Last post in Tokyo

So here is very likely my last blog post in Tokyo, at least for quite some time, as I'm finally going to Sendai tomorrow to start studying at Tohoku University! I have packed both my bags and sent them in advance with takuhaibin (http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2278.html) so that I don't have to carry them around while changing trains and busses on my way to the dorm in Sendai. Tomorrow morning I will return my key to the dormitory manager and start my trip towards Ueno station where I'll board the shinkansen (high speed train) which will take me to Sendai. That lump of steal, glass, rubber and electronics will take me to Sendai in only one and a half hour. Sooner or later I'll try to come with an update on how this went, although there will probably be some time before the Internet gods (read my future ISP) get's my internet connection up, so it could be a while.

It was a while since I last came with an update, and I have done countless things since last time, but mostly studying. I think the coolest thing I've done since my last post was ascending Mt. Fuji. We started out at about 22:00 in friday evening the 31st of August, after taking a 2h and 30min bus ride from Shinjuku station, at about 2300m above sea level at the so called 5th station, which is about as far as you can go by road (not entirely true, but true for most people); from there on there's no option but to walk! The top is at 3776m above the sea, so there is quite a significant rise from the 5th station, which is about halfway up from the root of the volcano. That's right, Mt. Fuji is actually not an ordinary mountain, but an active stratovolcano, and a very big one at that! Last eruption was in the beginning of the 18th centuary though.

The ascent took us a total of about 5 and a half hour, so we were at the top before 4 o' clock in the morning. Worth noting is that even if it was in the end of August and that in nearby Tokyo the temperature was weeell over 20 degrees even at night, the temperature at the top was barely above zero, so the last hour waiting at the top was very cold, even for me who had brought a significant amount of clothes. Eventually the sunrise came, we could take or photos and the heat in our bodies returned. After spending some time at the top, enjoying the tremendous weather and view, we began our decent. Even if the ascent took us over 5 hours, we made the decent in less than 3. This was partly because the descent path was not as crowded as the one which went upwards, but mostly because you don't even nearly lose your breath as much as when you are ascending. On the other hand, it's much worse for the muscles in your ankles, which tend to start hurting after a while. Overall, it was a very exciting adventure and well worth the cost of going there and back to Tokyo (about 5500 yen).

Next update from me, as I mentioned above, will probably be made from Sendai, so bye until then!