My Fuji-san (富士山)...

Our hike began at 5pm on July 11th, we reached the summit at 6am the next morning and I finished at 9:40am on July 12th....The hike lasted 16 hours and 40 minutes...many of us (like me) went w/o sleep for 30+ hours consecutively...but in the end, we pushed our bodies to the top of Japan and joined the thousands of other hikers that day in a celebration...the best way I can describe the experience is this...

...Imagine you are driving through the night to reach your destination by morning...but as it turns out everyone else had the same idea as you. you wonder where all these people came from and whats more, you wonder where is everyone going at this hour? You think...is this a Holiday weekend? Hmmm...nope. But its the worst traffic jam in the history of traffic jams. Crawling like a snail seems like warp-speed compared the pace of traffic. You wonder if this is a dream...Nope its REAL! Now imagine there were 4 people in each car...take the cars away, put them on a rocky trail the width of a one-way street swithbacking up the side of a mountain, w/ headlamps, backpacks and a 30+ mph wind. THIS is Mt. Fuji!

We arrived at our trail head (the 5th station -- 2,305 meters / 7,562 feet) at 4pm or so...the scene was more like Disney Land than the beginning of a mountain adventure...tour buses dropping off loads and loads of would be climbers and others just making a pilgrimage to the highest point you could get to by car. Restaurants and ice cream stands and vending machines crowded this concrete and asphalt platform...the start and finish of our climb. Our climb leaders were from a tour guide company (Sun & Sun)...our two guide's names were Yamamoto-san and Kobayasi-san. Yamamoto-san said he had climbed Mt. Fuji like 1,000 times...and as the trip continued, everyone saw that this may in fact be true. Kobayashi-san was on his 10th climb of Fuji and as he was the younger of the two, he was relegated to the back of the pack w/ our group of "first time Fuji foreigners"...while Yama-chan (as he liked to be called) was leading the charge w/ about 30 or so Japanese climbers. As we learned later, Yama-chan was concerned our group of 10 foreigners would hold everyone up by "taking pictures!" Well, we didn't want to dissappoint!...I took my fair share as I usually do :)

Our plan was to arrive at a hut at the 7th station...relax for 2 or 3 hours and then begin our summit bid around 11:30pm...and that's exactly what we did...well, "relax" is relative b/c as we laid there, the sounds of "sawing logs w/ a chainsaw" came from other climbers nasal passages...so, I just laid there listening to those "sweet lullaby's" and a shooting pain behind my eyes...but it was nice just to be off my feet.

Up to this point the traffic jam was pretty light...not too much waiting around and idling. But as we shook off the haze of "relaxing" the noise outside grew...we threw on our gear and were surprised to see armies of climbers w/ headlamps blazing and guides barking their orders for breaks, bathrooms and next steps. It took our group of 40 about a half hour to get our stuff together and begin our summit bid...and thats when the traffic jam began...a rocky staircase w/ several spot lights led the way all the time our faces staring at someone else's bum.

It was a bit of a race against time...the sun rises at 4:40am this time of year...and to be at the summit to watch a new day begin is where we all wanted to be. I don't remember much about the way up other than...it was dark, it was like a stair stepper on steroids...and the wind was gusting around 30mph+...ahhh...this IS Mt. Fuji.

Then around 3:30am...the glow of the sun on the horizon warmed our tired and chilly bones...the colors were pink, orange, blue and everything in between...then as we looked up to gauge the distance between where we were and the summit, we wondered...would we make it? The hope of making it to the summit for sunrise faded w/ each step...it seemed like Santa Claus was at the top of Mt. Fuji and there was no limit for how many presents the kids could ask for...so the result was a lot of cold and tired parents and children barely moving. I looked over at one of our guides and saw him open his mouth like a lion for a loooooong yawn for like 10 seconds straight...then...he started shivering and the chatter from his teeth echoed up and down the trail. At 4:30 am we were guided off the main trail to a rocky perch to catch the sunset...it was amazing...and then as soon as it came, it was gone...the ceiling of clouds swallowed up the sun as it continued to rise and we continued our climb...one slow step after another.

We finally reached the summit at 6am...our leader gave us about 35 or 40 minutes to enjoy the moment...everyone scattered like ants...some going to sit down, others catching the views and well for me...I was trying to collect myself...a bit nauseous...very tired and very cold...I just breathed...within 10 minutes, I got myself back and became a puppy....looking over here and then over there...dodging people and trying to find the perfect spot for some pictures...and then, slowly, the cold and fatigue set in again...

Going down the mountain was on a different path, but still tons of people...I plunge-stepped my way down...and three hours later, I was back at Disney Land ready for my ice cream...

Next up...a shower and an 8 hour bus ride home.

THIS WAS MY FUJI-SAN!

Picasaweb Album:

• http://picasaweb.google.com/fujisanpics09/SteveSFujiPics#

YouTube Videos:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31KA5ISQ-eA
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fsFDyR2Kj4
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZWBqc6T9wM

This is Japan (日本)

Greetings from the land of the rising sun...after a 4 month long distance skype fest, Sarah, came back to Japan for her 2nd trip a few weeks ago and I wanted to share the stories and pictures from our adventures. I have to say, that Sarah put in a champion's effort to get ready for her trip...I gave her a laundry list of requests for American goodies (see pic) and she came through with flying colors...I forgot how much I missed real jam, dried fruit and oatmeal/nut bars. Also, Sarah took up learning katakana, one of the 3 Japanese alphabets. This gave me a good excuse to give her the menu reading responsibilities for a few dinners...and she learned first hand how much of a brain-drain it can be to read, speak and listen in Japanese :) But...she did well, b/c we got our food!

Here are some of the highlights...

We visited Japanese Hot Springs (Onsen) again...a favorite Japanese pastime and now one of ours...Here is what it is like to experience an onsen - think, hot natural spring water bubbling up from the earth's crust...covering your sore, tired and weary body...your skin, muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments coaxed into a relaxed almost stoic state...and then you look around and notice old naked Japanese men (or women and children) staring at you...ahhh...This Is Japan. One of our onsen experiences had views of the Hakuba Mountain range in Northern Nagano Prefecture (see pic)...This is Japan indeed.

The region of Japan I live in is called the Kansai Region. The geographic area covers Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe and the general vicinity. Kansai is smack dab in the center of Japan and has tons of amazing places just waiting to be seen...one of our favorite places to go is Kyoto (京都), the kanji means Capital City. It is no longer the capital, but the sights and sounds of Kyoto are a mix of both modern and traditional. Temples and shrines abound in the cosmopolitan and zen atmosphere.

We had two separate trips to Kyoto...first, we visited a food market where you can buy all sorts of interesting confections....like dried fish skin flakes. We passed on the fish flakes and decided to have lunch at a small restaurant where the owner encouraged us to have katsu don (かつ丼), which is a very tasty, yet simple dish - fried pork cutlet over a bed of egg, onions and white rice. Afterwards, we headed Northeast to just outside Kyoto to a town called Arashiyama (嵐山 - meaning, storm mountain). We rented a boat and floated and paddled up and down the river...almost smashed into a families boat and ruined their ice cream treat (doh!)...I apologized profusely - this is Japan. Our 2nd visit took us to a Zen Buddhist Temple called Shunko-in where we were coached in the art of Zen meditation. We also got a tour of the temple in English by a stocky and young Vice Abbott. He studied and worked in America for 9 years and his English was spectacular. He schooled us on the different sects of Buddhism, described the influences of the pristine gardens and shared periods of national upheaval and its impacts on religions. Pictured above is a screen painting made w/ real gold...this IS Japan.

In search of more culture and new experiences, we visited Nara (奈良). Nara, like Kyoto, once served as the capital of Japan. The are many main attractions in Nara, but we focused on Nara Park (hundreds of deer roaming around) and walking into the precinct of Kasuga Taisha Shrine and got swallowed up by the two thousand moss covered stone lanterns lining the walkway...this is Japan. Nara is also famous for the largest Buddha in all of Japan. Like Hiroshima and Kyoto, you could feel something special in the air in Nara...a place where the sounds of a deep and rich history echo out for every visitor to hear.

After the park, shrine and big Buddha, we found a local cafe named "drink, drank, drunk" and got curious...turns out they have some pretty good panini sandwiches and amazing fruit smoothies...this may sound boring to many of you, but these kinds of places don't grow on trees in Japan...they are very hard to come by. Also, Sarah and I are total foodies and "oooh and ahhh" at every bite of our food...

The main excursion during Sarah's visit was a 4 day adventure to Hakuba (白馬), which was the host city for the 1998 Winter Olympics. The kanji for Hakuba means "white horse." We took a 6 or 7 hour train journey from Kobe to Northern Nagano Prefecture to get away and be in the mountains...well, as luck would have it, we pretty much had the town of Hakuba all to ourselves. Nestled right next to what are called the Japanese Alps, Hakuba resembles Switzerland - 9,000 foot peaks lined the horizon. The lodges, chalets, food and scenery all screamed Europe. The only things that make us remember we were in Japan were the onsens, the Japanese signs and of course the people...but there were not that many people.

You never know what type of experience visitors will have in a foreign land...they may say, "it was different" or "now I can check that one off the list" or "never again" or "wow, what a beautiful place"...but regardless of what they say, hopefully there is a new found appreciation for another culture and even a new perspective on your own culture. Sarah has spent six weeks in Japan now and I know that she enjoyed discovering Japan...she gained valuable insights and respect into the Japanese way. She has done a lot here...helped teach lessons to High School students, seen World Heritage sites that will be preserved for generations to come, learned to read and speak some Japanese and found one of the most peaceful places for her...a Zen rock garden named Ryoanji -- THIS is JAPAN!

My time in Japan is coming to a close, but I feel grateful for being able to share this beautiful and sometimes confusing land with Sarah.

Ja mata (until later)...
Click on the link below for more pictures of our adventure:
http://picasaweb.google.com/steve.papp/BestOfJapan?feat=directlink

Pappy's Japanese Adventure - sushi, hiking and baseball...oh MY!

Hey blog "phans"...my dad's visit has come to a close, but there is much to still report and reminisce on...like the trooper my dad is for downing huge chunks of raw fish w/ gobs of wasabi...enough to singe your eyebrows and burn all the hairs in your nose!

Anywho...here are the highlights on video...enjoy! (be sure to watch in "High Quality")

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWPzOVvRQ2g

Ja mata...

Pappy's Japanese Adventure - The first few days...

Konnichiwa! My dad and I are enjoying our time in Japan...he is still a little shell-shocked by the fact that he actually flew across the Pacific Ocean and is now in Japan. He looks around and says, "You know, I guess I am really in Japan!" So far we have not eaten any fish heads or things that crawl off the plate...although he has used chopsticks once and it was a fun time for me to watch his technique.

I think my dad's biggest surprise so far...is the chill that permeates the air in my apartment...yes, I have heat, but its not central heating...so...the shower room and toilet room are a bit frigid - always...and those are the rooms where we all appreciate some comfortable temperatures. Oh well...we are surviving just fine - its kind of like luxury camping.

Here are the highlights...

• Sunday, March 29th - Dad arrived at Kansai International Airport (near Osaka) after nearly 20 hours from the start of his journey in Griffith, IN. We did a b-line for the bathroom, then the bus...and my dad started sharing his experiences w/ all the forms, finger printing and as he calls it "face lifting" (aka picture taking) that a foreigner endures going through customs. We ate dinner at a pizza place in Sannomiya (downtown Kobe) and hopped in a taxi and headed home to Suzurandai.

• Monday, March 30th - We visited Kobe Suzurandai Sr. High School (神戸鈴蘭台高校学校) to say hi to some teachers and give my dad a look see at high school life in Japan. No classes are in session, but he was able to meet a few students, some teachers and the school principal. Everyone was very nice and greeted us warmly...the Principal was kind enough to take some time to chat w/ him...As a first timer in Japan, my dad was a little nervous about how to communicate w/ everyone. Should he shakes hands or bow?...was he talking too fast?...could they understand him?, etc...its something we all experience when we visit a country where we don't know all the customs or the language...I told him...whatever he does will be fine...and he was okay.

• Tuesday, March 31st - I introduced my dad to the various train lines in my area by taking him from Suzurandai to Kyoto...about 2 hours one way. We transferred stations, crossed streets and the whole time my dad was saying "Are we there yet?" Our goal in Kyoto was to see some Geishas and cherry blossoms...we saw a few Geishas, but the cherry blossoms drew most of our attention...there are many varieties of cherry trees (non-fruit bearing) and they all bloom at different times...blah, blah, blah right...but we were quite lucky b/c was got a show from the weeping cherry blossom trees (see picture above)...they looked like a roman-candle bursting w/ long, thin branches w/ cherry blossoms as ornaments. We finished our hanami (cherry blossom viewing = 花見) experience by taking a 1.8km stroll down the "Path of Philosophy" (Tetsu no michi)...not sure if we found our "zen" there, but it sure was beautiful...pictured here is my dad's new Japanese friend (did not ask his name) sharing a seat along the "Path of Philosophy."
  

We are going to take a rest day and just bum around...our outting tomorrow will consist of a nice Kobe steak dinner in Sannomiya (三宮)...we will see what my "meat and potatoes" childhood cook thinks of Kobe cows.

Ja mata...

Spring Cleaning...

Forgive me readers, for I have sinned...it has been nearly 2 months since my last confession...I mean "post."

Ahh, its good to be back on the blog'osphere...Hope you all have been enjoying the last two months of one less email in your inboxes...I am ready to fire off more fodder...here we go!


I have been studying Japanese (日本語 - ni hon go) just about every day (I stop when my brain oozes out of my ear) and my skillz are still that of a kindergartener...but...this is progress. Yes...progress. One of my English speaking JET friends is nearly fluent in Japanese, but he has expressed his views on the Japanese language in this way...the more Japanese you learn, the more you realize you don't know. True that...I know about 150 kanji...well sort of...I can sort of read them, sort of write them, sort of pronounce them and generally understand their basic meaning...and an average Japanese adult knows about 2,000...so...I am nearly 10% there...sort of. The message...I am no longer just crawling...I have evolved and can stumble around w/o getting hurt...sort of.

Other than studying...I am back on the trails...I had a minor back injury and had to take some time off...I got lucky and found a Japanese chiropractor who speaks English...turns out she studied in Iowa!...she said she has fond memories of the blizzard-like winters. She repaired my back with her Iowa magic and now I am focused on Mt. Fuji in July...with proper training and agreement from Mother Nature, Mt. Fuji should be a reality. I have included pictures of my hiking adventures in the the youtube video. Pictured above is a section of the Torii (shrine gates) laden path through Fushimi Inari Shrine...supposedly there are like 10,000 Torii...I believe it.

It is officially Spring (春) time on Friday, March 20th (National Holiday here in Japan)...and that means one thing...cherry blossoms (sakura) and cherry blossom viewing (Hanami). Springtime rings in the new school year (begins on April 8th), a new fiscal year for Japanese Companies and the relief from cold weather. Pictured here is a plum tree (ume no ki)...the aroma coming from these babies was so sweet...cinnamon and floral combined...

As mentioned in my previous blog, you will now see pictures of the two 7 year old kids who turned me into a human jungle gym and pictures (and video) of the 1,000 year old poem game. A quick note on my jungle gym disposition...when I met these two kids on the ski slopes in Northern Hyogo prefecture (3 hours North of where I live), I introduced myself as Steve...but they didn't take to my given name, so instead they decided to simply call me "American." They stared, pointed, tugged at my hands, all the while saying "America-jin, America-jin, America-jin!"...which means a person from America or American. There is a name for this...its called, gaikokujin (foreigner) on parade. The more I insisted they call me Steve, the more they decided they knew better and my name became "American!" You may be asking where their mom or dad was in all this...well, mom was just enjoying the peace and quiet b/c I took her little monsters off her hands w/o really agreeing to do so. Ahhh, the memories.

Oh and I continue to go back to my samurai barber shop friends for them to work their magic...one thing is for sure...they are consistent. Its always a bit shocking to my friends when they see me after I have been worked over...b/c I look like I just enlisted, but its all worth it b/c of the experience. The value for my Yen is amazing...so I will continue to enjoy the samurai-like sheers snipping away...I figure I should enjoy it while I still have hair ;)

Until next time...ja mata.
PS - My English skillz are fading, so if you see any typos, grammar issues or just incomprehensible language, well, its supposed to be that way. The more Japanese I learn, the more English I forget.
PPS - My dad is coming for a visit at the end of March for 1 weeks...be looking for some more fodder in your email boxes.
PPPS - the song choices for this video are to satify your eclectic music tastes...across a few different decades...enjoy!

Be sure to click on the "HQ" button to watch in High Quality...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGfO7zeLwd8

Building Bridges...

Happy New Year to all (あけましておめでとうございます。)! 2009 is one month young already...time is zipping by. I wanted to share a final piece from 2008. The "books" will be closed after this...just one more entry for last year I swear (that was for my audit/accounting friends).

Attached is a link to a video and picture montage of my trip back to the USA...the original purpose was to share more about life in America to my students here in Japan. I showed it to one class today and they absolutely loved it. Many of you contributed to it...so be rest assured that you have made a positive contribution to making the bridge between Japan and America stronger...

I have been back in Japan for nearly 1 month and have new experiences to report on...like being turned into a human jungle gym or reading 1,000 year old Japanese love poems to 300 students and faculty...yah... in due time, in due time. For now, enjoy this salute to 2008!

Same as last time, please make sure you are watching the video in "high quality."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQWtzujpoO0

Ja mata (じゃまた) - until later
Suteebu (ステイーブ) - Steve

Filling the GAP...

Greetings from Japan...Konnichiwa! It is friggin cold and snowing here and I am huddled under my kotatsu table (explanation to follow in a later blog). I was inspired to blog again after watching some friends videos about their lives in Japan...so...with a new year brings a new method of sharing my story...video style.

This blog is focused the last part of Sarah's trip in October 08 through mid December 08 before I left for the USA. Its the highlights of what you have not seen so far. I hope you enjoy it!

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=KXdi4j5BFq8

Hint! - it is better to watch the video in "high quality" on YouTube. Please make sure you click the link that says "watch in high quality" that appears right under the video on the right side.

Ja mata (until later),
ステイブ