by Hikin_Jim » Thu Aug 16, 2007 9:45 pm
Cy, unfortunately, Fuji-san wasn't in the plans for this trip. I wanted to meet the family and make the proposal. The hiking and sight seeing were the icing on the cake. I'd certainly like to do Fuji. Maybe next trip. The mountains I climbed, Ishizuchisan and Kamegamori are lesser known, particularly Kamegamori. I saw no other gaijin (foreigners) the entire three days we were hiking, and there weren't all that many Japanese even though it was a beautiful weekend that we went hiking on.
Walt, if you get the chance, go. Can't say enough about the beauty of Japan. Can't speak for Tokyo or the other major cities, but the people in the more rural areas were really super.
Zip, it was purely coincidental that we had to spend the night in cold, unheated moutain huts. Naturally, I felt obliged to personally ensure her warmth. That's just the selfless kind of guy that I am. (ahem) Regarding the Kusari (climbing chains), they have some kind of "opening day" ceremony at the start of hiking season where all the men (women aren't allowed on the mountain that one day of the year) climb the mountain dressed in white shirts. A saw a photo at the Coya (mountain hut) we stayed at. It's quite impressive to see a white "snake" of humanity scaling the chains up the mountainside.