And since everything here closes at 7pm....

I'll make another photo-less posting! I'm dead-tired and exhausted but for some weird reason I can't sleep!

Why am I dead tired and exhausted? Well, I tried to climb Mt Fuji (3776m) today! And of course I got close but not all the way. Argh...I've got a long list of 'nearly there' now! No excuses - I think the main factor is fitness but it's still good to know I can walk that much uphill and downhill and still be able to type rather than require a drip in hospital! :-) I wish I can post some photos here. Mt Fuji is magnificient! You can see why it's Japan's main icon (see my previous posting).

So...what is invovled in trying to climb Mt Fuji in the off-season. Well...courage to start with. There's a gazilliion signs and posters that say it's DANGEROUS to climb Mt Fuji in the off-season. What I think they really mean is that it's dangerous to climb Mt Fuji during winter. Among the words I remember from all the signages, "suicidal", "dumb", "we are not responsible", "stupidly", "die", etc. Get the point? ;-)

The main problem for me apart from fitness was transportation. There are only four buses a day that runs to the Kawaguchi 5th station, which is the most popular starting point. The last bus is scheduled about 4 hours after the first bus which is about 2pm. The climb takes 5-5 1/2 hrs and descent about 3 hrs. It kinda means you're screwed if you don't have your own car. A taxi to the 5th station costs around JPY12,000 (~SGD175) one way. Option B - take a cab to a place called Umagareshi (sp?) for JPY4,000 but it's a two-hour hike uphill just to get to the 5th station and there are no transport options home after (or 5-6 hr walk). To make matters worse, the road to the 5th station closes at 7.30pm during the off-season. So I can only get to the 5th station by 10.30am (by bus), climb as fast as I can to the top and rush back to the 5th station before 5pm so I can hitch a ride back with someone who works there.

So I got as far as past the 8th station at around 3,100m (there are 9 stations before the peak) and there's a whole bunch of snow covering the path. There are chains linked by posts to mark the path. Well, the entire post which is about a metre high was sunk almost completely in the snow and the alternative was to start climbing up another unmarked (I've already done a few unmarked detours by now) slope with loose scree. So...I had option A, continue on even though I was tired, and option B, start descending and hopefully find a lift back to Kawaguchiko in time. I'm full of options today aren't I? Well, you know which option I took. I thought to myself why risk killing/injuring myself when I still have 2 1/2 weeks of Japan/Korea to visit?? Argh....but it's frustrating to give up though. I'll be back one day!

Anyway...to make a long story short, got to 5th station, climbed to past 8th station, then turned around and got back to fifth station, put the old sideways motioning thumbs and got an almost immediate response for JPY2,000 (doh!)

As I mentioned before, Kawaguchi is a small town and everything closes at 7pm including all restaurants except two, an Indian restaurant and a Chinese restaurant. Argh! I've had to 7-11 it the last two nights for dinner. Ain't touching dodgy looking Chinese food or Indian food in Japan! Fortunately the fresh food selection in 7-11 (such as pork curry, potato cakes, rice cakes, fresh lasagna, etc.) is fantastic so no worries there. I wish all 7-11s around the world were like this.

OK...I've just stifled a big yawn. That's a sign....oyasuminasai!

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