11:25 Right, I got lost again. I was up at 8:15 this morning, out of the hostel by 9:30, aiming to be on the train by 10. I walked up the street, looking for the station which should be very obvious, and I have failed utterly. On the upside, at this very moment I can see Mount Fuji, looming above everything else, and it is an absolutely perfect day - so perfect in fact, that I am in only a t-shirt, in spite of the altitude. I found a helpful lady and asked her "Fuji-Yoshida station dess-ka?" while gesticulating wildly. She answered with "Hai, (insert loads ofJapanese and pointing here)", I followed the pointing and asked three other women where to go, eventually finding that the station was a building I had walked past an hour previously, not more than 500m from the hostel. I had some delicious ramen in the station and got the 11:21. I am not good at the trains.
12:00 Well, I am currently sitting on top of Kachi-kachi Mountain, at the top of the ropeway. the view is awesome, I can see why Fuji seems to be such a huge part of the Japanese psyche. From where I sit in my t-shirt, if I look to my left I am blinded by the sun, to my right there are icicles, down the mountain there is a heat haze above the town, and ahead of me is the snow-capped peak of Fuji. This is a confusing place.
13:35 I am now on the sightseeing bus, which goes round the south side of Lake Kawagushi-Ko before making a loop of Lake Saiko. I can hop on and off at will, so I'm planning to go to the Onsen on the north shore, The Bat Cave and the Ice Cave, while enjoying the views of the lakes and mountains.
14:35 Well that's annoying. I have been informed by the driver (I'm the only person on the bus, by the way) that the Bat Cave is closed. I have been dropped off at the wind cave - I walked straight through the gate to find a load of guys having a bonfire, who cheerily informed me through sign language that the Wind Cave was closed for winter. The Ice Cave is apparently about 20 minutes up the road, so I hope for better things.
14:47 Now here's an odd thing. I can only assume the meeting went something like this:
Fuji Councillor #1: So, we have a problem, this bendy bit of road in the mountains gets awfully slippery.15:07 Well, that was rubbish. The ice cave (I am so disappointed I begrudge it capitals) was just a hole in the ground, a small tunnel to another hole, and a tunnel back again. There was a lump of ice down there, to prove it's 0 degrees down there. Hmm. I told an Australian family I saw on the way out that it was a waste of money, and also that the Wind and Bat Caves were closed. They seemed a little crestfallen, but went in anyway, I think. I feel I might resign from sightseeing - the touristy things I have attempted to see here have all failed, instead I shall sit, observe, or do something, rather than going to see things. Maybe I should have gone to Kyuku Highlands theme park. Maybe I should go to Tokyo Disneyland...
Councillor #2: Let's put up signs?
Councillor #3: Salt it?
Councillor #4: Nah, let's HEAT THE ENTIRE ROAD AND FILL THE AIR WITH THE SMELL OF MELTING TARMAC ALL YEAR ROUND!
All: Awesome!
(high fives)
15:35 Having said all this, the area is very nice and picturesque. Lakes, pine forests, mountains... maybe it's just because I grew up in a flat bit of a flattish country, but these things all impress me maybe more than they would someone from Austria, say. However, my advice to someone visiting the Fuji Five Lakes area would be to go up the ropeway by Kawagushi-ko, and also hang out at the NW corner of Saiko, where the best views are.
18:29 On another note, as I have been reading Call Of the Weird by Louis Theroux, I have started to envy him to a degree - his ability to remain innocent and questioning, while also detached and sceptical about his subjects/experiences. I can't see him slipping into despondency while pondering elements of the human condition, as I have felt myself all too close to doing these lase few days. I no longer seem to enjoy my own company as much as I once did, although this may be because the novelty of being my own boss has waned somewhat after five years. It should also be remembered that I am here entirely of my own choosing, meaning that worrying and regrets will get me nowhere, as I will only end up blaming myself. Sack that, if I'm not enjoying myself just go elsewhere, find new people - I have only commitments to myself at the moment, so I should just shut up.
Also, back to Louis, while he is talking to the 'pimp' Mello T, he compares lifestyles - where Mello sits in sleazy strip clubs scouting for new talent, Louis says that last night he went to bed with a glass of wine and his notebook and did a crossword, much to the envy of Mello. I am sitting on the train with a glass of wine writing in my notebook, although I fear that is where the similarities end. Also, he discusses the need to not object to peoples opinions and beliefs where doing so would reach no useful conclusion and only create an awkward atmosphere - not what you want when trying to interview someone. I found myself in a situation the other day with Nick, where he made some odd claim about why he didn't want to go to India, and I said that he'd "put forward some pretty tenuous premises there". He looked at me in a kind of 'what the hell?' way before turning back to his conversation (this worried me a bit, as this was before we had agreed to go to Miyajima the following day, and I really didn't want to do it alone).
20:39 Made it! To Shinjuku at least. I have contacted Leona, found somewhere to eat, and decided to either sleep in a capsule hotel or Internet cafe (not as trampish as it sounds, apparently many young Tokyoites do this as a cheaper alternative to the capsule).
21:30 Wow, Negishi house red is even worse than Otsuki satation wine. Didn't think that was possible. Just finished Louis, found more little things in the epilogue that make me like him even more, eg: his fantasy of returning to school as an adult and knowing more than everyone else, having reasoned debate with teachers etc... one I share, but I'm sure everyone does. Also something about him being less susceptible to whimsy and coercion than his first documentary tour, and now I'm just rambling on about bollocks, this is no longer a travelogue, sorry.
00:40 Wow, that's how long that took me to write up the last three days. Three hours on the dot, as it turns out. guess I'm staying in the internet place tonight - they have massage chairs, PS2, TV, DVD players, free drinks, all for 1.50 an hour! Also, I went to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building North Tower Observatory on my way here, and took MORE nighttime cityscape photos. So there.
1 comment:
that was my favourite bit of the louis theroux book. purely because going to bed with a crossword sounds so much nicer than pimpin'.
is nick american? stephen fry wrote an interesting thing on his blog the other day about how he was talking to an american and openly disagreed with him about recycling and the environment, and whereas stephen was expecting an interesting debate, he instead got into a bit of a ruckus. he then went on to expand upon the differences between americans and english people when it comes to arguing. to us it would seem you were criticising the person's point, whereas to them it seems like you were criticising them as a person. you should read it.
love you xxxxx
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