Mt. Fuji/Hakone

 

The Tokyo skyline is truly a sight to behold. By day, it serves as one of the world’s paramount business centers. A city of such immense economic importance that few in the world breathe the same air. Its skyscrapers a testament to its resiliency against both nature and man. By night, the Tokyo Tower is festively lit to celebrate the current season. A reminder to both its citizens and the world of the city’s storied cultural, as well as its ambitions to help write the future.

These are all thoughts best contemplated when you’re not running late for your tour bus to Mount Fuji. But why prioritize being on time to one of nature’s most famous peaks, when you can wax poetic about buildings. Japan is famous for its promptness. Leave it to the American to hold up an entire tour group.

After joining our party, we embarked on the now-sweaty 2-hour bus ride to Mount Fuji + Hakone. It was the last official business day in Japan before the new year holidays (by far Japan’s most auspicious holiday), so we cherished the unique experience of Japanese traffic. I’m sure we didn’t experience the worst of it, but I’d take it over the jams I’ve witnessed in any other country.

The long bus ride yielded us additional time for the tour guide to elaborate on life in Nippon (the Japanese name for Japan). Apparently the only thing higher than the skyscrapers in Tokyo is the real estate prices. This forces most Tokyo workers to commute over 2 hours per day one way. And I thought my life in LA was rough. We also learned that until the 6th century, Japan didn’t have a written language, so they borrowed the same characters from the Chinese. Though these characters translate to phonetic sounds, similar to the English alphabet, rather than words as they do for their rivals to the west. Speaking of cardinal directions, Japan is called “the land of the rising sun” due to how it rises over Japan when viewed from China.

After a winding drive up to Station 5, we enjoyed a famous Mount Fuji melon cake and soaked in the view from half-way up the mountain. We were lucky to see anything at all, and figured that was the best it would get for the rest of the day. Due to the clouds that often hover around the mountain, it’s not uncommon to not be able to see the mountain peak at all, even from halfway up it. We were told winter is the best chance to see it, as the humidity in the summer often renders it invisible. 

Words would only degrade the beauty of what we witnessed yesterday, so I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. We also got to ride a cable car up to a sister mountain, which we were excited for, as high winds can often disable the cars.

After an equally long drive back to Tokyo, we arrived in the Shinjuku Station which boasts about having the largest number of passengers in the world. Shinjuku City is essentially entertainment central, with various shops, pubs, karaoke bars, and cafes. 

We ended our day’s journey with some ramen near the area. Many restaurants require you to place your order at a vending-machine-esque kiosk which then prints a ticket that you hand to the staff. These machines are often digital with multiple language options, but last night’s was fairly archaic and completely in Japanese. Though we tried to roughly translate it with an app, I still wasn’t entirely sure what was going to be eating when I sat down. Thankfully and unsurprisingly, delicious.

Every night we return to our hotel with a view of the skyline illuminated in a hypnotic display of blinking red lights. Last night I fell asleep with not only an appreciation for Japanese architecture, but an even deeper affinity for the natural beauty of this country that so often inspires it.