Fuji-san!

It seems every time I go to Tokyo, I end up frantically running for the trains. What’s up with that?

Today we went to Fujikyu Highland, a theme park at the base of Mt. Fuji. It’s quite a distance away, so we ended up leaving early. Really early.

In fact, I woke up on the dot of six. Ugh. Mind you, I was so exhausted yesterday that I came home and collapsed at about eight-thirty, so it’s not like I was sleep-deprived, but still, it’s the principle of the thing.

We were at the station by seven, and I was deeply disappointed to find that not even the Mister Donut was open at that hour, but what could we do? We got our all-day passes for Tokyo, and took the train to Shinjuku, which was a trip of more than an hour. I started reading one of the books I’d brought from home, Clockwork Heart. I picked it up mainly because it was steampunk, and involved people flying around on metal wings. Really, what’s not to like with that kind of combination?

Once at Shinjuku, we followed Yoshiko through the winding labyrinth of subway tunnels and rushing people and, after a quick stop at the ATMs for cash, got our Q-Pack passes, which, although pricey (around $70) paid not only for our entrance into the park and unlimited rides, but also the round-trip bus tickets. Considering that it was quite a long trip, the whole package was really quite a deal.

So we got on the bus, and we ate the breakfasts we’d scrounged from the konbini, which was mostly onigiri, and we drove. And drove and drove. It was a two-hour drive (one hour forty minutes, to be exact), and there was little to see for most of it except soundproofed walls and concrete slopes, until we got farther out, and really got into the mountains. The mountains were quite beautiful, though, even without any leaves. I continued reading my book.

At some point, we came around a turn, and suddenly there it was. Mount Fuji.

It was beautiful, with fully half the mountain top covered in snow, and so huge. Naturally I’d seen pictures, and I’d even seen it from the air, when we flew down to Hiroshima, but nothing did it justice. Seeing it up close, I was stunned at just how wide the base of the mountain is. With a clear view, the base stretches almost fully across the horizon. It was amazing, and more than that. Even as the day went on, I found myself continually looking back at it, and being awed anew every time I did. Simply fantastic.

(This is the best picture I could find to capture the scale of Fuji, and it still doesn't do it justice.)

We entered the park (after our initial flurry of picture-taking had slowed), and almost immediately I had a conundrum—the others all wanted to try out some new coaster, something simple but super-fast. I might have been convinced to try it at the end of the day, but honestly, I don’t like coasters. While they promised this one wouldn’t be as bad as the others in the park, it was still too much for me. So eventually, after a bit of wavering, I borrowed Yoshiko’s ketai and headed off into the park to wander around, while the others stood in the two-hour line for this coaster. I ended up simply doing a lap around the park, browsing a few of the shops, before hunger drove me back towards the front, where the best food stands were. I got some rather nice, if slightly overpriced, yakisoba (with octopus!), and sat eating it. Not long after the others called, and we met up again.

The group was quickly split, however, as after lunch, Yoshiko, Keleigh, and one or two of the others went off to ride more of the big coasters. There were two of these. Fujiyama, the really huge one, and Eejanaika, whose name is a phrase—Ee?! Ja nai ka?—which can be loosely translated as “You’ve got to be kidding me!” or maybe “Are you serious?!” It is an insane coaster. Just watching it made me boggle. The seats are held out to the sides, and spin independently, so that you are constantly moving while the car rides along the track, which has a huge steep drop and lots and lots of curves. The worst, however, is that at one point the track dips shockingly low to the ground, and the riders are only about a foot and a half away from kissing the dirt. And yes, you guessed it, at that point they’re also upside down.

(Some images of the insanity that is Ee? Janaika!)

Wanting no part in this madness, we set off for other entertainments. We didn’t find much; we did the ferris wheel, and a little swing ride, which although quite lame had me a bit nervous anyway, and then we tried the “Save the Princess!” Adventure. That’s not actually what it was called, but it’s a better name than they had. The basic gist was very interesting; there was a half-baked scenario about a princess getting kidnapped, and you had to rescue her by collecting four “armies” and then going up to the top room. The description made it sound a bit like a Legends of the Hidden Temple sort of challenge, especially since there was a “labyrinthine maze of rooms.”

The actual thing… well, it was still interesting, I’ll give it that, and definitely challenging. You got a “war fan,” and you had to wave it at these sort of light-sensor things, and sometimes they would light up and you’d have collected one of the armies. And sometimes the light would be a trap and it would remove all your collected armies. However… this was all randomized, so it was basically impossible to complete, especially if you were working in groups, because after two or three times the light would be a trap. Needless to say, all of us failed miserably, and did not get to save the princess. It was also a bit disappointing because the interior did not match their story at all; it was a confusing maze of rooms, yes, but it was mostly just old computer monitors and things stacked in corners. It made no sense at all, but it was interesting, and better for me than some stupid coaster.

We met up with Yoshiko again sometime after that, and tried to figure out what to do with our remaining few hours before the bus came back. However… it was edging into late afternoon, and the wind had shifted. I wasn’t dressed lightly by any means, but I had worn sandals, since the weather report had promised a nice, 70-degree day, and even with two shirts and a heavy sweatshirt on, with the cold wind blowing I was freezing. Keleigh, who had brought no jacket at all, was even worse off.

Gradually we made our way back to the entrance, where the warm, wind-sheltered omiyage shops awaited us…stopping frequently for pictures, and a few times for the others to go on different rides. I felt a bit awkward at not having gone on any real rides, and almost went on one or two of the kiddie coasters, but by that point it was really too cold and I was too tired to suffer the lines, even if they were only half an hour long.

We spent the rest of the time in the shops. I bought a cheap little keychain, a small plush of Mt. Fuji, about two inches square. The tag called it Fuji-chan. It’s blue, and irresistibly kawaii. I had to fight hard not to get a ketai charm with the same design; they had it on quite a few things. As I remarked to Chris, only Japan could make a mountain adorable. Especially a volcano. But then, this is Japan, so they managed it. I plan to stick it on my car mirror when I get back home.

The bus came, and we got on it as quickly as possible, grateful to be out of the cold wind, even if the sun setting behind the mountains was lovely. I resumed reading my book. I was glad I’d brought it along; we ran into more delays driving back to Tokyo, and the trip took probably half an hour longer going back. We hit the panya at Shinjuku for our dinner, but there was quite a line, and we were delayed again…

Which is what led to us dashing through the station at breakneck speed, as we tried to catch the train that was leaving in four, no, two minutes…

We made it though, and found spots to sit and rest and eat, once the train had cleared out a little. I sat and read, and finished my book. It was rather light and fluffy, and had an incredibly cheesy ending, but hey, that’s what travel books are for.

And now, once again, I am home, and finally, I can rest. Tomorrow we have no class, and Chris has said he will try to finagle wireless access in the kokusai center, so maybe I will finally be able to sit and relax and surf the web, and not have to move at all.

We can hope. Somehow I doubt it will be so simple.