Kali Himagsikan...Climbling to NEW heights

For almost a year now, I've been training in Pekiti Tirsia Kali; which if you recall is a Filipino martial art based on bladed and impact weapons. Some of the techniques are challenging, but its application in real life scenarios is very practical. Due to conflicting philosophies and upper-echelon politics, my teacher, Sensei Satoshi, decided it was time to break away from the Shin-Kali school back in March and start our own group, Kali Himagsikan.

The Filipino term "Hi-mag-si-kan" means revolution; for us it's means going beyond our comfort zone and pushing ourselves to the limits. During my time here, I've come to realize that our group in Yokohama has gained a reputation within kali circles as being a passionate bunch of individuals. Whether it be for this art or for just life in general; we are always looking for ways to improve by taking on new and exciting challenges. This certainly was the case when Sensei and our school administrator, Yoko, organized an overnight hike for the group to watch the sunrise on top of Mt. Fuji back in late July. Climbing Mt. Fuji has been on my Japan checklist so I was extremely excited for this opportunity but at the same time, a bit intimidated as well because I've never done anything like this before. Prior to the climb I did all my online research, attend a Mt. Fuji informational seminar on base, gym workouts, and even rented some essential hiking gear but nothing could have fully prepared me for this journey I was about to partake in.

We left Yokohama by bus at around 7am on the morning of July 27 and got to the 5th station of Mt. Fuji by 10:30am. We got a quick bite to eat before starting our ascent up the mountain at around 11:30am.

From Left to Right: Sensei Satoshi, Erik, Dee, Ben, Yoko, and me

For most hikers, the 5th station (7,500 ft. above sea level) is the most popular starting point on the Yoshida Trail to begin the trek. Because the Mt. Fuji climbing season is only two months out of the year (July-August), it was really hot and humid at the beginning of the hike (30 degrees Celsius, or about 86 degrees Fahrenheit) but started to drop down in temperature considerably the higher up we went. There were parts of the terrain that were rocky and other areas that were flat but at a steady incline. Because we were getting higher in altitude, the thin mountain air did manage to slow down Sensei, Yoko, and myself so we decided to take short breaks as frequently as possible whereas Erik, Ben, and Dee just powered through and went ahead. We still managed though to take some really great group shots and even doing some Sibat (Filipino spear) training on the way up.

 

Because Mt. Fuji is considered a sacred mountain, there were many religious figures (mainly from the Japanese Shinto religion) climbing the mountain as well to reach the shrine at the very top.

Along the Yoshida Trail, there are many huts between the 7th and 8th stations where people can sleep, eat and use the restroom (starting around 8,858 ft.) Because these stations are so secluded, they charge hikers a fee of 200 Yen (about $1.60) to use the bathroom. They even charge a premium on the goods they sell for instance, a cup of noodles cost hikers 500 Yen, which is around $4 and an extra $1 if you want to eat your meal inside their hut. But the price mark-ups didn't stop us from buying a nice, ice-cold beer at the first 7th station hut for about $8 a can!

On my previous blog, I mentioned that I purchased a Mt. Fuji walking stick the day before this trip for a cool looking souvenir. Each station hut has a unique logo/symbol where a representative will actually brand your wooden walking stick for about 200 Yen. So of course as you get higher up the mountain, the more of these stamps you collect...I know for sure that this Mt. Fuji walking stick will be easily be one of my favorite mementos I bring back from Japan.

So fast forward to about 6:45pm in the evening, about another 2,000 feet up and we finally reach our hut, Taishikan, at the 8th station of Mt. Fuji. For 8,500 Yen, we got to rest here for the evening and get something to eat.

Our sleeping accommodations for the evening were like oversized bunk beds with a sleeping bag and a small pouch filled with beans for a pillow...

Dinner consisted of curry rice with fish, a mini pork hot dog, and dessert but I was so hungry at the time I really didn't really care what they fed us. At the same time, the workers at the hut also provided us with our breakfast which was similar to fried rice and a pastry.

After dinner, went outside to catch the sunset...amazing!

Lights out was around 8pm and it was nice to finally lie down after such a long day. But with all the people in the cabin along with my super-comfortable pillow, I maybe got a good hour or so of sleep. In order to catch the sunrise, we woke up at around 11:30pm and started our last stretch up the mountain at midnight. It was around 13 degree Celsius (55 degrees Fahrenheit) when we started but got down to the mid 30's by the time we got up to the top.  

What at the beautiful early morning sky...

It took us about four hours (around 4:15am) to reach the top of the mountain (12,388 ft.) and there were already hundreds of people lined up looking towards the horizon. I managed to climb up to a window ledge of a building so I could get some unobstructed views of the sunrise...

Right after the sun rises everyone starts yelling out "Banzai!" We hung out for an hour or so to take in scenery before heading down. 

The crater of Mt. Fuji:

For me, hiking down was the most difficult part of this journey. The loose volcanic rocks were very unstable as we descended down the zig-zag pathway causing me to loose my balance at times and put extreme pressure on my knees and feet. It took about four hours to make it back down to the 5th station and my legs were sore!   
             

An interesting side note: the trail going down is different from the one going up the mountain. It's the same pathway that bulldozers use to deliver supplies to the huts:

Despite all the pain and fatigue, climbing Mt. Fuji was a big accomplishment! I will probably never do this again but the fact that I got take on this monumental challenge along with the friends I have made here in Japan is something I will never forget. Himagsik-tayo!    

Beverly's visit to Japan

A couple of weeks ago, we got to spend some time with Beverly (Bern's sister) and her friends as they took in many of the wonderful sites around Japan. When we picked up Bev at Haneda Airport, Bern and I were so very happy to see her!

 

This was somewhat of a family reunion because Bern and Bev's cousin, Maureen, also made the trip. Maureen is the younger sister of Melissa who lives here as well. Melissa and her family were so helpful to Bern and myself when we first got to Japan so it was nice to spend some time with them again!

 

    



I have to give Bev and her friends a lot of credit because they managed to see and do so many things in such a short period of time; everyday of their vacation was planned out and very well-organized. The first half of their trip would be spent around the Tokyo area so Bern and I tagged along for a few days since we were somewhat familiar with the area already. We of course showed them the Tokyo essentials like Harajuku & Akihabara:

 

 

But we also got to see some new parts of Tokyo too like the Torii Gates at Ueno Park:

And a small little alleyway in Shinjuku commonly known to foreigners as "piss alley or memory lane" known for their tiny izakaya's (Japanese pubs). These restaurants were so small but luckily we found one that had an upstairs loft that accommodated our large group.

Following Tokyo, Bev and her friends went on to Kyoto and Osaka for a few days while Bern and I went home. When they all made it back safely to Yokosuka, we then took them to Yokohama which is only about a forty minute train ride away.

      
Yokohama of course is famous for their Chinatown where Bern, Bev, and her friend Cindy got to try out the Dr. Fish spa where tiny fish eat the dead skin off your feet and legs. I knew how ticklish I got the last time I tried it with my boy Efren so I didn't want to submit myself again to that kind of torture; but Bern on the other hand did a pretty good job adjusting only after a few minutes!

   
They also wanted to check out the Cup Noodles museum in Yokohama as well:

Something new that we got to try out in Yokohama was the Ramen Museum. As the name suggests, the place did have a small synapsis of how Ramen became so embedded into the Japanese mainstream and the differences in the Ramen served throughout the various regions of the country. But the main draw was the two-story basement of this building which was modeled after a Japanese town at the turn of the century with all these small restaurants that served different types of Ramen. It kind of reminded me of Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas with the painted sky on the ceiling:

The following day, half of Bev's friends planned a hiking trip to the top of Mt. Fuji; but since I was already planning on climbing it the day after (more on that on a separate blog entry), we decided that the three of us would take a day hike going up to just one station of Mt. Fuji. We started our hike on the 5th Station and hiked up just to the 6th station. The popular thing to do when anyone climbs Mt. Fuji is purchase a walking stick and it get branded with each station's trademark. Bern and Bev got the smaller souvenir stick while I decided to purchase the big walking stick since I too would be climbing all the way to the top. I have to admit that I was a bit worried for Bern since neither one of us are hikers, but she did a good job powering through the trail despite the 90 plus degree weather!

And because this day hike was coordinated through the military travel office, it included a blueberry picking session afterwards along the banks of Lake Kawaguchiko (the base of Mt. Fuji). All the blueberries we could eat fresh off the vine plus a small plastic container to take home. Unlike the strawberries we got to pick a few months back with our friends Jerry and Grace, deciding what blueberries to pick was a little more difficult because they were all the same color for the most part. But it wasn't until I remembered this funny line "The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice," that
really seemed to help me in picking the right ones moving forward! haha

Even though her trip was short, it was so much fun having Bev here in Japan! We look forward to having her back again along with Mom in March of 2016 for the cherry blossom season. Until then, we love and miss you! Thank you for visiting us and bringing carne asada burritos from Lolitas! haha