Weekend Adventures in Okinawa (October 12, 2012)

We had four days off work for the Columbus Day holiday and took full advantage of it!  Saturday we spent the day at Peace Prayer Memorial Park, walking the grounds and museum.  In 1945 the Battle of Okinawa, took the lives of over 240,000 (100,000 of which were civilian deaths).  The names of the dead are carved into the stone cenotaphs and the museum walks through the history of the war and showcases video footage and stories from those who survived.  It was a humbling experience to learn about those who died in the battle. 

On Sunday Jake had the awesome opportunity to participate in the 42^nd Annual Naha Tug of War.  The event is passed down from ancient Ryukyu Kingdom era and is one of the biggest cultural events on the island.  Several hundred thousand people attend the event and approximately 20,000 participate.  The event starts off with a parade of 25 foot tall Hatagashira Flagstaffs presented by teams representing the East and West, wearing traditional Okinawa clothing.  A Royal Court is carried across the top of the rope from each side to middle to challenge each other to the “war”.  Each section of rope is 300 feet long and is pinned together by a 10 foot wooden peg.  The rope weighs 44 tons!  With a 30 minute time limit, the teams must move the rope 5 meters to win and if no side wins, it is a tie.  After the event, people cut off pieces of the rope for good luck in the coming year.  Jake had so much fun joining in the excitement of the crowd yelling “Wa Shoi” and “Hai-ya” and pulling his best for Team East.

Monday we headed to the north end of the island and spent hours combing the beaches of Cape Hedo for shells, rocks and other treasures.  We camped for the weekend right along the beach.  It was our first time camping together.  The weather was perfect, the sounds of the waves crashing at night, and the roaring campfire made for a perfect day!  Tuesday we walked through a Mangrove Park, stopped to buy local pineapple we saw growing along the road, went to Cape Zanpa, and visited Sea Seed a coral farm. 

The best part of the weekend, besides having 4 full days together, was that almost everything we did was free!  There are so many adventures awaiting us in Okinawa. 

Until next time,

Natasha and Jake

Mt. Fuji (October 4, 2012)

At the end of July, my friend Angela met Jake and I on mainland Japan to hike Mount Fuji.  We arrived at the 5^th station of the mountain around sunset with our packs full of supplies and water, we purchased our hiking sticks and started to hike around 7pm.  It was a neat experience to hike by moonlight and headlamps!  Along the trail are huts that sell food, water and supplies, stamps for hiking sticks and a place to rest.  The higher you go on the mountain, the more expensive the items become. You also had to pay 200 Yen every time you needed to use the bathroom.  Around 11pm we decided to rest for a while in one of the many huts that line the mountain.  For about $65 per person, we were given a mat, pillow and blanket, knowing that at 4am everyone would be woken up to see the sunrise.  What a beautiful and amazing sight!  Seeing the sunrise was my favorite part of the hike.  After a quick breakfast, we gathered up our gear and started day two of hiking at 5am.  Shortly after starting day two, I felt like it was a struggle to hike for more than 10-15 minutes without stopping for a break.  Please note:  Mt Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan, almost 13,000 feet and many people experience altitude sickness while hiking it and I was three months pregnant!

So to the determent of group, we progressed at a slow pace.  Many times, we would glance to the summit and think how close it looked, knowing how far away it really was.  Six long hours later, the altitude sickness that we experienced and the struggle to get to the top vanished as we arrived at the summit.  We were surprised at all of the activity and little “shops” at the summit.  We stopped for photos, the last stamp on our hiking sticks and lunch.  After eating most of the snacks we had packed a hot lunch seemed in order.  I had seen staff eating fresh corn on the cob so when I saw corn soup on the menu, I thought what a treat it would be!  I could not have been more wrong! When my mini can of “corn soup” arrived, I learned not only was it not fresh, but it was basically corn in some kind of broth that you had to drink from a can! 

The descent of the mountain consists of switchback after switchback of loose volcanic ash gravel.  With every step, your foot would slide and dust would be kicked up into the air.  After about an hour into our trek down, we realize that there is no way we are going to make our pre-arranged bus off the mountain.  Jake was scheduled to fly out at 6am the next morning and we feared that if he didn’t make the bus that he would subsequently miss his flight back as well.  On the back of a receipt, with a borrowed pen we quickly scribbled notes to tell him which train lines to take to which stops for the several trains he would need to take to the hotel after getting off the bus.  With a quick kiss, he was off, hoping to catch the 3pm bus.  It would take Angela and me four long hours to make the descent.  I honestly wanted to sit down on the trail and not move.  We were getting sunburned, without food and water and were beyond exhausted. 

We arrived at 3:40 to find that we had missed the last chattered bus.  We were able to find a local bus to take us to a small town train station.  From there, we boarded four different trains hoping each time that we were one step closer to finding our way back to our hotel in Tokyo.  Sometime after 9pm, tired, dirty and very hungry we arrived at our hotel.  Jake was super excited to see us and while we were excited to see he had made it back okay too, our only thoughts were on food and showers!  We devoured a pizza together, telling our tales of our return adventures and then fell fast asleep.

Jake left the hotel before 4am the next morning, while Angela and I didn’t wake up until after 10am!  Instead of touring Tokyo, we spent the day in our hotel - sleeping, eating, relaxing in the pool and watching the Olympics!  The two of us would then travel by bullet train to Kyoto for five days before returning to the United States. 

Until next time,

Natasha and Jake