We left on April 28th in the evening and drove through the night to the prefecture of Nagano, famous for the 1998 Olympics. We didn't enter the main city though and basically centered ourselves in a town called Matsumoto. Matsumoto is famous as the gateway to the Japanese Alps, a mountain range that divides Honshu in half. We arrived in Matsumoto and immediately headed for Kamikochi. Kamikochi is closed for the winter months because of all the snow and in summer you can't drive your car there, you have to take a bus. Kamikochi is nestled right along the base of some of the tallest mountains in Japan. Most people take the bus in and out in one day but we stayed there two nights. That enabled us to do a full day (32 km) hike into the mountains. It was a gorgeous hike.

The sky was blue and as clear as could be. At first we walked along the river that had some of the clearest water. To the right is a shot of the mountains reflecting in the water. After walking along the river for some time we headed up towards the mountains. Kamikochi means Highlands, and there was a lot of snow still left up there. The path was over the snow but someone had taken time to kind of shovel out a line upon which to walk on.

The peaks in the area are some of the tallest in Japan but we didn't make it up any of them. We didn't have any crampons or ice picks and they seemed to be required to go any farther than the base camp we made it to. In fact some people were a little indignant we even climbing as high as we did in our tennis shoes. At the base camp we made it to there was a beautiful sight of colorful tents dotting the snow. Also there was, in true Japanese form, a snack shop selling ridiculously expensive beer and some other snacks.

On the way down we were excited to meet a group of monkeys that were feeding (or maybe trying to coax some food from the hikers) along the path. We even saw a mother and her baby. Dan thought them quite cute and took about 20 shots. (The best he could do is to the right) To get better shots he was inching closer and closer to the mother and the baby when all of a sudden the mother lunged and snarled. Dan, being deathly afraid of anything that seems to be upset with him, quickly backed off and decided that wildlife photography was not for him.

After two nights in Kamikochi it was back to Matsumoto and the car. Matsumoto is not famous for much but it did have one interesting sight that appealed to the both of us. The famous violin teacher, Suzuki, the originator of the Suzuki method, lived in Matsumoto for some time and because or that there is a museum dedicated to him there. Even though the place was closed the curator let us in and gave a us a personal tour of the exhibits. He also showed us a copy of the video he himself had taken to the States and shown to professors at Oberlin Music College from where the Suzuki method got it's American start. Since both of us started violin using the Suzuki method it was quite an interesting side trip.

Later the same day we drove three hours and arrived in Tokyo. Our friend Dale, who used to live in Amakusa with us now works for a shipping company in Tokyo. He invited us to stay with him and it was great to see him and a very convenient way to sight-see in the Tokyo area. When we came to Japan four years ago we first landed in Tokyo and had orientation there. Since then we had never been back. It was amazing how different our Tokyo experiences were the second time. The first time we were there we know little about Japan and virtually nothing about Tokyo. This time was a completely different story. After following the news for four years we knew all the famous spots and could understand how Tokyo really is the center of how things go down in Japan. We went to Yasukuni Shrine, a controversial place because of it ties to World War II war criminals. We went to Akihabara, the central electronics district of Japan where you can't find a single woman except in the "kawaii" (cute) posters that adorn every shop. We went to Shinjuku where the night lights are brightest and where anyone who is anyone goes to be entertained. We witnessed the irreverence of the Japanese at Sensoji Temple, where thousands of tourists came making the temple a huge marketplace filled with shouting customers more than a place of mediation. We joined in the irreverence by waving the holy smoke over the injured parts of our bodies (in Dan's case a sunburned face) all the while laughing obviously having no faith whatsoever in the practice. We enjoyed district in Asakusa where most of the supplies for Japanese restaurants come from including the life like wax food models that adorn almost every restaurant in Japan. Tokyo is a city that epitomizes modern life. Everyone aspires to go make it big there, and then when you get there you realize that in spite of all the importance associated with it life is the same everywhere except if it's in Tokyo you have share the commute to work with about 10 million other people.

After three days in Tokyo we were ready for the countryside again and our last challenge, mythical Mt. Fuji. Dale, our friend, joined us and we made a weekend out of it. We were super lucky as Dale's friendly boss gave us the keys to his apartment away from home in a nearby resort village. The day we originally intended to climb Fuji was rainy so we put it off a day. The day we were to hike we woke at 4:30 and it was still raining but we took the forecasters at their word and drove to Fuji. At first couldn't see Fuji at all and although the rain was letting up it didn't seem to be a great day to ascend a tall snow covered mountain. At that moment there was a break in the clouds and we got a great view of the mountain that you can see to the right. Turns out the valley we were in was cloud covered but the mountain was as clear as could be. There are 10 stations that mark the climb up Fuji and as most hikers do we started at the fifth one. However unlike most hikers we didn't wait for July and the official hiking season and confidently strode past the sign recommending people not to climb the mountain out of season. We weren't that confident for the duration of the hike. It was a little tougher than we had expected and by the time we reached the ninth station we were really wondering if we were going to make it to the top or not. The conditions near the top were tough. The wind was whistling and biting cold. But we battled on and made the summit just around the time we had agreed to turn back if we couldn't do it. And our friend Dale told us that at least one person said to him, "Look at those two foreigners only wearing tennis shoes that made it so fast to the top!!"

After a short rest, some much needed trail mix, and bunch of "we made it!!" photos we headed down. The way down was a breeze compared to the ascent. Especially for Sarah and Dale. They plopped down on their butts and slid the whole way down to the amazement of the Japanese alpinists who had carried their skis all the way to the top. It's not how you do, but if you do it that is what counts in our books. The next day the skiers might have been laughing when Sarah woke up with bruises all over her butt and legs though!!

After a day on the mountain there is nothing better than an onsen (or hot spring bath) and we found one that was about as crowded as the trains we had left behind in Tokyo. Nonetheless the bath was refreshing and we had a great end to our trip. For the next day, May 5, we had to leave Honshu back for the countryside. The drive took 15 hours and cost $200 in tolls but when we arrived home we were glad to be somewhere familiar.