Japan Archives - asthejoeflies

Mar 12 2019

Resources I used for our Japan trip

I planned to do this post at the end of writing about our trip, but realistically, that might never happen so I wanted to do it now. I used a bunch of websites to help prepare for our trip to Japan and wanted to share them here. I truly appreciated these websites helping us navigate a country that was quite foreign to us. These were (out of what I found) the best websites for planning a trip to Japan. Note these websites all are pretty great for general planning,

DEM Flyers’ Japan Trip Suggestions

I’m a miles and points guy so I started with a miles and points blog. DEM Flyers have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to Japan. Their Japan trip suggestions really helped me narrow down where I did (and did not) want to go in Japan. The page also provided a lot of useful resources.

I appreciated the general overview of the country and started here when we only knew that we were flying into Tokyo. From there we started making our plans and narrowed our destinations down to Hokkaido and Tokyo. Make sure to read what they say about the Suica card! I didn’t use it but they outline some small hacks.

Japan Guide’s Best of Winter in Hokkaido Itinerary

If you Google anything about Japan, chances are Japan Guide will be towards the top of the results – for good reason. As we started looking into Hokkaido, this itinerary gave us a good idea of what options we had. We had the choice between Sapporo, skiing, going to look at penguins, etc. While we didn’t end up using this itinerary – it looks perfect. We just didn’t have enough time and decided to make our own plans.

Let me reiterate – Japan Guide is a wealth of knowledge and if you plan to go to Japan you should bookmark it – you’ll end up there anyway.

Kyuhoshi’s 9 Day Winter Hokkaido Itinerary

While we didn’t end up using much of Japan Guide’s itinerary (we used the site for a lot of other stuff, though), Kyuhoshi’s 9-day winter Hokkaido itinerary clued us in to the existence of Jozankei. We ended up going to Jozankei and booking one of our favorite hotel stays of all time. The website has a lot of great itineraries for all over Japan to check out.

Tiny Urban Kitchen’s food reviews

When it comes to food I look for websites I trust and I trust Jen from Tiny Urban Kitchen. (It helps that I know her in real life, lol). She’s traveled with her husband extensively to Japan and has written up a lot of her experiences. I scoured her website in particular to look for a fun and fancy place to celebrate in Tokyo. Her review of Shima Steak Tokyo sold me on the place and we had a great final dinner at the restaurant.

It’s fun to see all her various food experiences in Japan. if you’re looking for somewhere to eat Tiny Urban Kitchen will give you tons of ideas.

Travel Caffeine 1 Day Tokyo DisneySea Touring Plan

I knew we wanted to check out Tokyo DisneySea and I knew Tom Bricker from Disney Tourist Blog was going to be my main resource. The only thing he seems to like as much as Disney is Japan, and it shows on his website Travel Caffeine. I checked out some of his Japan itineraries which looked pretty good, but he didn’t have much on Hokkaido. Thankfully, his Tokyo Disney stuff is great – his touring plan went a long way to making our day run smoothly.

If you’re not a Disney fan, you should still check his website out. Lots of great Japan information there for Americans visiting the country.

Life’s Tiny Miracles Winter Driving Tips

To be fair, I didn’t look at any articles on this particular website except for the one linked above, but it was pretty important! I wasn’t totally sure about driving in Hokkaido, but seeing how they managed to make it through a blizzard gave me the confidence (coupled with my many years living in the Northeast). One of the most important things I learned was to book a car with all wheel drive. Luckily, we didn’t get hit by any blizzards so it was all good!

Final Thoughts

Obviously, on such a short trip, we only touched upon the wealth of resources that exist when looking into Japan. What are some of your favorite sites to visit when you’re planning a trip to Japan? Let me know in the comments!

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Mar 08 2019

Jozankei Tsuruga Resort and Spa Review

I mentioned that when planning our Japan trip I had to book a hotel for 40K Ultimate Rewards points per night in exchange for a chance to visit Tokyo DisneySea. It should tell you something that I decided to do a Jozankei Tsuruga Resort and Spa review before writing about Tokyo DisneySea.

This hotel was hands down the highlight of our trip and a stay worthy of a ten year anniversary. Before I get started, I should note the full name of the hotel is Jozankei Tsuruga Resort and Spa Mori No Uta (which means song of the Woods? I think). The hotel is located in Jozankei, a resort town built on top of a hot spring about an hour away from Sapporo. It’s not accessible by train, so I’ll have some thoughts about how to get there at the end. Let’s take a look at this wonderful resort.

General overview of the resort

Japan is located on top of a lot of fault lines. Because of this, hot springs have sprung up all around the country and the Japanese have turned the use of onsen, hot springs and their associated baths, into a huge draw for locals and tourists alike. The Kyoto area onsens get most of the press and Noboribetsu is the most well known onsen town in Hokkaido, but Jozankei is an amazing hot spring town in its own right.

Most of the resorts in Jozankei have their own onsen for use by guests (and day guests). Tsuruga Resort and Spa Mori No Uta is no exception. The main reason to come to his hotel is to relax – you’ll spend most of your time enjoying the onsen, taking quiet walks through the town, and then relaxing some more. While you can go visit some nearby areas by car or even go skiing – you go to the onsen hotel to use the onsen. That’s what we decided to do, at least!

The resort is beautiful, even moreso in the winter snow. While not a traditional ryokan (Japanese bed and breakfast), Tsuruga Resort and Spa Mori No Uta splits the difference between ryokan and Western hotel. This might make things a little more comfortable if you want to ease your way into the ryokan experience. Incidentally, I highly recommend staying in a ryokan (anywhere) if you get the chance.

Tsuruga Resort and Spa Review - Lobby — The lobby is the center of the action, with nightly live music and plenty of spaces to relax

You receive pajamas/clothes, though not the traditional yukata (kimono) you’d get at a ryokan. You also receive slippers to wear throughout the resort – try not to wear your shoes. No keycards here either, every key is old school on a keychain with a wood fob that you can hang around your neck.

There’s a lovely lounge area in the lobby where you can roast marshmallows at night and listen to harp music, a library, and even a music section where you can listen to hi-fi. The amenities are nice, but the real star of our visit was our room – a cottage with a private onsen.

Tsuruga Resort and Spa Review - Clothes — It’s sort of amusing to match clothes with everyone in the resort

A private cottage with private outdoor onsen

Tsuruga Resort and Spa Mori No Uta offers multiple room types, both Japanese and Western style rooms. If we didn’t stay in the cottage we definitely would have chosen the Japanese style rooms – we love sleeping on tatami mats. If you’re unfamiliar with a Japanese style room, just note that they will have minimal furniture and you will do a lot of sitting and sleeping on the floor (usually on futons).

Tsuruga Resort and Spa Review - Room — The private cottage is a Western style room, probably the only drawback

My wife really wanted me to find a private onsen, so we ended up having to book the most expensive room at this hotel (40K Ultimate Rewards points per night). Tsuruga Resort and Spa Mori No Uta offers four private cottages. Each of these private cottages has a private outdoor onsen for exclusive use.

For 40K Ultimate Rewards points per night I was hoping we’d get something I’d never forget and this private cottage delivered. The cottage features a large living space with couches and a very useful massage chair on the first floor. The sleeping area is in a loft on the second floor.

Tsuruga Resort and Spa Review - Onsen — Tough to beat a private onsen

But the star of the show, of course, is the private outdoor onsen. The room’s shower is outside so you can shower/bathe before entering the onsen (as is standard Japanese custom). The onsen looks out into the forest which was beautiful when snow covered. It also featured some temperature regulation if you wanted to adjust the water temperature.

Not having to even walk through the lobby to use the onsen was a luxury that we really enjoyed. I think I used the onsen 3-4 times a day, including in the early morning when the sun was rising and at night when the forest was shrouded in darkness. Just an incredibly enjoyable experience.

Tsuruga Resort and Spa Review - private onsen — View of private onsen at night

The cottage was big enough that we could have brought all our children and we all would have fit comfortably. I think it’s a great option for families to stay and obviously an excellent option if you plan to celebrate something like we did. One of our most memorable stays and in the end, well worth the 80K Ultimate Rewards for two nights.

Food

Most (all?) hotel stays at Tsuruga Resort and Spa Mori No Uta come with breakfast and dinner included. The standard package allows you to take breakfast and dinner in the hotel’s buffet dining room. There’s a large selection of both Western and Japanese dishes to choose from. The food was great! You also get white rice in these cool things:

Tsuruga Resort and Spa Review - Rice — Wasn’t sure what was inside until we opened it up

Here are some pictures of the buffet and food:

While the buffet is nice, we also wanted to have a Kaiseki meal – a traditional Japanese ryokan meal. We e-mailed the hotel beforehand and were able to confirm a Kaiseki dinner for one night for a cost of about $60 for the two of us. I was a little confused why they had so little availability until I realized they only offer three private Kaiseki rooms per night! It must also be noted that the private rooms are meant for more than just two:

Tsuruga Resort and Spa Review - Kaiseki — Comically large private dining room

Truth be told, I enjoyed the buffet meal more, but that’s because the Kaiseki dinner forced me to be more adventurous in my eating. Here’s a look at a few things we had:

Like I said, the food was a little bit too adventurous, but I’d still recommend Kaiseki dinner to anyone (at this hotel or any ryokan). I loved the experience of having a private dinner with my wife and we had a good laugh about how ridiculous the table size was. And the food that was a little more in my wheelhouse was excellent! I just have never been a fan of abalone, haha.

Public Onsen and Spa

This hotel definitely made it to our “will return” list, but if we come back we might stay in a regular room. So we checked out the public onsen to get a feel for it.

The onsen and spa area actually has a lot of different sections. There are different rooms dedicated to spa treatments you can pay for, although we just used the massage chair in our cottage and elected not to pay for any spa treatments.

The onsen and spa area also features a “pillow gallery” where you can test out pillows and take one back to your room. My wife happily tested and borrowed a special pillow for our stay. Just another nice little touch that made our stay super relaxing.

Tsuruga Resort and Spa Review - Pillow Gallery — My wife’s second favorite thing about the hotel

The public onsen itself was lovely. There are multiple pools, indoor and outdoor, including a hot stone onsen that has “extra pure” water (or so we were told). Note that in the public onsen you still need to bathe first before entering, they have stools and showers set up for that (like all Japanese onsens). The onsen is open all day except from 3:00-4:00 AM and 9:30-11:00 AM so if you’re jet lagged you can probably find a quiet moment. My wife went at 5:30 AM and had the space all to herself.

Booking and how to get there

So when I looked for a private onsen, I did the majority of my searches on Expedia. While I’m not a huge fan of Chase switching its travel portal over to Expedia, at the very least I’ve found it faster to search on Expedia. Once you find a hotel you like on Expedia you can be fairly certain it’ll be on Chase’s travel portal (except for Disney. Still hurts).

So I found the Jozankei Tsuruga Resort and Spa Mori No Uta on Expedia and it ran about $600/night. Sure enough, it cost 40,000 Ultimate Rewards/night on Chase’s travel portal (with Chase Sapphire Reserve) so I booked it no muss no fuss.

We rented a car to get to Jozankei, but you can also take a variety of local buses. The town is fairly small so once you get to town you can walk to wherever you need to go. We ended up renting a car because no bus left early enough to catch the flight we wanted to take out of New Chitose airport at the end of our stay. If you’re intimidated by navigating the bus system in Japanese, I’d say you don’t need to worry too much, just allow enough time to buy your tickets beforehand.

Final Thoughts

Writing this post, I don’t feel like I’ve done Tsuruga Resort and Spa Mori No Uta justice. The pictures do a little better, but still don’t quite capture it. This was one of the most relaxing and enjoyable stays we’ve ever had – perfect for our anniversary celebration. We joked as we were planning, “Why are we going somewhere that is even colder than Boston?” But the combination of the room, onsen, meals, and the way the hotel is set up to just help you relax really made for an experience that was near perfect.

Chalk another one up on the board for “you don’t always have to stay at a Hyatt or Hilton with status” for an amazing stay.

If you have any questions about the hotel or getting to Jozankei I’d love to answer them. Contact me on Twitter or e-mail me asthejoeflies AT gmail DOT com.

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Aug 30 2018

A one day tour of Tokyo DisneySea

While it’s on my list, I still haven’t gotten the chance to visit DisneySea in Tokyo. My friend Jerry visited with his wife this past July and wrote up his one day touring plan of Tokyo DisneySea. I had a blast reading it and it makes me want to visit even sooner – hope you enjoy it! And thanks to Jerry for this great write-up.

One day at Tokyo DisneySea

When planning our 2-week trip to Japan, my wife and I could only set aside one day for a Disney theme park in Tokyo. We chose DisneySea. Tokyo DisneySea is generally seen as the more unique of the two Disney resorts in Japan (the other being Tokyo Disneyland). Tickets are relatively cheap it only cost us $66.45 (USD) for an adult ticket on Klook.com. Of course, be prepared to spend about $6 million on snacks and souvenirs. (Ed. Note: Seems low.)

When to go

Your best bet is to avoid visiting Japan in the summer altogether, because it is incredibly humid and crowded. If you absolutely have to visit during the summer like we did, then make sure you avoid weekends and Japanese holidays. We visited DisneySea on a Wednesday in July and it worked out great for us. Using FASTPASS for certain rides, we did not have to wait more than an hour for any attraction.

One thing you’ll notice immediately is how much the Japanese people embrace the Disney experience. It seemed like every couple or group coordinated their attire with one another, making for a very festive environment. Pig hats were particularly popular the day we went, and some girls even wore matching Japanese kimonos and wooden shoes in 90 degree weather. That’s dedication!

Tokyo DisneySea - Toy Story Mania — Not sure what was up with the pig hats, but they were everywhere!

We lined up an hour before the 8:30am opening, which you’ll need to do if you want a jump start on the crowd. DisneySea is separated into 7 themed ports, so we prioritized getting a FASTPASS for the most popular rides and then visiting different ports throughout the day. (It’s important to note that Journey to the Center of the Earth, arguably the best ride at DisneySea, was closed for maintenance. And my phobia of coasters prevented me from riding another DisneySea exclusive, Raging Spirits. Your itinerary may also look different if you bring kids, as we chose fine dining over the two evening shows.)

Time sensitive attractions and grabbing FASTPASSes

(Ed. Note – FASTPASS at DisneySea works like paper Fastpasses at Disneyland, you go to a kiosk and get a return time for later in the day).

First on our itinerary was getting a FASTPASS for Toy Story Mania, located at the American Waterfront port. This was probably the most popular ride and everyone’s first destination, so getting a FASTPASS allowed us to come back later with little to no wait. After getting the FASTPASS, we headed to the Lost River Delta and queued at Indiana Jones Adventure. Afterward, we stopped at the Lost River Cookhouse for the Spicy Smoked Chicken and Sparkling Mango Tapioca Drink. Both were winners.

There are a couple of time-sensitive attractions that deserve your attention. At 9:15am, you should head to the Biglietteria to enter the lottery for Big Band Beat tickets. Big Band Beat is a music and dance jazz revue featuring Mickey, and it’s a really good show. It’s also one of the only attractions in English. Entering the lottery can get you a reserved seat for one of Big Band Beat’s five shows. If you don’t get a ticket via lottery, there are still some first-come first-serve seats available for the shows, but you’ll have to line up.

At 11am, you’ll want to make dinner reservations for Magellan’s Restaurant. Some call it the best fine dining experience of all the Disney Parks. We went at 11am and got reservations for 8pm, which was the earliest time slot available. It fills up fast!

Enjoying the attractions at Tokyo DisneySea

After making the reservation, we rode the Venetian gondola nearby. We thought that maybe the gondolas were on a track, because the boats were big and it seemed like a lot of work. But no, the gondoliers really were rowing! One of them even sang to us while steering. Seriously, give these guys a raise!

We didn’t really stop for lunch. Instead, we snacked on strawberry popcorn at Port Discovery and blue shaved ice at Liberty Landing Diner. (Ed. note – popcorn is a huge deal at Tokyo Disney, tons of unique flavors.) We were mostly saving our appetites for Magellan’s later.

In the afternoon, we hit up Mermaid Lagoon, which kids are going to absolutely love. It’s indoors, so it’s a great escape from the heat, and the ambience is amazing. King Triton’s Concert was excellent, featuring an acrobat as the Little Mermaid who literally flies over the audience, alongside some skilled Crustacean puppetry. The attractions at the Lagoon were all kiddie rides, but great for non-thrill seekers.

DisneySea - Mermaid Lagoon — Mermaid Lagoon being indoors is a real lifesaver

Next on our itinerary was Arabian Coast. It was not overly crowded compared to the other ports, so it’s an ideal afternoon stop. The Magic Lamp Theater featured a 3D film starring the Genie from Aladdin. Not as good as Universal’s Shrek show, but a nice break from the heat. Sinbad’s Storybook Voyage ride is pretty much in the vein of It’s a Small World, if you’re into animatronics.

After returning to American Waterfront to use our Toy Story Mania FASTPASS (which was only a 10-minute queue) we went to Port Discovery. Warning: only ride Aquatopia if you have no qualms with getting soaked. Like, literally hosed down. You will need more than an hour to get dry, so bring your ponchos. They show no mercy. Nemo and Friends Searider, a fairly standard simulator ride, is the most popular attraction at this port, so get your FASTPASS for that as well.

DisneySea - Aquatopia — You will get wet!

Dinner at Magellan’s

At 8pm, we returned to Magellan’s for dinner. We chose fine dining over the two outdoor shows, “Fantasmic!” and “Brand New Dream.” Magellan’s explorer ambience is great. The food is very good as well, even for the hefty price. You can choose from a few different set menus. There’s also an infamous secret room you can ask to dine in, which is essentially a wine cellar. We elected to eat in the main dining area, which is beautiful. Definitely one of the highlights of our day.

DisneySea - Magellan's — Magellan’s was well worth it, even though we had to miss some of the shows. Next time!

Final Thoughts

Overall, I have no regrets spending a day of my Japan trip at DisneySea. If you are seeking more thrills (or anything Harry Potter), then Universal Studios Japan in Osaka might be a better alternative. But for families and people looking for a unique Disney experience, you can’t go wrong with DisneySea. And if you’re in Asia, why not stop by Shanghai Disney and Hong Kong Disneyland as well! 🙂

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Mar 31 2016

TBT: Sunrise on Mount Fuji (Mount Fuji, Part 2)

(Throwback Thursdays are a new feature here at asthejoeflies. They are stories from my travel experiences with zero regard to miles and points. Hopefully they inspire you, either to these destinations or beyond! Check out our long journey just to get to the foot of Mount Fuji in Part 1. I’ve forgotten a lot of the particulars and am relying on the internet to fill in the blanks, so please forgive me if I get some stuff wrong.)

There are a variety of ways to climb Mount Fuji. Most people, like us, don’t have the time to climb the 12,389 foot mountain from the base – though you can if you have the time and desire. Instead, like we did, most people will take a bus up to one of the 5th stations on the mountain. Each trail up the mountain is broken up into ten different “stations”, which are essentially landmarks. The Fuji Subaru Line 5th station (the one we got to from Kawaguchiko) is more than halfway up the mountain (7500 feet) and the base of the most popular trail up the mountain, the Yoshida trail. Many people just take a bus up there, hike for an hour or so, and then take a bus back down.

For those who want to reach the summit, the goal is usually to reach the top by sunrise. There are two widely used methods to do this. The first involves getting to 5th station sometime during the day and subsequently hiking up to one of the many sleeping huts on the trail. With a reservation, you can get a mat to sleep on in these huts. I think that the sleeping areas are communal and everyone is kind of crammed in together. Then you wake up around 4 AM and make the rest of the hike, hitting the summit in time for sunrise.

The second method, and the one we chose, is to take a night bus to 5th station and hike through the night, hoping to reach the summit by sunrise. The drawbacks to this method is it’s a bit of a race against the clock depending on your fitness level and your body has less time to adjust to the altitude. We were the last group to leave 5th station that night – it was absolutely deserted when we started our climb.

Hiking at night is something else. We hit the mountain equipped with multiple layers and winter jackets due to the cold and potential rain/snow, headlamps, walking sticks, food, water, and the oxygen canister my friend bought. We didn’t really need the headlamp for the beginning part of the hike. This first part runs through a tree lined area and then opens up to a beautiful view of some distant town. That was definitely the most enjoyable part of the hike, it was a very gentle slope and the view was spectacular.

At some point the tree line thinned out and suddenly we were just walking on volcanic rock. After that it was just switchback after switchback in the dark. The hike wasn’t difficult, I think we only had to scramble once or twice and that was only as a shortcut. But the air was thin and we were exhausted from all our travel – remember we had started in Taiwan that morning.

12:30 AM: 7th station so far so good

Thank goodness for the different stations and huts along the way. Every time we came upon a hut or a station, we’d sit and rest for a little while. As night wore into early morning our rest times increased – we even took 5-10 minute naps sitting up from time to time. I’m not sure whether taking a drag from the oxygen canister actually helped, but as a placebo it definitely made us feel better.

I remember one particular hut where the bench we were on was facing the wind in a way that it was just whipping into our face. The light drizzle accelerated through the wind and felt like hail for a bit there, but I was so tired I just closed my eyes and didn’t care.

At around 6 AM it was clear we weren’t going to make it up to the summit on time. We made it to about 3400 meters before rays of sun started breaking on the horizon (I think it’s near the old 8th station which is no longer operational). It seemed like we were going to have a nice view so we decided to just enjoy the sunrise from there.

Our slow ascent turned out to be a blessing in disguise, apparently the summit was all fogged in for that morning’s sunrise. After 8 or so hours of hunger, boredom, cold, and exhaustion on the hike, the sunrise truly made the entire thing worth it. We just soaked it in for 15 minutes, laughing, doing stupid pictures with our shadows, and enjoying the rewards of our labor. I don’t think pictures or words do the payoff justice, but that’s all I have for you.

An hour or so later we were at the summit and the three of us split the most expensive bowl of ramen I think I have ever paid for. It was incredibly satisfying.

The less said about the descent the better, but reader be warned: walking down a mountain and this one in particular is brutal. I’ve never enjoyed the descents of hikes, mainly because I feel like there is nothing really waiting for me at the bottom – no amazing view, no sense of accomplishment. It’s just drudgery and the way down Mount Fuji features some of the most boring switchbacks I have ever experienced in my life. It was just switchback after switchback on loose volcanic rock and ash, which got pretty nasty. The sun didn’t help either. Eventually we hit the tree line and things got pretty again but yikes did I hate that descent.

When we got back to 5th station it was nothing like the place we had left the night before. It was jam packed with people, many of whom would just do a short hike and call it a day. We passed through the crowd, indistinguishable from the masses. But we had accomplished something we would never forget.

Some useful Mount Fuji climbing sites:

Mount Fuji Climbing (old site, but I still remember using this one back in 2010!)

Japan Guide (basic info)

Mount Fuji Explorer (useful pictures)

Mar 17 2016

TBT: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (Mount Fuji, Part 1)

My wife and I hiked Mount Fuji with our friend in July 2010. It was an amazing experience and one I’d recommend to anyone and everyone who is willing and able. Due to logistics, it was a very long trip just to get to Mount Fuji: we went straight from Taiwan to the top of Mount Fuji in about 24 hours. I wish I had kept a travel journal of our adventures, but alas, I did not. If I had though, it might have sounded something like this.

6:30 AM. Outside Taoyuan, Taiwan.

I groggily wake up and start my morning routine. Long day ahead. When you plan to climb Mount Fuji, you usually expect the climb to be the grind, but for me, the journey to Fuji will prove to be just as grueling. My wife and I take breakfast with our friends and then prepare to get to the airport. Taiwan has been a great time seeing friends and family but it’s time for our real vacation to start.

There’s not much to say about the airport, because there isn’t much memorable. Like many things that day, it’s just a blur =whose memories are clouded by a lack of sleep. But I do remember this; three of us board that plane to Tokyo, not quite sure of what lies ahead. The fourth in our party stays behind – she’s expecting and thus won’t be ascending Fuji with us. She’ll take a later flight, have a nice night at the Sheraton in Tokyo, and meet us when its all over. The three of us have a much different journey ahead.

1:55 PM. Narita Airport, Tokyo.

Our plane lands without incident. My attempts at sleep on the plane were waylaid by the adrenaline that has been increasing with every waking hour that day. We navigate the terminal looking for a train to Shinjuku. This is before the days of cheap international data plans, so we are left with just a map. As we drag our luggage through the airport, the crowds seem to be getting larger and larger. Before finding our train, we fill our water bottles, figuring we’ll need them before the day is through.

3:00 PM. Train to Shinjuku.

I go through the plan in my head. Take 6:10 PM bus from Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko. Drop our luggage off at the hotel. Gear up and catch 9 PM bus up to 5th station on Mount Fuji. Hike Mount Fuji and summit by sunrise. I wonder whether we’ll be able to make all our transfers on time, worry about what we’ll do if we don’t. I catch a few minutes of sleep trying not to think about that nightmare scenario.

4:30 PM. Shinjuku.

It feels like I’ve never seen this many people in my life. We are jostled from place to place, feeling completely lost. Nobody we meet speaks English or Chinese. The Japanese speaker of our party is currently on her way to the Sheraton in Tokyo, we think. I follow pictures that I printed out from some online website and ultimately find the bus station. We get our bus tickets; we’ll be on that 6:10 PM bus as long as we don’t drown in this sea of people.

It’s time to find something to eat; we’ve had nothing but prepared Taiwanese foods all day.

We find a random ramen restaurant. You walk in a buffet style line and choose what you want on your noodles. We mostly just point. Udon. Inari. The regulars. Whether it’s our exhaustion, the novelty, or hunger – the food is some of the best Japanese food I’ve ever had.

We take turns cramming into the small bathroom to make sure we have our climbing outfits on. It’s 6:00 PM – T minus 4 hours.

6:30 PM. Bus to Kawaguchiko.

I should be sleeping. Two things are preventing this. First, the aforementioned adrenaline. Second, we’re sitting at the front of the bus driving due west towards Mount Fuji. More like Land of the Setting Sun, am I right?

My companions are asleep, so I just look at the passing scenery. Some of it is beautiful, some of it is industrial. Mostly I just think about how much planning went into this, how many times I’ve run through the plan in my head, and the last few steps. It’s been a long day, are we seriously going to hike through the night? I must be crazy…

8:30 PM. Kawaguchiko

We can’t find our hotel. We’ve walked around for half an hour and have to give up, we don’t want to miss our bus up to 5th Station. I’m frustrated; we’ve walked all the way down a big hill dragging our suitcases and now have to walk all the way back up. We make it back to the bus station with 15 minutes to spare, find some lockers, and cram our suitcases away as best we can. Hopefully they’ll be there in the morning. Hopefully we’ll be there in the morning.

We double check our gear.

Pack – check.

Headlamp – check.

Snacks – check.

Water – check.

Extra clothing – check.

Walking sticks – to be procured at 5th station.

There don’t seem to be many other people waiting for the bus. I thought this was peak season for hiking Mount Fuji? We sit. A crosswalk jingle plays over and over again as the three of us think our own thoughts. Not much to say at this point. The bus pulls up.

9:15 PM. Bus to 5th Station.

Some tourist video plays in the background, but we’re all exhausted. My wife and our friend fall asleep, but at this point my adrenaline is maxed out. This is really happening.

9:55 PM. 5th Station Supply Store

It’s time to buy our walking sticks. Sure, we could have brought some from home, but these get branded at every station on the way up to the summit. Nothing like a souvenir. My friend decides to buy a can of oxygen. Hopefully we won’t be needing that later.

5th Station is deserted. There are obviously many stores that are open during the day, but there is only this one open here at this late hour. In fact, we are the last ones in the store and they hurry us out so they can get home.

We take some pictures outside of the store. The few hikers that were on the bus with us have already begun their summit. We are quite literally the last people to start up the mountain that night. And so it begins.