2013, 2014, 2015. Third year in a row I'll be paying visit to the Land of the Rising Sun! This is the trip I have been both waiting and dreading since I went there first time(last trip while fun was still more of stop-by trip in anticipation of this one! For last one was mainly same to first trip but this time I will be doing something I haven't done before. As can be guessed from the title of the blog I'll be climbing(or at least trying!) the Mount Fuji(Fujisan in Japanese).
Mount Fuji is pretty much best known mountain in the whole Japan(though I have been told it's not actually best one to climb. Better views/more interesting climbs available elsewhere supposedly) being tallest and with flat top giving it rather distinct shape. With the top at over 3700 meters it will be highest location I have went without an airplane to take me up there! So far record has been 1200 meters or so...
This means I'll be first time experiencing noticeably thinner air resulting in quite high danger of high altitude sickness. I wonder how that will be? I'm fully expecting to feel quite sick when I get there up. I just hope I can complete the climb!
I will be doing the climb through night to see the sunrise(hi no de in Japanese) at the top. That should be splendid sight!
So when the departure is? Evening 6th of august. I'll be arriving to Tokyo on afternoon 7th local time. Flight is not direct one. As august is popular holiday season flights were more expensive than previous ones so I had to settle for non-direct one. Ah well. Frankfurt airport isn't half-bad airport to wait based on 2013 trips memories.
Trip plan is to spend from Friday(7) to Tuesday(11) in Tokyo. I'll be meeting some friends and then do the Fuji climb starting on Monday with climb back on Tuesday morning. Provided I don't fall asleep in Tuesday before(real chance...) I will also have one more concert. Then on Wednesday I'll head for 3 day trip to Shikoku(smallest main island of Japan). I'll be staying in Takamatsu where is Yosakoi dance performances and fireworks but the real reason for this trip will be Awaodori on Tokushima. Tickets are already purchased. I just need to pick them up at konbini store once I get to Japan. Convenient that!
I was originally planning to stay in Tokushima(where the festival is) but there literally was not a room available during the festival period! I had heard it's popular but still...Not a hotel room available for any price. Whoa! Well luckily I remembered Takamatsu which is close enough so got a hotel room there and then found out about Yosakoi and fireworks. Lucky break!
After this I'll be heading for Kyoto once more(love that city). This time I plan to see what the Obon festival looks like there. For sure I plan to see Daimonji(and other 4 similar lights if possible). Daimonji is basically big bonfire shaped like 大 on top of hill. I climbed to where the lights are when I was in Kyoto in 2013. Should be fun seeing that fire live.
There's also Kalafina mini-live on same day in nearby Hyogo so I plan to head for that. When your favourite band performs on nearby you just have to go there! Still plenty of time to get back to see the Daimonji so not a problem.
I also plan to drop a visit to Itsukushima shrine while I'm in Kyoto. This is actually close to Hiroshima but it should be doable in a day trip. Shrine has rather famous torii gate that in high-tide looks like it is floating in water. I need to wake up early to reach it in time but hopefully I can get a good photo out of it! I also plan to climb the 500-600 meter tall climb around there unless I'm totally exhausted by the heat.
Speaking of heat THAT is the thing I have been dreading about this trip past 2 years. Japan summers are hot I'm told. Very hot. Hot as in 35-40 degrees depending on where you are(and I'm told Kyoto is particularly hot location in the main island!). I haven't experienced such a warmth in my life yet so I have no idea how it is going to be. Luckily the top of Mount Fuji should be cooler so I have short respite there! Actually I need to be bringing warm clothes with me which feels non-intuitive when I'm also preparing to face extreme temperatures. Funny how things go sometimes.
I have two-three days in Kyoto without much plans yet so need to think on those a bit.
Once Kyoto trip is over it's back to Tokyo for the final sprint. Seems plans around that time revolves around meeting with various Japanese persons rather than sightseeing but that's fine too. Also will be doing all my shopping then. I will NOT be carrying piles of book with me around the Japan! Unlike last times I don't have room in Tokyo for whole trip so when I'm moving to different cities I need to carry everything with me. Carrying dozens of books is unnecessary weight!
Funny thing about last period on Tokyo. I ended up booking hotel in Sangen-jaya. Thing is last times in Tokyo I was staying in Shoininjamae. So basically I had 2 stations I would be passing through every day when going anywhere. Shimo-takaido and...Sangen-jaya. Since Sangen-jaya was closest to Shibuya which I preferred over Shinjuku I went through Sangen-jaya...A lot! Seems that area doesn't seem to let me go! I go back there even without specifically trying to go there!
Return begins at 24th. However again due to plane prices had to settle for non-direct. And this one was odd one at that as I'll be stopping at Nagoya on same day and continue toward Helsinki on NEXT day. Oh boy. Too bad I can't skip the first flight as it would have been better(and cheaper...) for me to skip the first flight but doing that results in automatic cancellation of second flight so no can do.
Good news is I'll be arriving to Helsinki reasonably early so should get some rest from flight before heading back to work!
Next post is likely once I have arrived to Japan. Until then!
