I suppose it was a productive weekend, as I accomplished everything I set out to do.

Saturday I got up early and had a hardy breakfast before heading to the train station. Instead of the usual direction to Shinjuku, however, I took the express train in the opposite direction. I heard a rumor (confirmed via the train company's website) that at the other end of the line from Shinjuku, there was a mountain to be climbed. Sure enough, there is.

About an hours train ride later I arrived at the foot of Mt. Takao. Takao-san is 599m tall and is a popular hiking spot for Tokyoites. The area around the mountain is a nation park (though I forget which one.) Also, it is clearly visible that the Keio rail company has put a lot of money into making the area a destination. It's quite reminiscent on the old American rail companies who built resorts to attract customers to their lines. There are adds on all of the Keio trains for the "Takao Fall Stamp Hike". A stamp hike is where you take a sheet of paper and, as you climb the mountain, stop at various sites and get your sheet stamped.

Exiting the train station I found a giant map board showing the various trails that one can take to get to the top. The longest trail takes 7 hours to complete, and takes you to the highest peak in the mountain range. Most of the other routes take about 90 minutes to get to the top of Takao-san. I picked what looked like the most direct route to the top and started out.

It was nice and cool at the bottom of the mountain. A perfect fall day. The light was streaming in through the tree. There was a nice stream running along the path. It was really relaxing. The first 250 meters or so were paved, then the path branched off and became more of a hiking trail.

A short way up I came across a set of Buddhas. After maybe twenty minutes of climbing the path got steeper and more uneven. It wasn't challenging by any means (there were a lot of little old men and women doing the same hike I was) but walking up a mountain is walking up a mountain. The higher I went, the more the sun rose in the sky, and the hotter I got. After about 45 minutes of climbing I stopped and took a break. After my break I resumed my ascent and, about 5 minutes later I was at the top of the mountain.

I know this picture is bad, but hopefully you can see that the fall colors are just beginning to turn here. There were several shops and restaurants here. Also there was a very nice viewing platform from which (on a clear day) you can see a very tiny Shinjuku in the distance. A side note on the restaurants: they served beer. Mountain climbing and alcohol, a winning combination? I think not.

Another thing I find the Japanese like, such as stairs and vending machines, are false mountain tops. Several times on the climb with Sparks (see my Kyoto trip post) I could have sworn we were at the top, when we were no where near there. It just so happened the this mountain had the same thing going. While wandering around I found a sign noting that the summit was still another 40 minutes hike away. (And here I was thinking I did the 90 minute hike in 40 minutes.) Not wanting to quit half way up, I started to second leg of the hike.

On the next part, as I was walking I ran into a nice young woman from China and her father. We talked for a bit in Japanese and English (my Chinese not being good enough to do chit-chat). It seems she is also in the country studying Japanese. After a while they stopped for a break and I headed the rest of the way to the top.

As seen here, it was a really nice sunny day, though a bit hazy. Culture moment! In Japan the colors blue and green are intricately linked. Traffic lights are red, yellow, and blue (but they're the same colors as in the states). Point to something green and ask what color it is and there's a 50% chance the reply is "blue". Why you ask? Is the whole country color-blind? The working theory is that mountains, up close are green, but in the distance are blue, hence the colors are linked.

This, for those wondering, is a Ramune bottle. As mentioned in my previous post, Ramune is more or less the Japanese equivalent of Sprite. The novelty of this drink is, to open it, you press down on the pink part, which pushes a marble down and opens the pop (you can see the marble in this picture). At the real top of the mountain, like at the "fake top", there were several restaurants and food shops (including one that had Ramune). It seems to be popular to bring your picnic up to the top and eat.

After drinking my Ramune and resting a bit, I began my descent. Not being ones to waste a good mountain side there is, of course, a temple. Takao-san Yakuōin Yūkiji. It probably sounds bad that I say this, but seriously, there is a basic plan to all these temples. Once you see a few dozen, they all flow together.

This one, however, is closely linked to the legend of the Tengu (see above pictures). Tengu are winged or feathered demigods that live in the mountains. More information available here.

At the false summit I decided to take the cable car the rest of the way down. It was a little scary, but it was quick. At the bottom I got on the train and headed in the direction of home.

I really didn't do much of anything this morning except homework. Once that was done I decided to work on a Gundam model I picked up last week. The plan was, at 4:00 I was going to go with a group of students to the Ghibli museum again. That plan was up in the air, however, as I said I would give up my ticket if anyone else wanted to go in my place (as I have already gone.) One of the French guys said he wanted to go, but didn't contact me as he said he would if he really wanted to go. At about 3:00 I got a call saying that someone was coming over to pick up the ticket because the guy was going and needed it. Luckily I had a backup plan in mind. After the person came to get the ticket I quickly jumped on the train and rode to Ueno.

Today was the opening day of an exhibit at the Royal Gallery on Ueno called "Gundam: Generating Futures". Mobile Suit Gundam is an animated show from the 70's that could be though of a the gran-daddy of the modern Giant Robot animation and had spawned endless spin-offs and sequels. This exhibit featured modern art inspired by the show. This is how influenced Japanese culture is by animated shows; this exhibit is running in the ROYAL GALLERY. There was one outdoor exhibit (of which you could take pictures.)

This week on Tuesday I get to see a Kabuki play, which could be interesting. Until then (unless something wonderful happens tomorrow.)

Ja Mata Ne.