy belated birthday to my brother, Ben!

The Journey to Tokyo (or, "How We Rolled")

We were too wiped out after 24 hours of travel to write anything of substance last night. I'll try to fill in some details.

The Rosenthals started us off right. Our last home-cooked American meal included Rachel's dads fantastic barbeque beef. I hope I'm not giving too much away but he sears it on the grill and then slow cooks it for an hour or something. Her mom cooked up some great veggies and rice. I made sure to scarf what I suspect will be the last meal in two months whose component ingredients are not dubious in nature.

The alarm went off at 6 AM. After a cup of coffee and a look at the paper to confirm that the state of the US economy was still completely F'd, we hit the road. As Rachel's dad drove us to JFK, I observed that prosperous New York City suburbs often disguise large utility poles as trees by affixing fake branches to them. True story.

We arrived at the airport to discover that our 11:45 flight had been delayed until 12:30 and we had a good four hour wait ahead of us. JFK is basically a mall with airplane parking so we found plenty to do to kill time. When we finally rolled up to the gate, we got a taste of what the next two months were going to be like. The Boeing 777 carries between 283 and 368 passengers. We were two of about five non-Asians on the thing.

When we return, we will have a new president-elect. Bush made sure to do one last thing to piss me off before we left the US. We sat on the tarmac for a half an hour while Air Force One landed.

The flight wasn't too bad. We somehow lucked out and got seats with unlimited leg-room and Tetris! The service was a goddamn joke however. What happened to stewardesses being hot blondes with impeccable manners? Ours were old and weird looking and didn't share a brain cell between them. At one point, one of them poured hot water on my foot.

When we landed and got our first glimpse of Japan, our first thought was, "Looks like New York". We navigated customs pretty well and threw around a little Japanese on our way to the express train to Tokyo.

We took the Narita Express from Teminal 2 to Shinkuku Station in Tokyo. The ride was great. We watched the Tokyo suburbs roll by and caught a glimpse of a huge, beautiful, red sunset. I tried to snap a picture of it but by the time I got my camera out, we had rounded a bend and it was gone. But it was there and we saw it and it was an amazing welcome to Japan.

We navigated the huge Shinjuku train station fairly well and came out of the South Entrance in Tokyo. It was night and the streets were full of people. Shinjuku is what you picture when you picture Tokyo. Big, bright, and over the top. We consulted a map, picked a direction that seemed right and started making our way to the hotel. Rachel spotted it sticking out of the huge buildings around us, making our walk considerably easier.

When we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised at how nice the place was. It's only a year old and sports some pretty snazzy decor. Our room is a little small by Western standards but adequate. A nice, big HD TV and free internet access are some of the nicer amenities. The bathroom is also pretty doable. The shower is fairly badass although the top of my head is about an inch from the ceiling.

We dropped our stuff and, after a moment, realized we were on the other side of the goddamn planet. And we had been awake for 24 hours. It was 7 PM in Tokyo, 6 AM back home. We went down to the hotel bar for a celebratory drink but after a glass of wine, neither of us could string a coherent sentence together and we called it a night.

Avoid This Man

This is a very bad man. Very bad. This man force-fed us sushi at 9 AM. Fish eggs, shrimp, eel, and some unidentifiable substance that looked like peanut butter wrapped in seaweed. I didn't touch the stuff. I did, however, eat just about everything else. Out of fear. This man has a BIG KNIFE.

We made it!

I am writing from a computer that is in Japanese...and I've been up for over 24 hours. So, this may not be the greatest thing ever written.
Also - I'm typing on a keyboard that is the size of Will's old phone.
IN any case, I can say this: We made it to Asia!
We are in our (really nice) hotel in Tokyo - in Shinkjuku.
We are tired.
I think its 7:30 or so PM here (which means 6:30 AM there...and we didn't really sleep much on the plane.)
Our flight was delayed but otherwise, all 14 plus hours really weren't so bad. We appropriately watched Lost in Translation on the flight. (We brought it - that wasn't the offering :) )
Highlights thus far:
- We encountered one of the worst, but most entertaining, and idiotic flight attendants of all time. I feel bad for all the people who's legs she smashed.
- Everyone in Japan (i.e. on the train and at the airport) has so far been very kind and helpful.
- Tucker spoke flawless Japanese (he said "Do you speak English?") to the woman selling the train tickets. It was very impressive.
Hopefully we will thrill you with more interesting cultural phenoms, once we've slept.
I will say this though: everything is so clean. The train, the airport etc.
Our toilet has a lot of buttons on it. It scares me a bit.
People here are patient - especially when waiting in line.

Can't wait to sleep and then start exploring tomorrow!