My Return to Tateyama

A couple of weeks ago, Michelle and I made our last trip out to Toyama prefecture. The last time we were in Toyama there was a blizzard in March, and we almost died trying to snowboard on Mount Tateyama...hahahahahaha :) So, we were thinking it's July so Toyama better be warm by now!!

We took the overnight bus from Tokyo to Toyama on Saturday night, and when we stepped off the bus at 5:15 am, it was cold :) haha. Stacey and one of her japanese teachers from school met us at the station around 6:00 a.m. and we were off on the Alpine Route to Tateyama. The Alpine Route the journey from Toyama to Nagano prefecture through different means of transportation. We only went half way to Tateyama, so first we took a train, then a cable car, then a bus to help us get to the starting point up the mountain.


toyama station-5:30 am


michelle's brilliant idea to prevent blisters...i laughed at first, but then i was the one who came off the mountain with bloody ankles :( who's laughing now eh!!??





view from the cable car

the cable cars run on a pulley system..it's really steep!!!


people were SKIING!!!

bring it on tateyama

start of the hike

mountain water

freezing water!! oishikatta!





kirei ne!!

my girls

trekking through the snow

half way to the half way point

girl scouts from nara



half way there!!

these hikers brought a hibachi and were drinking at eating on the mountain!! can we join the party?


we're ready to die


we didn't realize we'd be scaling rocks :/

i was never afraid of heights...

...until now!!

almost to the clouds!

me and michelle...contemplating the meaning of life :?

it's the very RARE raichoo!! they say that the raichoo protects tateyama and you're considered very lucky if you are able to see one on your hike.

can you see it??

getting acclimated

our fellow hikers :) everyone you pass you have to say "konnichiwaaaa, konnichiwaaa..." and "otsukaresamaaaa" to the hikers coming down.

above the clouds

GOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!

once you reach the top, you can climb a little further to a temple and have a mini service and some sake :)





wow!!! 3003m!! I think Fuji is just about 800 meters higher :) should be cake!


the weather decided to change on our way down, and it started to rain a little bit, and got really dark. going down was a lot harder than going up, and the rocks started to get slippery because of the mist. michelle fell a few times and got some mean bruises...i did my fair share of sliding on my butt. good times!



stacey made salmon in her rice cooker! oishii!

toyama konbu onigiri

kaiten sushi!

toyama white shrimp


when we were riding our bikes to the beach, stacey got a flat tire. we didn't know what to do, so we stopped on the side of the road and i asked this grandma where was the nearest bike shop. she didn't know but her grandchildren started yelling at us these directions getting all excited, it was soo cute! so the grandma gets on her bike and she was going to lead us to the shop, but then a police car drives by and she stops to ask them for help. so there we are on the sidewalk with two policemen who speak no english, trying to help us get to a bike shop. it was so funny...


michelle was dying laughing...

japan sea

they were playing the "smash the watermelon" game!

samui!

mmmm...

stacey, you have something on your face..


having dinner on a sidewalk...only in japan


so one of my favorite students is this girl nanaho...she's six years old, but reads fluently, and is very good at english. i have a private lesson with her every week, and she's so cute! right now she is in san diego attending her first english camp!!! so the past couple of weeks she has had like 2 or 3 lessons a day at amity preparing. i also teach nanaho's mother yumi, and she is sooooo nice to me!! i often give yumi stuff from hawaii like coffee, candy, ranch mix, and hurricane popcorn because she's so nice and i've become really close to her and nanaho. last week, yumi made me homemade tiramisu!! it was goood!


my first time at iwaki gyukaku!

surprisingly enough, it's a lot cheaper than the one on kapiolani!! go figure...

tateyama was great!!! it was good training for fuji-san which we will be attempting at the end of august!! :) yay...

i can't believe alyssa is moving next week already!!! that's CRAZY!!! oh yeah and i FINALLY sent in my decision to stay until next july, which means i HAVE to come home this new years vacation and i want to spend it all in hilo! :) keep a close eye on that one aunty karen!! :) haha just kidding lys, i know you'll do great!