mt fuji climb report

i had fun reading the trail posts while climbing mt fuji. some messages were serious and some were just funny for my taste like the one that says "just do it!" my personal favorite is that one that says "自分との戦い". indeed, climbing mt fuji is really a battle with oneself, of pushing oneself to the limits!


going up was hard, but if you'll do it with your best buddies, it would be fun and yes, mother nature doesn't disappoint. one of the reasons why people climb is to see things that only nature can provide. here are some snapshots that i took while resting.


sunrise in mt fuji was amazing. one of the things i'm going to remember of japan. witnessing how the sun rises from an elevation of more than 3500 meters is an experience of a lifetime.

when we reached the summit, one of my friends cried. he really thought he'll gonna die climbing. there, that was a moment since we had a rough time going up with the heavy rains that lasted around 30 minutes at the 6 and a half station. we were even told in a very discouraging manner by one of the hut owners there to just go home. we were wet, cold, confidence deflated, and the oxygen in the air was becoming thinner and thinner. but we managed, as we walked through the steepy route, we knew we can still do it.


the stars and the sky were especially bright up there. you can see falling stars, the translucent part of milky way, the moon closer to you than ever. everything in the sky it seems is within reach. climbers looked like aliens with there headlights on. some people collapsed, and some were grasping for air while resting in the sides of the route. the line of people was really long and at times, not moving. looking up, it seems that mt fuji is like a wedding cake with the people lining up to their way to the top.


i was disappointed to see that mt fuji has become very commercialized. everthing there is overpriced. even using the toilet will cost you 200 yen. that's 2 dollars for a pee?! and the toilet, as one american climber said, was disgusting for that price. and there were so many climbers that you have to line up going to the summit.


going up was hard, but going down was harder. we took the subashiri trail and it was really tough going down. my trekking pants are now damaged, and my pair of shoes unrecoverable. our fault was maybe not knowing that half of the subashiri descend involves sand trekking which is fun if only you are fully geared for it.

well, after everything that we went through, at least, we, the group, all made it to the top and are now safely back to our friend's house in this megapolis that is Tokyo!

mt fuji

i've just finished packing up for mt fuji's climb tomorrow. i've conditioned myself for weeks but i'm still freaking scared of not making it to the summit!

spring break

"It is in man's heart that the life of nature's spectacle exists; to see it, one must feel it." (Jean-Jacques Rousseau)

Out

I got caught reading the book for the month, Out by Kirino Natsuo, at Guia's place. The Kansai Book Club makes me read even while on vacation. Sorry pips, but the book is also quite hard to put down.

Pet Sitting

I responded to a post in KansaiScene magazine for a pet sitter and I got the following reply. I thought it would be informative for those people who haven't done it so I'm posting this one.

I first want to say that this is not a regular job. If you know about pet sitting, it's only for when a person goes out of town. I say this because I get so many people thinking that this is a regular type of job. Also, most importantly, do you live in Takatsuki or nearby. Otherwise I don't know if it would be worth your time because you're not going to be making a ton of money. However, if you live close by, I wouldn't mind having you walk him about twice a week. I had someone do this for 1 1/2 years, and she did walking and pet sitting.

So back to the pet sitting. It's a really easy job, and you would just have to walk him for about 15 to 30 minutes and make sure he goes to the bathroom and that he has water and food when I'm gone. I would pay 500 yen for each walk and expect him to be taken out 4 times a day (especially first thing in the morning and before bedtime). This would have to be worked around your job schedule. This is not impossible because I work, too, and have to do it around my schedule. That's why I said it would be most convenient if you lived close by. I need someone on April 1 for 8 days and then maybe 1 or 2 more days after that.

If you're interested, please let me know as soon as possible and we can meet and I can give you more detailed information.

Thanks,

I find it interesting. Who knows it might be one of those small pleasures in life.

taking chances - osaka stop

The concert was great! The lights and the stage with its big transparent TV screens were amazing. It is true that when you are in the presence of somebody who is very talented like Celine Dion, you can forget the rest of the world. The crowd was boring though. I like the Filipino crowd much better.

Yuna Ito was also there and they sang this song.

busiest week ever

monday night lang ang pahinga.

tues night. dinner with keitan. she'll practice her english interview, me, i'll practice my japanese interview.

wed night. concert. celine dion taking chances world tour. ticket is 10000 yen. shelled out cash: 0 yen. ang bait ng mga nakaibigan kong mga pinoy rito sa osaka. (wink! wink!) salamat sa mga sponsors!

thurs night. interview. ilabas na naman ang kagalang-galang at akala-mo-kung-sinong-confident-person na Romsil. armani suit, ferragamo tie. (wink wink again!)

fri night. dinner with a good friend i met through language exchange. hep 5 umeda. he has an expense account for meeting people of international background. lucky me! libre na naman ako ng dinner! can't wait to know where.

sat afternoon. tagalog lessons. starbucks. eto, importante 'to. career move! kumikitang kabuhayan.

sat night. pasta party with mga ka-berks sa house. how i wish i could get a bigger space, and sana may malaki-laking kitchen na.

di halatang bored sa day-job no? i hope i'll have enough energy for all these socializing. punta pa me tokyo next week with kay. (wink wink again!) paging pala mga people sa tokyo... imeet nyo naman kami... magpakita po kayo! :D

Tagalog Lessons Anyone?

I met a Japanese girl today, of same age, who wants to learn Tagalog from me. 15 dollars an hour. Not bad. Plus I get a Starbucks for free!

I, Bookworm

I joined a book discussion club last Sunday and met 10 new people here in the city. They are a great lot, and we share the same interest in reading. The assigned books for the month of February were Jonathan Safran Foer's "Everything is Illuminated" and Raymond Carver's "Shortcuts". I loved the first book. I cried and laughed and even read some snippets to my friends. No wonder it garnered awards and praises the moment it came out. What's even more amazing is that the author was 24 years old at the time he wrote it. I didn't imagine somebody younger than me could have created such an endearing book.

I have not yet finished reading the compiled short stories of Raymond Carver. But I think I already have enough reasons to appreciate the author. His prose, his style, his characters of regular and average people and the things they do and think provide the reader a dark but different reading experience. His characters are just regular people who can be somebody you meet in the grocery store, the neighbor-next-door, or the boss downstairs who leads a seemingly ordinary life. This is where he connects with his readers by intentionally leaving a lot of room for speculation and imaginings. To read his stories is like being reprimanded that there is something worth looking in an ordinary person's life. Somehow, it made me think that my life too can be worth looking at. I just pray that I wouldn't do the things his characters end up doing.

More about the people in the book club, they are quite international. There is this one Spaniard who has been to Zamboanga City and Basilan. While he was amazed with the Chavakanos speaking the Spanish language, I was amazed by his interests in going there. There is also one half-Italian girl who was born in Guatemala but grew up in New York. She can speak quite a lot of official languages: Italian, Spanish, English, and Japanese. I hope I could get to know more people in the coming months.

The book for March is "Out" by a Japanese author named Kirino Natsuo.

Winter Solstice 2007

"For the past five years, before each summer and winter solstice, special events have been put on to raise environmental awareness. In the Umeda area sympathetic companies extinguish all electric lighting and the area is illuminated instead by thousands - or what are said to be millions - of candles, which are the primary source of light for two hours. Many of these candles are hand made by art students. This month the event takes place in Umeda's Chayamachi on the 3rd and Nishiumeda on the 5th. Lighting large parts of such a major commercial and entertainment district with candles only should make quite a spectacle and is especially appropriate in the run up to Christmas."

Thanks to the monthly Kansai Scene Magazine.

Chasing Autumn (2)

November 23, 2007
Minoh, Osaka

Chasing Autumn

Arashiyama, Kyoto
November 17, 2007

a day at the beach

Fireworks in Osaka City

Once in a year, you can enjoy this in Osaka.

another kind of high

in the umeda sky building - where clouds are closer and a slice of heaven is waiting for anyone to savor...

suabe moves in a jap pub house

i met another japanese who replied to my post in the international house just a while ago. together with raneil, we met him in front of the Loft Bdng in Umeda. Since nga nagtitipid mode ako after spending "not-the-usual" amount of money last weekend (another long story), i thought that maybe we would spend time at the nearby McDonalds where i usually do my language exchange activities. Ug sa dihang, mikatawa lang sya nga sa McDonalds lang mi. heheh... people of his age regard mcdo as only for preppies. he suggested we'll go to an izakaya (Japanese pub house - inum-inom, kaon kaon ray naa diri ha, dili ni jaguar or unsa pa.. heheh) and so having no choice, sige padayun, izakaya na sad.

there, thanks to raneil (you can really count on him when entertaining people especially during drinking sessions.. heheh) nagkaila-ilahay ug nag-istorya istorya. the guy is going back to new york to work there for at least 2 years, so mao he is very interested in learning english. i think he is really cool especially with girls. heheh... later on man gud, nagchallenge2x dayun na istoryahan namo daw tong 3 ka girls naa sa likod namo. Ug sa dihang gitinuod sa hapon ang challenge, iya bitaw nang gi-hagad ug istorya... suabeha sa moves uy... at first, abi namo nga buang2x man ning tawhana uy, unsa pa lang reaction aning mga haponesaha.. hehhe... pero tungod lagi smooth kaayo pagkabuhat sa amo newly found friend, nag-share gyud mi ug table... heheh... lingaw. kataw-anan. i never thought it could be that easy to start a conversation with japanese women.. wahahah... all you need is a gutsy japanese and then at least 1 english speaker. wahahah... theory lang.. and naa pay gishare nga tip ang hapon, but sa akoa na lang, you have to pay me if you want that information. wahahah!

at the end, abtik gud usahay, nagka-pangayuay ug email. heheh.. ok na unta to... galing kay at the near end of our conversation, i found out that the girl with whom I was talking to is already engaged. ingnan pa gyud kong raneil: forget it roms, naa na toy pa pangasaw-unon uy.. basin mao ra nay makapapauli nimo pinas... heheh.. unsaon, wala diay pulos ang email na nakuha nako. tsk. tsk. tsk. heheh

yeah, whatever! :)