Fuji Part 1

On Sunday I woke up at 7am. Shortly after that I received a text message on my phone inquiring as to the weather forecast. It was raining out. Our plan was to hike Mt. Fuji. A flurry of messages (this is how we communicate) passed in the next 30 minutes between myself and four others. All our preparation and reservations were beginning to look a wash, but upon our indecisiveness, we decided to meet at the JR Station as per the plan.

At the train station I was quite pleased to encounter enthusiasm other than my own. Personally, I was ready to hike a mountain in the rain, but that was not a proper sales pitch. With plenty of talking and a little motivational speech, we hopped aboard our train, though minus one group member.

The train ride was six hours long and consisted of five transfers. We were headed for the far side of Mt. Fuji, and a bullet train would have cost four times as much. I lost a game of hearts during the longest segment of travel. Our hostel hosts picked us up at the station, sparing us a minimum 40 minute walk. There would be enough of that in the days to come. Finest hostel I have been to. The four of us had our own room furnished in traditional Japanese décor.

With a map and some advice, we ventured into the city. It was a comfortable enough size to have only a night, walk around, and have dinner. We had Indian food. Japan has its own rendition of curry that I can take or leave, but this place was authentic. The owner was not much for smiling, though it did not detract from his service any. The food was fantastic and the portions more than enough. For the most part, portions have been quantitatively lacking in these parts. What can I say, I have an American appetite.


To close our wander, we went to an onsen located right behind the hostel. Onsens are Japanese hot baths, and people have not stopped talking about them since we arrived. A cheaper one, at 800 Yen for two hours, but no shortage of beauty to the joint. A beautiful building, the girl in our group went one way, and us three guys went the other. We went into a changing room, locked up or clothes, showered off, and went outside into a small courtyard with open sky and three tubs. The baths were made of stone and had a natural appeal. The sulfurous hot spring water came down a small waterfall into the first tub. This one had a thermometer declaring 47 degrees. It was not used much. The water spilled over the far edge into the next tub, a mid temp pool where we spent most of the time. Then that one poured over into the final outdoor and most mild tub.

Having went right for the tubs outside, I could not imagine spending our full two hours just boiling away. I explored the indoor options, a room between the lockers and the outside pools. There, among the showers was also a sauna, another really hot pool, and a small cold pool. I loved that cold pool. It was such a shock, but once my body became accustomed to the cold water, I was ready for any of the other pools, even the super hot ones. I would love to have taken pictures of the setup, but neither the locals, nor my friends would likely care for me to have photographs of their naked butts. And this is not that kind of website anyway.


To be continued…