Day in the Life of an Idiot

 

If you're wondering what Mount Fuji looks like today (or, technically tomorrow) in Japan, here it is, courtesy of another tour via HeyGo. 

Our tour guide this time was Yusuke, a very cold (temperature-wise, he had a very pleasant personality!), middle aged guy who was nevertheless a lovely companion. He was also out of breath because apparently didn't realize that the cable cars didn't start until 9 am and so he had to make the climb up on foot. On the way down, he was joking how some jogger passed him by on the way up, but otherwise there were not a lot of people around. 

Also, at one point on our way down the hill, I'm pretty sure he went off to pee in the woods? He paused us in a spot and put his camera on something to hold it steady, excused himself, and I swore I heard him crunch off into the woods and... well. To be fair to him, the visitor's center wasn't open yet, either, and it's not like it wouldn't be MORE awkward to tell a bunch of tourists to hang on while you obviously went off to use a public toilet. 

Yusuke was doing his best, though. He even brought along a special camera so that we could get an amazing close up of the summit of Mount Fuji. 


Fuji-san's summit

However, every time he switched back and forth between cameras the live-stream would cut out. Luckily, someone in the chat feed knew enough to tell us to refresh. That got most of us back, though I think some others were having additional technical issues. For me, every time I refreshed, I had to remember to "unmute" him because otherwise I lost sound. An odd feature of HeyGo, I guess. But, considering the service I get for a small tip, I'm not actually complaining at all.

Because look at Fuji you guys. LOOK. 



Image: Lake Kawaguchi.

He walked us down the trail from the visitor's center/viewing area, and generally chatted about things with people who posed questions in chat. We had a lot of people worried that Mount Fuji was about to erupt, so he had to explain several times that, no, those were just clouds forming off the high peak, and, yes, they monitor it, and also, though it is considered an active volcano, it hasn't shown any signs of erupting for almost 300 years. 



Tanuki and Rabbit mascots at Kachi-Kachi Yama (the foothills of Fuji).

I was THAT girl in the chat, this time, because at one point we stopped to look at a statue of the mascots of Kachi-kachi yama (where we were, the foothills), which are a rabbit and a tanuki. There was a big discussion about "raccoon dogs" because most people don't know that tanuki are their own animals, so I was THAT girl who was "well, actually"ing in the comments about how tanuki are neither dogs, nor raccoons, (or badgers) and dropping wikipedia links to tanuki. Yusuke tried to explain why the rabbit is setting fire to the sticks on the tanuki's back, but the whole folktale is super convoluted, honestly, but basically the rabbit is seeking revenge on the tanuki for killing a woman and tricking her husband into eating her in a soup. The rabbit is a concerned neighbor? Don't ask. (But, you know, don't feel too badly for the tanuki, even if he is cute!)

As I said, I signed up for Yusuke's second tour an hour later, as well. Apparently, he had to take a bus to the Oishi Park where everything started. While he traveled by bus half way around the world, I passed the time munching on Christmas cookies and putting some finishing touches on my latest quilt (the back of the quilt is an old bed sheet of ours and it's worn in a few places, so I've added patches on the back in matching fabric.)  

The park he brought us to normally has big bushes of lavender, but they were fairly desolate this time of year. Still lovely, however.


Oishi Park, Fujikawaguchiko, Minamitsuru District, Yamanashi  (interestingly one 2-star Yelp Review of Oishi says, "No point going there.")

However, as you can see, we had amazing weather. It was decently cold for Japan, 23 F (-5 C), but Yusuke assured us that the sun kept him very warm. There were quite a few more tourists in Oishi Park, and Yusuke said that he heard a number of different languages. What I noticed more, were the birds. We could hear a few crows or ravens on the foothill overlooking Mount Fuji, but not many song birds. Once by the water, there was just a lot more sound. Several times when he stopped, we could hear the waves lapping against the shore and the sound of the wind pushing the pampas grass into waves. 

This whole livestream tourist thing is a balm for my soul, I have to say. As I was telling a friend, I may never get to Japan, given the expense and the pandemic. At least this way, I can enjoy it pseudo-live? It's weird how present I feel in this virtual space? I think it's because Yusuke and I can discuss persimmons and the fact that I've heard that they're sweeter after first frost. And, when I spot rowers in the lake, I can ask, "Are those rowers?" and he will say, "Ah, you spotted the rowers! Yes, there are people practicing rowing on the lake." 

I'm not THERE, but I am? Do you know what I mean? 

HeyGo is really feeding something I didn't realize I was missing. I'm not a huge traveler, but I do LOVE it.  Plus, even though there are people like me in the chat and this one guy, Freddie, who I am fairly certain was a 'bot because all he'd say is, "Hello, my name is Freddy," there's a kind of spontaneous community too. It really is like booking a tour with a group... annoyances and all.

But, then you also get views like this:


Because here's the other thing. Even if I could make it to Japan, Yusuke reminded us that because Fuji is one of the highest peaks in Japan, the chances of it being cloud covered is 70%. Most people who go to see Fuji don't get to see it as clearly as we did (because Yusuke can follow the weather locally.) 

Anyway, I also had a great Christmas! More about that in the next journal. There aren't any HeyGo tours I'm interested in for a while, so we shall return to the regularly scheduled program.