Our day started off as usual. Jordan and I both awoke far earlier then the alarm that was set the night before. I slept surprisingly well and was eager to get in the shower before the rush. Since there's only one shower on our floor of the hostel that can be difficult. Fortunately there were no problems and before I knew it we were out the door towards another day of adventure.
It began at Mister Donut - the Japanese version of Dunkin Donuts - where Jordan attempted to get his large ice coffee fix. The coffee he actually receives was comparable to a small or smallish medium back in the states. He was disappointed but at least satisfied with some kind of fix. I picked up a glazed donut and munchkins. They were pretty good.
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| Feeding deer in Nara (photo by Clocks) |
We ate and drank on the platform of the train to Nara. Nara is known mostly for a ginormous Buddha and holy deer. Personally I hate deer but I wasn't going to back down when Jordan offered me a deer biscuit. The deer biscuit is for people to hand feed the holy deer. So I hand fed a deer. Three actually by the time our visit was over. The Buddha was amazing and the walk wasn't too bad. Once we saw the temple and the Buddha and fed the deer we headed back to get lunch. We stopped in at a great little Indian joint. I was just happy to see water. Going from drinking a gallon of water a day to a liter if I'm lucky has been rough. I drank my fill and enjoyed the food.
Once we were done Eric asked us what we wanted to do next. He suggested a town that he used to frequent as a student and said that it was gorgeous but a bit of a hike. We all figured why not, a small hike didn't seem bad.
The walk through Fushimi-ku wasn't bad. Before we knew it we were gazing up at big wooden temples and then torii gates. It was just like you see in typical pictures of Japan. Hundreds of bright orange gates side by side winding with a path through the woods. Each gate had writing on it as well to show who donated it. It was an awe inspiring site to see.
(1).jpg "View from the top of Fushimi Inari looking down the stairs. Torii gates") |
| Torii gates on Fushimi-ku (photo by Clocks) |
We followed the path as it wound up and around then turned into stone stairs. And as each set of steep stairs ended another appeared before me. And another and another. Soon I was gulping air and dripping with sweat as I propelled my aching body up and up and up. Eric didn't even seem phased by the climb and reminded us that he did it once a week when studying abroad here. At the half way point we stopped and Eric asked if we still wanted to keep going to his secret little spot. I was so tired but the thought of turning around and giving up was unbearable and so we continued on.
Suddenly I was thankful for all those times my trainer made me do the stepper and all that time I've spent in the gym over the last six months and the thirty extra pounds I didn't have to carry with me anymore and all those days I spent strengthening my legs with heavy lifting. I still lost my breathe a few times and had to stop but that was far far fewer then it would have been before.
At one of the stops along the way Jordan said that this climb was blowing the time we climbed the mountain in Paraguay to go to Eric's radio show. I forgot about that. One day Eric, you will have to explain to me your need to climb excessively tall land masses and then drag us up them with you. You're lucky each time the view is worth it. I think that time Eric and Jordan also did the climb in flip-flops.
Anyway we finally made it to the last excessively long and steep flight. By this time I was soaking wet, out of breathe, and it was beginning to rain. I got half way up it before my quads started to burn but I could hear Eric telling me it's not much further. The very last step was definitely the hardest. I stopped just before it and had to will myself up it as everyone cheered me on.
We had finally made it to the last leg. There were small grave looking shrines all around us and a small path winding through them. The path ended in a wooded area with a clearing and a view of the city. The view was amazing. The whole city was spread out before us in a hazy mist with more mountains in the background.
Eric put his hand on my shoulder to congratulate me for making it up there then pointed down below to an orange torii gate. It was no bigger then the size of an ant from where we were standing. I recognized it as the ginormous gate that was first to the shrine. It was then that I realized just how far I'd come both literally and figuratively.
Standing there and gazing down at the tiny torii gate is the greatest accomplishment of my life thus far.
The descent was precarious. It began to rain when we were at the summit so the stones were slick. My ankle has no problem climbing up but going down is a painful bitch. That with the rain meant a slow purposeful descent. Even though it was all down hill I was still sweating.
Eventually we made it back down and back to our hostel where I took the break as an opportunity to patch myself up.
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| Irish Folk Music Band in Japan (photo by Clocks) |
Only a few minutes of rest and then it was off to find dinner and the hookah lounge. I was hoping to stay close to the hostel but no such luck. The hookah lounge was in another town where you can go rock climbing a hundred feet above a six lane street. Dinner was an Irish pub Jordan picked out that was pretty good but expensive and far from enough calories for me and Eric. the pub was small and had a Japanese band practicing Irish tunes. One of them had an accordion. They were pretty good and when Jordan took a picture of them they stopped playing, stood up and started bowing to thank us for our appreciation of their music.
The hookah bar wasn't much further away. It was funny because we blew right passed it and got lost. Dana and I suggested Eric ask the group of young guys standing next to a small yakitori grill and when he did we discovered that was actually the place. It was club night there but they recommended another hookah lounge at the end of the street.
There we met the owner, an Israeli guy who ended up in Japan by accident and opened two clubs - the one we were in and the one we had left. It was like a little slice of home hanging out with him and he had great stories. We also met another Jamaican which made Dana happy it was funny because we had been discussing earlier how few Jamaicans are in Japan and here we actually meet one. We stayed til 11 then it was off for the hostel.
We stopped at McDonalds for the second dinner and enjoyed it on the walk back.
Getting to bed at midnight was rough but waking up at 5:30 rougher. My knee is shot and my ankle is making a very audible snap when I walk but that can't stop me from our next adventure in Kyoto today with one of Eric's old friends from study abroad. I can rest when I'm back in the monotonous hell of my cubicle.
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