Mt. Fuji Weekend

Randy wanted to climb Mt. Fuji really bad but I had no desire too and glad I didn't after hearing how it went. So Randy, Joe and Rebecca (family that came to Japan when we did), Nor and Arai san (co-workers of Randy) climbed Mt. Fuji. The trip started off Friday morning as we headed to our hotel near Mt. Fuji which was about a 5 hr drive. We ran into many traffic jams. We finally arrived at our hotel around 2:00 pm on Friday. They all wanted to get a little bit of rest before climbing that night. They left from the hotel at 10:00 pm Friday night to start climbing. I think they finally started climbing at 11:30. They wanted to climb at night so they would be able to see the sunrise. They were told it would take about 8 hrs to climb up and 5 hrs to climb down. They started out on level 5 and level 10 is the top of mountain. Well they made it to the top around 9:00 am on Saturday morning. Took them a little more than 8 hrs. They took a break on the top and then head back down. They made it back down the mountain around 3:00 p.m on Saturday. They all agreed that it was the hardest thing they have ever done in their life and would never want to do it again. Some people get sick due to the altitude change but none of them puked but Randy said he didn't feel so good as they got closer to the top. They had to pay $2 to use the restroom and most drinks were $5 a bottle. They had snack and drinks in there back packs already. They bought hiking sticks which they said was a life saver and each level they got too there walking sticks were stamped in conji. Randy was so excited when they made it to post office at the top of Mt. Fuji. They recommed you buy post cards before you climb and mail them to your famliy once you get to the top.

Randy and I enjoyed our first experience of the onsen. An onsen is a large hot spring (kind of like hot tub water) that you relax in naked with other women and men. No bathing suites allowed course the men and women have separate onsen's. We were a little nervous about this but we are glad we did it because it was very relaxing.

What did I do on Saturday? I took Ethan and Joe and Rebeccas kids (Rachel 4 and Josh 7) to an amusement park called Grinpa. One of my Japanese friends had told me about it because it has a huge indoor play center for Ethan's age and for the other kids as well. Ethan had a ball. There were tons of toys for him to play with. Of course I took lots of pics. There were also rides for Rachel and Josh to ride. All of us got to ride in the large Ferris wheel. All of us had a blast and enjoyed our day at the park.