Golden week and Fujisan

Today is the first day that I really feel like I’m back in Japan, and it’s because we got out of Tokyo for the day. 

Tokyo is a very large and impersonal city, and packed with people. This is Golden Week, a national holiday when everyone travels and spends the bonus money which employers give each year for Golden Week. 

In order to get away from the crowds we took a day long excursion to the area around Mt Fuji. Our first stop was a preserved historic village with various craft demonstrations in the different houses.  

Our driver is Pakistani, a lot of the visitors are Muslim, and we had lunch at a tiny outdoor Halal restaurant with a Muslim prayer room. The world just keeps getting smaller. 

A very brief stop at a cave came next, and then we started up the mountain. Fujisan, I think, may well be the loveliest of all mountains in the world. It is Japan.  

Lots of people climb it, but we didn’t get a chance to do it back when we were kids. In fact the oldest person to ever climb it was 103 years old. Now you can drive to the 5th station which is about halfway up. If you want to go to the 6th station you have to go on horseback. From there to the summit you hike. 

This afternoon we drove to the fifth station. There are restaurants and souvenir shops and photo ops…and wind. Lots and lots of wind. Cold wind. It was worth it, however and I will post the pictures from today as soon as I can.

So why do I finally feel like I’m back in Japan? It’s because today I’ve been in and out of villages and towns, in the mountains and valleys, and up close to everyday people. While the years have brought noticeable changes, it’s away from the impersonal city where I see the little things that haven’t changed and that’s the Japan I’ve never forgotten.