Japan
I admit it. I’ve been a bad blogger. With each passing day my “update” post becomes more daunting. Before touching on Taiwan, a couple things I missed from my last week in Japan. On the way back down to Tokyo from Hokkaido I spent a couple nights in Fuji-Yoshida, a small town at the base of Mt. Fuji. Given that it was a good month before the start of the Fuji climbing season, I had the funky old hostel all to myself. The Lonely Planet Guide mentioned that it was nice, but that it smelled of dog. I concur. My original plan was to get up at the crack of dawn and catch Fuji before the clouds moved in, but the evening of my arrival was clear, so I hiked up a massive staircase to a temple situated across the valley from Mt. Fuji. Drinking a beer while watching the sunset reflection across Mt. Fuji proved preferrable to getting up at 4:30AM.
Once back in Tokyo, I took it really easy. I did a little shopping, sought out sushi restaurants, and visited with Mr. Nakagawa. After 21 days of travel by rail, often times staying a single night in a given spot, it was good to be in one place for a few days. The night before I left Mr. Nakagawa took me out to a former sumo training hall turned restaurant - the tables surrounded the earthen ring used for matches, the walls adorned with pictures of past champions. The Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo had just wrapped up the week before. Had the timing worked out, it would have been fun to attend. Instead I watched the tournament from the various business hotels across northern Japan. My appreciation for the skill of the sumo wrestlers increasing with each match. As I was checking out the earthen ring, one of the restaurant staff joked that maybe I should consider sumo. While I may nearly qualify from a girth standpoint, it turns out that I lack the requisite hair for a top knot - a potential post-sabbatical career path stymied by male pattern baldness. Next stop Taiwan…
