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Date Posted: Mon 06/08/01 10:57:50
Author: Simba (Chan Sing-yin)
Author Host/IP: tsunami.hinocatv.ne.jp / 210.175.87.130
Subject: Summer in the mountains

Dear Ying boys and gals,

As my computer was struggling between live and death, I enjoyed a short break to somewhere else in Japan. As a rule, when you reside in a country you’ll visit much less places as a tourist does.

I plan to go to Tibet next month, so I tried the mountains.

I climbed to the top of Mount Fuji on 2 August. From the Fifth Station Bus Stop it took about seven hours to climb up (about 1,200 meters). The trail was not too difficult and there were lots of hikers. I started climbing from 22:00 and reached the top at about 6:00 on 3 August. The top of Fuji is the highest point in Japan (about 3,700 meters above sea level), about the same altitude as Lhasa. It was hot at the foothill but freezing cold up at the top. No snow yet, though.

It was interesting to see all those huts and houses (shrines, noodles shops, teahouses, visitor centers, etc.) built around the crater. They are covered under snow for most of the year (You are only allowed to climb Fuji in July and August – it would be difficult, even dangerous at other times of the year). To walk around the crater took about 90 minutes. That’s the secret rocket launch base in ‘You only live twice’. Well, most people forgot good old Sean (and that movie).

It took me another 7 hours to get back to the Fifth Station downhill – that is, I hiked non-stop for at least 15 hours without sleeping (I guessed I have covered at least 30 km. My GPS showed my speed was about 2 – 3 km/hr).

After Mount Fuji, I went to Matsumoto City of Nagano Prefecture (Nagano is the place where the Winter Olympics of 1998 was held). I have attended a natsu-matsuri (summer festival) of the city. If you have read Japanese comics you may know what a summer festival is: the time of playing fireworks, kids catching goldfish from street vendor, girls in yukata (a simple clothing that looks like and usually mistaken as ‘Kimono’ by Hongkongers)………there was also a singing and dancing (traditional Japanese dance) parade on the street for the whole evening. It is somewhat like the ‘Fa Shi’ of Chinese New Year’s Eve, but much more lively and everybody enjoyed the festival atmosphere – many also followed the crowd and danced on the street. You can make up any teams to join the dance parade: companies, schools, shops…. Each team has its own costume – mostly traditional but some quite exotic (still very mild as this is Japan). It was a wonderful experience.

That’s a wonderful summer vacation.

What about yours?

Simba

P.S. If you want to see some photos, I can post them to you. I have just got a digital camera (Honestly, I hate digital cameras).

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