RTW Day 26: Orientation

Melbourne is a very stylish city. I can say that I've been to Australia now, but in Melbourne all the images of riding around in the outback seeing kangaroos and giant spiders and venomous snakes - no. This was urban life, a huge city with busy streets, coffee shops, incredible food and art galleries everywhere. I was only half-prepared for the trendiness, but fully enthusiastic.

Everyone who I talk to about Melbourne raves about the coffee, so I thought I'd take a trip and see if the reality meets the expectation. I went to a place called Brother Baba Boudan, a tiny shop on a tiny alleyway off of a small side road, right in the middle of the city center. The place was really cool. I wouldn't say it was terribly inviting, as it was sort of a only-those-in-the-know kind of place, but I enjoyed the vibe anyway. There were chairs hanging from the ceiling, random things on the walls, and odd table settings. Who cares about any of that though, because the coffee was incredible. I had a double espresso black, also known as a short black, and it knocked my socks off. Great coffee.

Now that I was awake I went in search of food. For breakfast I went to one of the hundreds of Vietnamese Street Food shops - ironic name, as these were sit-down places with kitchens, but oh well. The food was great. I had a pair of Bahn Xeo crepes with chili sauce and enjoyed it thoroughly.

A note on food in Australia: it is expensive. I guess compared to Alaska or any other big city it's not so bad, but coming from Peru, South Africa and even Japan, it felt very pricey. I was hard pressed to eat a good meal for less than $15-$20 US. And a light beer will set you back at least $5-6, a decent beer $7-8, and its not unreasonable to have to pay $10 for every drink at a bar. Ugh.

My mission for my first day in Melbourne, as a way of seeing the city, was finding a jacket. I had three criteria for the jacket - warmth so I can snowboard with it, lightweight so I can pack it, and at least decent-looking enough to fit in with the uber-trendy Melburnians. I had a good time wandering the city looking for a good store, and this was the only shopping I did my entire trip so I felt good about that.

Practically the entire city center is a gigantic network of malls, shops and stores, so I spent most of the day walking up and down streets and alleyways just seeing what was there. The stores were not very interesting to be honest, but what I was taking notes for were restaurants and bars, and I kept my eyes open for cool artwork and graffiti. I found a bit here and there:

I also found some politics and social discourse as well:
 

Making my way North I ran into the Melbourne Museum, so with time to kill I thought I would check it out. It was actually a pretty great museum. I spent a lot of time looking at the most boring things - rocks, fossils and insects. Running out of time, I also went to the exhibits I should have gone to first about the Aborigines and Melbourne's history. All in all I saw quite a bit of the museum in the three hours I was there.

On the way back I stopped in a camping/hiking store called Kathmandu, which was actually a New Zealand outfitter. They were having some kind of huge sale and so I grabbed a nice fleece jacket there. The guy working who was helping me was also from New Zealand, so I talked to him for quite a bit about the country, what to do and what not to, etc. Happy and warm, I left the store and began a search for dinner.

I looked online for something really out of the ordinary, and picked an Afghan restaurant nearby. I ordered a meal with a good price tag that looked good, and when the food came out it covered the table. Bang for your buck this meal was amazing. The food was pretty good, but I'm sure two people could have eaten this and been completely content. I, of course, ate the whole dang thing myself. Fatty pouf!

I went back to the hostel for a few minutes to see what was going on, and met a few people in the social area, but decided I was having more fun out in the city. I walked back up toward the museum to check out the huge IMAX theater, but they were closed by the time I got there. On my way back South I stumbled into Chinatown - jackpot! I wasn't hungry, but the restaurants looked great and there was no shortage of them. The place was decorated well and true to its name there were few people on the streets who weren't Chinese.

On my way back toward the hostel I saw what looked like a craft beer store, so I went in to check it out. It was just a run-of-the-mill liquor store, but they had an ok selection of beers so I grabbed a six-pack of White Rabbit: Dark Ale and headed back to the hostel. Giving away beer is a great way to make friends, so my strategy was sound.

At the hostel I went up to the social lounge and it was FULL of people. I picked a mostly full table and sat down, introduced myself, and started talking. Turns out though it was trivia night, so everyone was in the middle of fiercely and secretly sharing information. Those lucky guys at my table :) We didn't win, but had a good time and finished off the beer. I met a couple guys who I would talk to throughout the trip, but overall the scene was young and very few people ever left the dorm. When I travel I like to have a base, but every night I spend inside is a night I could have been out exploring the place I'm visiting. But everyone can have the trip they want!

When I went to my room I met my roommates, who were not sound asleep this time. The guy on the bunk below me was from Dublin, had moved here with only what could fit in his bags, and was looking desperately for a job. Across from me there were a brother and sister from Finland who were very excited to get out and see the countryside. On the other bunk was a guy named Alex, who I believe was from Perth or Cairns, and another guy looking for a job who had moved from an island near Papa New Guinea. Lots of people I met were looking for jobs - the market must be good, or the city is that impressive. I loved being there, it was an incredibly "livable" city, so I don't blame them.

I was done going out, so I spent some time talking with my dormmates and looking up things to do in and near Melbourne, then went to bed relatively early. Lots more to do and see, and definitely more coffee to drink!

RTW Day 25: Inversion

I can't say with honesty I had a good transition from Japan to Australia, but you take the good with the bad and make a whole out of it!

I woke up a little later than I should have and rushed out to the subway station to meet Jack. We were going separate places but planned on meeting up and at least traveling to the airport together. I forgot several things on my journey:

1) There is a 15 minute walk from the hotel to the subway station. Make this 30 minutes if you walk the wrong direction.

2) The Shinjuku station is gigantic, and it takes 15 minutes to walk from the platform to the first exit.

3) There are multiple versions of "Shinjuku South Exit" depending on if you are looking for the city metro or the JR line, the New South or Old South Exit, or the South Exit Plaza.

Long story short, I was already late by the time I got to the correct place and spent about 30 more minutes looking for the flower shop we were supposed to meet by. Honest to God there are no flower shops anywhere near Shinjuku Station, but hey!

Unfortunately I didn't catch up with Jack and rode the train myself. Luckily I talked to him at the airport via Facebook (living in the future is nice!) and he was also late and did more or less the same thing. Oh well!

The plane to Melbourne, Australia was quite a bit longer than I had expected, and JetStar is not even on the same playing field as Emirates Airlines. That said, I met a guy who was returning home to Melbourne and we had a good conversation. It made the flight go by and I learned a lot about the city. I was served food on the plane, one of only a handful of people (thanks travel agent!) but honestly I would have done better buying food at a 7-11 and bringing it on. Like I said, the food at 7-11 is surprisingly good!

I got to Melbourne and after passing through customs walked out of the airport into the cool, winter night. I was wearing a t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops, and quickly realized I would need a jacket here. I rode the SkyBus from the airport to near downtown, and Cas told me we could share a taxi as he was going toward my hostel. First we stopped and grabbed a burger at Hungry Jack, the Australian version of Burger King. A quick consult of the internets tells me:

When Burger King moved to expand its operations into Australia, it found that its business name was already trademarked by a takeaway food shop in Adelaide.^[1] As a result, Burger King provided the Australian franchisee, Jack Cowin, with a list of possible alternative names derived from pre-existing trademarks already registered by Burger King and its then corporate parent Pillsbury that could be used to name the Australian restaurants. Cowin selected the "Hungry Jack" brand name, one of Pillsbury's U.S. pancake mixture products, and slightly changed the name to a possessive form by adding an apostrophe and "s" to form the new name "Hungry Jack's".

Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungry_Jack%27s

Good sandwich, for fast food. I had some kind of chicken sandwich they had to cook on the spot, so it was absolutely fresh. Starting off my Australia visit healthy!

We hailed a taxi and went most of the way to the hostel, and I walked the last few blocks myself. It was cooooold. I got to the hostel and checked in, went to my room where there were seven other people sleeping, and immediately went to sleep. I had been in Australia two hours and was already hit with a big culture shock - but this time it was backward, from an intense Asian culture to something very much like the M.O. back home.

But I'd deal with all of that in the morning.

RTW Day 24: Tokyo Circuit

This was a busy day. My cold was gone for good, and though my body was tired my mind was fresh, stomach empty, and feet ready to move. With so much Tokyo left and a long plane ride the next morning I was going to cram as much as possible into my last day.

 

First stop - Tsukiji to see fresh fish and hopefully score some amazing sushi.

The fish market was closed to the public, but the market next door was bustling. I wandered through the streets intent on finding a quality sushi place, but soon my curiosity got the best of me and out came my Yen. In addition to all kinds of unique shops selling fruit, meat, and random stuff, there were tons of tiny restaurants and street food. Jackpot.

  

The first thing I tried was two skewers, on each of octopus and scallops - oh man. Next up was fresh cooked gyoza and a cold beer to mitigate the sun's heat. And my last stop on my this-stuff-might-make-me-sick-but-oh-well tour was a shop with all kinds of small food for sale, including sea kelp, lots of beans and peas, dried fish, sardines and anchovies, and candied all-things. All of it was free sample, and they were persistent. Some was good, some was not, and most was somewhere in the middle. All worth it!
 

 

Eventually I decided I better find some sushi before I was no longer hungry. I walked up and down the lanes past dozens of sushi bars, looking for one that looked good. They all did, but I chose one with a decently long line and joined the queue.

 

My plate was a huge sampler dish of different tuna rolls so I could taste the difference in preparation for the same type of fish. I was not disappointed:

 

I also had a glass of sochu, sweet potato liquor, which was in essence vodka made from sweet potatoes. It was delicious, even if it was an odd combo for the sushi. I talked to the lady next to me who was so impressed with the dish she took a picture, then another with me and the sushi. Maybe she was a little too excited, but she came across as genuine and fun.

 

Feeling full and very happy I headed back toward the subway. On my way I saw a Buddhist temple and decided to go in. There was a lot of history to it, and it was beautiful, but a far cry from the temples in Thailand. I learned that the original temple was destroyed in either a fire or earthquake, and the city told the Buddhists they could not have their original spot back. Instead, the area called Tsukiji was dredged out of the sea (Tsukiji means "reclaimed land" or something similar) and the temple relocated there. So the temple is a symbol of the area, but the fish market gets all the attention.

 

I left the temple and took the subway to Akihabara, a place Jack and Serge told me I had to go see. When I got there I realized why - this is the electronics megacenter of Tokyo, and also a haven for people with intense interest in a specific hobby. The two hobbies in particular that are the most well known and obvious in Akihabara are video games and anime. The American kid's idealized version of Tokyo!

 

Right away I started seeing huge buildings plastered with ads for anime stuff, but what caught my eye were humongous shopping buildings full of electronics. I went in the biggest one I saw and wandered into a sea of phone chargers, adapters, TVs, watches, home appliances, video games, guitars, and everything else with wires or batteries. It's like someone took the electronics section at Walmart and made a seven-story building out of it.

 

After I left that bewildering store I decided to stay outside for awhile. Conveniently, on Sunday they close the streets in the major part of Akihabara, so everyone is free to wander in the middle of the road. This was great as I got to freely walk up and down the streets in the whole area and get the full perspective.

Outside the electronics store, and not too far from the subway, was a place called Gundam Cafe. Here the staff, decor, food presentation and food names and descriptions are all based on a Japanese show called Gundam Wing that I am at least cognizant of, but haven't ever watched. The line, even in mid-afternoon, was very long, stretching out of the building and around the corner.
 

Further up the road was a place called UPX, which seemed to have no relevance to me at all except I heard there was an anime center inside. I went in to find it, and did indeed, but it was much smaller than I expected and confusing to me. I don't know anything about anime at all, and I thought hey, I should learn while I'm in Japan. The problem was everything was in Japanese and none of it made sense to me. There was some cool art and some videos about people drawing, but I didn't really learn anything. I gave it a try, hey!


Outside the building was a mechanical bull and a huge crowd of people were taking turns riding it. That was entertaining - they were having a blast. Moving on, I saw multiple huge electronics stores, game stores and anime stores. I walked into a game store expecting to see the newest and best games, but again everything was in Japanese so I had limited understanding. There was a new Zelda game coming out with a little demo that everyone was crowded around, that was apparently the biggest deal.

I also went in a huge, multi-floor anime store just to see what was there, but was again bewildered and confused. If only I knew at least a little Japanese! I was later told that each floor of the anime buildings gets weirder and weirder, and the upper floors are DEFINITELY adult only... Hmm... Would be worth checking out if I return just for the experience.

Finally I found a store that spoke my language, or at least where I recognized everything - a used, retro video game store called Super Potato.

When I was a young child my first knowledge of Japan came from Nintendo, and I was obsessed with video games, especially on the NES, SNES, PlayStation and GameBoy.

So walking through this store was like stepping into my childhood for a few minutes, and I was able to find all of the old classics and a hell of a lot more than that too.

Part of me wanted to buy some of the games and bring them home, but they will do greater things for the world staying right there on the shelf.

Content with Akihabara, I moved on to Ginza to see the rich part of Tokyo. I didn't expect much from this ward, and mostly wanted to see it to cross it off the list, but I was pleasantly surprised. First of all, the architecture was at some times stunning.

I also liked the fact the A/C was blowing so hard that some of the streets actually felt conditioned. Everyone was very well dressed and looked good. I saw most of the big world-famous stores, but didn't bother going in any.

At some point I walked past a store/exhibit/something? full of saxophones. I walked in, having no idea what it was all about, and walked up to a pair of good looking horns. I pointed at one and asked if I could play it, she said something in Japanese and had a confused look on her face, but let me pick up the saxophone. I played for a minute, thoroughly enjoying myself, then gave it back to the confused lady. She smiled, so I know I didn't do anything wrong, but I have no idea what was supposed to be going on in there!

My last stop in Ginza was a conbini to get some water. I took a look at the beer there and they had some pretty good selections, in stark contrasts to the conbinis in Shinjuku and Asakusa. I grabbed them and walked back to the subway to go to my last destination - Roppongi Hills.

Roppongi Hills is known for late-night partying, but I went there to look at the Mori Tower and Art Museum and see the city from the top of a very tall building. The area was very nice, full of people, and had a good scene and feel. Also, a giant statue of a spider, for whatever reason:

In the tower I rode up to the museum first and took a look at the exhibit. It was about the transition from child to adult and was pretty interesting. Afterward I took another elevator up to the top of the building and got to walk out onto the roof. This was great, a 360deg view of the city at night.

The walkway circled a helipad, and multiple guards were stationed to keep people from walking onto the pad. There were tons of people too, it was very crowded. But definitely worth it for the great views.

Coming down from the tower I had the opportunity to go to the Sky Deck, an interior observatory circling the building just a few floors down from the roof. Unfortunately there was also an extremely involved and intricate Pokemon exhibit full of lights, annoying video and cumbersome displays. Don't get me wrong, I loved Pokemon when I was younger and wouldn't be afraid to play the first few games again today. But this Pokemon TV show and movie obsession is just downright annoying, and I can't handle the Pikachu overload. Guess I'm just a grumpy old man!

There were a couple exhibits showing interesting artistic efforts, though. One was about choosing the correct sky and shadows to make a scene either epic and grand or claustrophobic and intimate, depending on what is necessary. Another was about introducing 3D and CGI graphics into an animated scene - how do you do this correctly without breaking into the uncanny valley or cheapening the artistic effect of the hand-drawn animation?

I left the tower after getting a few more glimpses of the gigantic city at night. My night complete, I headed back to Ikebukuro and to my hotel. I was ready for bed and ready to move on to the next destination on my mad rush across the globe. But first... Ramen! I looked up Ramen in Ikebukuro and was happy to find out some of the most renowned places for Ramen in Japan are right here. I walked over to a place called Mutekiya, recognized online by reviewers for being either the best place in the world for Ramen, or simply a decent restaurant. Good odds!

When I got to Mutekiya just before midnight the place was full to capacity with a queue of about 10 people standing outside. That's what I want to see! I waited for about 20 minutes and finally sat down to eat. I ordered a pork bowl of some sort, and when it came I was absolutely blown away. THIS is the Ramen that everyone talks about. It was incredible. Save the best for last, right?

Finally, tired from a complete day and with a full stomach, I slept in my capsule for my last night in Japan. I know I didn't get to see everything in Japan, maybe not even Tokyo, but all things considering this was a good start.

Next stop: Aussieland.

RTW Day 23: Fuji-san and Ikebukuro

Finally - the mountain Fuji-san with no more surprises. Saturday morning was crisp and clear with blue skies and birds chirping. Time to climb.

 

 

I stopped by a 7-11 on the way to the bus stop to get some food after finishing the sandwiches for breakfast. Honestly for the price and quality, eating food from 7-11 (in Japan) is not a bad idea! I got two bananas, a couple large rice balls wrapped in seaweed and stuffed with tuna and pork, and a donut for an early boost (also donuts are delicious, no shame! ("Fattypouf!")). At the station I bought a bus ticket to Fuji and moved my return ticket to Tokyo back to 8:30 - the last bus - just in case.
 

The bus took almost an hour to drive to the mountain and climb up to the starting point - I'm very glad I didn't walk. The station was absolutely packed with people, a stark contrast to Alaska or even Cape Town. I'm guessing there were at least a thousand people waking around with big coats, trekking poles, fancy hiking gear and huge backpacks. They were very well-prepared, yes, but I wouldn't like lugging that much junk up 2,000m of steep mountainside!

 

I wanted a beanie or hat because my thin hair doesn't protect my head from sunburn, but the cheapest hat was $40! I have lots of hats back home but mistakenly didn't bring any with. Instead of spending money, I put sunscreen on my scalp as best I could and then started hiking.

 

Along the way there were lots of buildings and huts where people could get food, buy souvenirs, and stay the night to see the sunrise. There were even bathrooms and vending machines and a post office at the very top:

It was strange to see so much civilization so high up, and at times it was difficult to move through the crowds of people. But, that's Asia!

 

The climb was supposed to take 5-6 hours, but I was determined to challenge myself. I reached the summit in just a few minutes more than 3 hours and felt very proud of my stamina. All the mountains in South Africa gave me strength, and hiking at very high altitude in Peru gave me the red blood cells I needed at 11,000ft on top of Mt. Fuji.

 

Near the top the clouds built up and it started raining, but the view of the lakes and countryside at 3000m was still stunning. Mt. Fuji is a semi-dormant conic volcano with a big crater at the top.

 

I was pleasantly surprised to find out there is a nice trail on top of Fuji all around the crater, and walking around the circuit I got lots of nice views of the mountain, crater bowl, and distant Japanese land.

 

The ground I was walking on was actually cool in it's own right - the volcanic activity had deposited all kinds of red, black and yellow rocks with lots of different textures. There were some rocks with streaks of shiny sulfur that looked an awful lot like gold.

 

People probably thought I was odd, taking pictures of rocks and the ground, but then again I find most of them odd too for other reasons. The thing we had in common though was excitement - every person I passed was smiling ear to ear, happy to be alive and moreso relieved to be done with the huge ascent.

 

Halfway around the crater it started hailing lightly, and then a few minutes later with more strength, so that it was almost painful. I looked down and watched the hail collect on the ground, and a sudden thought hit me. I'm standing on top of Mount Fuji, in the crater of a volcano, in Japan, and it's hailing on me. Six months ago I never would thought of being here doing this, yet here I was. I laughed out loud at the thought, feeling ecstatic and completely satisfied with my trip so far. And it's only half over!

 

The way down was painful as my legs were very tired. The ground was very soft, with lots if small rocks and sand, so I was able to run down fairly easily. At some points it was so soft I pretty much leaped down, taking giant steps at a very fast speed, and probably pissing off the people who were taking their time and carefully placing their steps. Gaijin smash! Hey, I wasn't the only one.

 

I made it down way faster than I had thought. By this time it was raining pretty hard and I was drenched, so I went straight for the bus. My ticket had dissolved in the rain, but luckily enough print remained that they believed me and printed a new one. I got on the bus, standing room only, and proceeded to drip water everywhere and on everyone near me. Gaijin splash?

 

Back in Kawaguchiko I asked the lady who changed my ticket to change it again, which thoroughly annoyed her. She did it for a small fee, and soon enough I was on my way back to Tokyo. This bus trip was delayed also, but due to heavy traffic. I would hate to drive in Tokyo during rush hour, wow.

Not only was it rush hour, but it was the first weekend of August. This meant two things: 1) school was out for the summer and 2) peak tourist season was in full swing. A consequence of this was ALL of the hostels and cheap hotels in Tokyo were 100% booked. In fact, according to one accommodation booking website I used the city of Tokyo was 99% booked. There are disadvantages to traveling spontaneously and booking beds night to night.

 

I managed to find another capsule hotel for an ok price in the Ikebukuro ward, a nice part of Tokyo with reasonable mix of shopping, night life and business accommodation. I would later find out it's the best place in Tokyo to eat Ramen, but trust that I did find out!

 

I found the hotel with little trouble and checked in - the capsules were WAY nicer than the others I'd stayed at, the people were young and though mostly Japanese were friendly and willing to talk. I spent little time taking though, because what I really wanted was food. Specifically - sushi.

 

The reception clerk - very welcoming and overly helpful - recommended a place and gave me a map. I set out and immediately got lost. Hot and frustrated, I wandered around aimlessly trying to follow the map with no street signs or landmarks, and every time I ended up on the same intersection I got more and more irritated.

 

My feelings for Japan began to evaporate rapidly. The annoying whiny music, shop owners screaming things through megaphones, confusing urban layouts with random windy streets, inability to communicate with the Japanese people, and the fact no one will look you in the eye all weighed in on my mood. I started feeling patriotic and a bit homesick, for the places that make sense and people that speak my language and culture.

 

But then I thought - you're just cranky for not having the way paved and lain out for you, and tired from climbing Mount Fuji a few hours ago. Then I laughed again, felt a bit embarrassed, and started walkimg with intent and awareness. Suddenly the streets made sense; I suppose I subconsciously memorized most of central Ikebukuro during my aimless wandering. I decided to ignore the map and just find a place that looked interesting.

 

Immediately I found a place, and after inspecting the map again it was the very restaurant I'd been looking for. Funny how that works!

 

The restaurant was conveyor belt sushi, something I've wanted to experience for years. I had no idea what to do, and no one helped me, so I just jumped in. You sit at a booth around a big round bar, and in front of you a conveyor belt runs small plates with sushi past you. The plates are color coded, each color corresponding to a different price. There was also water provided from little faucets and powdered green tea, as well as the usual soy sauce. Wasabi is not generally provided, because in Japan the chefs provide their recommended amount on the sushi roll itself.

 

Some plates were marked and some were not - I decided in the spirit of adventure just to grab what looked good or interesting and try it all. The sushi was fantastic, but I racked up quite a bill. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to come hungry.

 

After this I was thoroughly ready for sleep. I went back to the inn, took a much needed shower, and crawled into the fancy side-loading capsule I had waiting for me. I tried to watch some Japanese T.V. - a game show of some kind was entertaining - but quickly gave up and fell asleep.

RTW Day 22: Yokohama

I had no idea what I wanted to do on Friday - my only firm plan was to go to the bus terminal at 5PM to catch a bus to Lake Kawaguchiko at the foot of Mount Fuji.

 

Before walking blindly in the Tokyo heat I went upstairs for some green tea. Jack and John, another American from Ohio, were both up as well and talking about where to eat lunch. I suggested Yokohama, as you can get there fairly quickly by train and for less than $10. They have a big Chinatown there and I was up for trying it out.

In Chinatown we were overwhelmed with the number and apparent quality of the restaurants there. It didn't help we were all hungry. In an impulse purchase I bought a steamed pork bun as an appetizer of sorts. We finally chose a restaurant based on the massive plate sizes in the pictures outside as well as the great price. The food was delicious, but not nearly as big as advertised. I had a big plate of gyoza dumplings though, and with the pork bun I was completely satisfied.

 

After leaving Chinatown we headed over to Yokohama proper to see what we could find. The station was like a big mall, sitting under Queen's Square. There were Pokémon ads everywhere, and Pikachu everything. Apparently a new movie is coming out and the advertising is just out of control.

 

We walked outside and down near the harbor, then around the corner and down a street up to the big tower I believe called Queen's Tower.

 

There was another amusement park and ferris wheel, but it looked miserable in the summer heat and humidity. There was a Hard Rock Café, some random shops, but not much else interesting.

 

On the way out my eyes caught the words "Beer Museum" so I convinced Jack and John we should check it out even though they were ready to go. It was a bust - an expensive restaurant in disguise - but they had a fridge with lots of beers. Interesting to see beers like Corona and  Budweiser on an around-the-world shelf!

 

We went back to Tokyo and because I had limited time we grabbed some drinks and hung out upstairs in the hostel for a half an hour. Then I said cheers, packed up and headed down to the bus terminal.

I grabbed a bus to Kawaguchiko and started dozing off, but flashes of light woke me up. My heart sank when I realized it was a big thunderstorm moving in. I like storms, but not when I'm trying to climb an 11,000ft mountain. My brain started trying to sort out the futile logistics of climbing in the rain - can you climb a bald mountain if there is lightning? - but I eventually decided I was going to be waiting out the storm before climbing. Where and when would come later.

 

The bus took nearly 3 hours to get to the station, so when I got there it was pretty late in the evening. The lightning was gone and the rain reduced to a moderate drizzle, so I mustered up some Alaska willpower, pulled out my rain coat and got ready for a wet climb.

 

A second obstacle - because the bus was so late I missed the last bus up to the mountain. Now I started to worry. I asked if it was possible to walk up to Fuji and climb, but the lady all but laughed at me (in a concerned "wait, are you serious?" kind of way) and told me I should look for a hotel. She recommended a place nearby and so I faced the fact I wasn't climbing Fuji that night and set off into the rain completely thrown off guard.

 

I spent about an hour knocking on hotel doors, but all of them were booked. At one hotel I asked the (very pretty) girl who helped me how to say something in Japanese, but she told me she only knows Chinese. Hey, finally someone I can talk to! I replied in Chinese and she was blown away that a white guy was speaking Chinese to her. We had a very short conversation (I'm by no means fluent) and then I went back out into the city. At least the rain was mostly done by now, and I felt like I was having an adventure.

 

I stumbled across a hostel and some girls were talking in the entry way. I came in and scared the crap out of them (man in all black, drenched, emerging from the darkness late at night) but they helped me find the lady working reception. First she told me she was booked, then that I would have to reserve a 6-bed private dorm at the total cost of the room, but after thinking about it let me rent a single bed in the room. She was from Indonesia and we had a really nice conversation about the country. Like most people from Polynesia, when I told her I wasn't going there on my trip she told me, "Well that's not a very nice trip then, is it?"

 

When I got to my room I sat down on the bed, ate some of the sandwiches I was supposed to eat on Fuji and thought about how rapidly my plans fell apart. I decided I would take the first bus in the morning and climb during the day, refreshed and clean. I laid back on the bed and opened the window, let the cool mountain breeze waft in, and fell asleep listening to the sound of rain on the shingles.

 

Perfect ending to a totally unpredictable day.