Wednesday 6th July 2016

Today, was a nice relaxing day...after Mount Fuji, we were both exhausted! However, we didn't have an overly hard time getting up which was a surprise. I was excited to get up and explore more of Tokyo and just mosey around looking at the never ending cute stuff Japan has to offer. 

I had a particular place in mind to take Simon for breakfast/lunch because it was all you can eat for an unbelievable price and it wasn't a Japanese dish we had yet whilst in Japan. It was Okonomiyaki at Sakura Tei, in Harajuku.

We set off in a new path to get to Harajuku street, taking the back roads and taking in the new sights and atmosphere. You wouldn't really know until you go but the backstreets of Tokyo really give off a small city vibe when you walk down. There aren't as many pedestrians so it really feels like you're in a totally different city. Also the interesting buildings you come by is also a plus, with their architecture and decor.

After about 20-30mins of walking, we got to Harajuku Street. Which is a haven, one thing about Japan, is that no matter how little the nook or cranny is, you will find a whole new set of stores, or cafes. Which adds to the wonder of Tokyo. It's not all just ground floor too, there are stores underground, in multifloors. There is no end. It was a little bit of a walk to Sakura Tei, which took us down narrow paths. 

Thanks to google maps though it wasn't too hard to find. If you were winging it that would be a different story, we would probably still be looking for it. 

So after arriving we were seated and given menus. Of course, we decided to get the Lunch special which is all you can eat okonomiyaki with 1 drink for 1060 Yen. This gives you 90 mins to order as much as you want (as long as you eat it. Wasting food will enforce a surcharge). With the grill turned on in front of us, and the ordering of our first flavours we were set! If you've never made it before, that's all good as there are clear instructions in English to make sure you perfect your skills. 

There was a Chinese couple on the table next to us and boy they were going H.A.M! They were eating 2 meals, and had 6 different things cooking on the grill at the same time. They were tiny as well. I have no clue how they could have kept eating because, I only had 2.5 and I was stuffed. Same with Simon, he even had to finish my other half and he was gone as well. We had to tap out. 

One hilarious thing though is that at the side of the restaurant is another narrow pathway and we heard booming American accented voices. And low and behold, it was the same Americans on our Mt Fuji trip...what are the odds?? more than 40 million people in Tokyo and we are to run into them again the very next day of the tour. That blew our minds, our very full of okonomiyaki minds. 

After we were full we left Sakura Tei and went out to take in more of Harajuku's awesomeness. There was a lot to see. And we ended up finding this amazing Crystal shop. So much want was had in that store...too many amazing pieces, and the biggest crystal I've ever seen!

Afterwards, we went and looked at Meiji Jingue shrine where Simon wrote on a votive for his wishes. Then walked high and low through Harajuku and Shibuya. Today was a really chill time as it was nice to not be on a schedule. We ended up looking around in Parco in Shibuya 

And for dinner we stuck with what we knew best and wanted most which was....Gyoza! So it was back to Gyozarou in Harajuku for dumplings, lemon sours and great atmosphere. This is where we ended the night before walking back home and ready for the next day.

Thursday 7th July 2016

Today was our last day in Tokyo before we come back for the flights in about a week. and there was one place I had on my mind to go before we left. And that was Saizeriya. Which is an italian chain restaurant where everything is insanely cheap. It of course isn't 5 star authentic Italian but it was tasty and for about $4 for pasta...why not?? I especially loved the Drinks bar, where you pay 190 yen for all you can drink. I definitely wish there was a place in Australia like this where it's cheap, yummy and just insanely cheap. Alas, I will only have the memories of Japan. Thankfully one of the stores was very close to our apartment, which on this day it was BOILING! I mean like you felt like you were frying and in a pot of boiling water at the same time due to the humidity. Fun times.

Taking refuge in Saizeriya was nice and it was a comfortable experience. The only thing is that when you arrive you put your name down, number of people and smoking and nonsmoking...With that issue...it's all written in Japanese and I didn't know what the character for smoking and non smoking were. But there wasn't really a line so we kind of bluffed our way through that process. Today was the day of Shibuya anime stores, tokyu hands and just general Shibuya wanderings. We had an awesome time in the basement of Mandarake, which is heaven for any Manga, character goods collector (from many different years/fandoms) and books, CDs, DVDs...everything. Going down the stairs is very trippy...like a cave rave so anyone who is epileptic or sensitive to flashing lights and blinking coloured lights...I recommend taking the elevator instead. After a browse through there, we went up to the 3rd floor where Animate is housed. It's not the biggest Animate by any means but again, if you like Manga, magazines, and other character goods, it's a nice stop to check out. 

Another must go to is Loft...it's basically like a department store but more of the little things (stationary, craft, makeup, nails, accessories, gifts, homewares, kitchen stuff etc). It was definitely one of my fave stores, along with Tokyu Hands...This store...it's crazy. It's set out in 8 or so floors but their set out in mid floors, so there is floor 5a, 5b or 5c. Meaning that if you take the stairs on the left down it takes you from 5a to 5c, but if you go right, it can take you down to 5b. A bit confusing right? It's not too hard to get a hang of, especially because they have a handy map on every subfloor.

Anyway...talk about shopping because this place has EVERYTHING! Wood works, leather crafting, jewellery making, stationary, framing, science stuff, clothes, tech, accessories, pets, decor...everything!

We definitely spent a huge chunk of time here, and I did a bit of damage getting some crafting supplies. At this point it was getting dark and we had only had that pasta all day. So again it was time to scour the streets looking for a place to eat. After a lot of searching we decided to give this place a go that was down some stairs near the Pet shop in Shibuya. And boy, it was pretty inexpensive, the food looked amazing and we ordered a lot! Karaage, pizza, dumplings, katsu curry...many many foods. The only sort of downside is that the whole place is smoking. So there is no designated non-smoking dining area. It didn't really bother us or the family with kids sitting next to us. I don't know if Japanese cigarettes are less strong smelling, or the place just had really good ventilation exhausts, but soon you could barely acknowledge it was a smoking establishment. If you're sensitive to smoke and such though, I probably wouldn't recommend it just in case. 

But the food arrived and it was delicious, there was literally none of our dishes we could fault. And we did get a fair few dishes. It was a great time and we were just full enough...which means DESSERT TIME!!!! We weren't really in the mood for the convenience store ice creams, so I decided to take us to the L'Occitane Cafe where we had some coffee and creme brulee while we watched the Shibuya scramble crossing. It was pretty interesting to people watch from up there as you see the Promo men trying to get good looking women hooked so they can do their spiel. Then we saw a line of Go Karts, and people driving dressed as Mario, bowzer and Luigi, which was funny.

 With that sight still imprinted in our brains, the Creme Brulee arrived. And boy it looked delish!

It was as good as I had hoped...and for the fact that the two desserts and coffee was more expensive than all that dinner...it had better be. We shoveled down our desserts and sipped the coffee and not before long, it was getting a bit late. Even though just looking out the window, you'd think it was only 7pm with the amount of people still out and about. So we bid the fantastic staff goodbye and began that familiar walk back to the apartment. But before taking a photo of Japan's famous Square and unique shaped watermelon. 

 Until the next post

xxT

Total steps walked this day : 13, 667

Tuesday 5th July 2016

Waking up at around 5am, I really didn't want to wake up. I was still feeling gross and disgusting and kinda wanted to vomit. We slept for a bit longer and at about 6:30am we packed up and said good bye to the most uncomfortable sleep but best accommodation experience. We walked out into pure whimsy. The sun was up and the view incredible!

It was so beautiful, to be in the brisk cold air, feeling on top of the world...looking, down on creation...I joke.

Anyway, we had to take a moment to take everything in before we set off down this magnificent mountain. Taking in everything we started our descent, and boy did I feel shaky. But, it was much better than going up. Apart from when we reached the steep rocky paths. As you saw this post's first photo, I was wearing my pink rainjacket. Naturally wearing a hood cuts out some of your peripherals. Now, going down these rocky steep parts, I was too busy looking at my feet to make sure I wasn't going to slip that I banged my forearm on this massive volcanic boulder on my left side. And boy did I hit it hard. I thought I almost broke it. It's a bit hard to see in this photo but almost instantly I had a dark bruise that got darker in time. It was so painful.

 Anyway...I got a boo boo. Carrying on we carried on down the Mountain. This time, being by ourselves, we took our time. Taking in the scenery and things we might have missed earlier while looking at our feet whilst climbing up. If you're interested in the terrain of the mountain I was explaining in the previous post, here it is...

Such a wonder, isn't it. Making our way down...town, faces pass and I'm home bound (*cue piano riff*)...Moving away from that Vanessa Carlton song, we were making a good pace down the mountain, saying good morning to fellow hikers of which were making their ascent. Such lovely people. Something that was very surprising and which you would almost rarely see in Australia is the amount of older people climbing. The average age of climbers where around 70 years old, not including tourists, just native Japanese folks. Taking their yearly trip up this sacred mountain. It was an incredible sight to see seniors with walking poles and all their gear making the incredible journey. Very inspirational.

It didn't feel too long at all when we finally reached the last stretch...which frustratingly was slightly back uphill to the 5th station. I was dead. I could barely walk up this slight incline without feeling really out of breath and uncomfortable. I wish that feeling left as quickly as it's onset, but it didn't. I figured my body was in full anxiety, panic attack mode as my heart rate would not drop below 140bpm. Even when we finally reached the 5th station and sat down to rest at approx 8am, my heartrate was resting at 100bpm. I could feel my chest tighten and my heart palpitate. It was not the best feeling in the world. It was so uncomfortable to constantly have such weight on your chest and in your heart. One thing that helped is that mentally I didn't panic. I tried to stay as calm as possible for the longest time possible, but even when the rest of the tour group finally got back down and we got on the bus at 11:45am my heart rate was still erratic. I wasn't feeling that great in my stomach either so tasteful foods I felt wouldn't agree with me, so I passed my bento onto Simon and I had gotten a hot corn on the cob from one of the shops at the 5th station.

Thankfully though, we were on the way to food and onsen. Because I wasn't feeling the best and because I have a tattoo, plus I wasn't in the 'get naked in front of everyone and sit in a communal bath' feeling. The bus ride down the mountain, I fell asleep. It was a nice little nap, and when I awoke, the town was so foggy, it was amazing. Incredible to drive through.

  

We finally reached the onsen, and of course, we all had to take our shoes off. Everyone was so hesitant because we all knew it wouldn't be the best smell. Thankfully, it wasn't nearly as bad as everything thought it was and we piled all our things into the coin lockers. Some went off for onsens, others like myself, went to the food. Still my heart rate wasn't at my usual 69bpm which is my resting rate. It kept going from 90-120bpm. But I just went through it, we had some katsudon, and waited for everyone to finish up so we can be back on the way to Tokyo.

We didn't have to wait long, before it was time to all pile back onto the bus for the 1.5hour ride back to Shinjuku. It was such a smooth ride back, and it didn't feel like it took long at all. Simon fell asleep and I mostly just looked at all the landscapes. I love Japan. Such a beautiful country, full of whimsy and even in summer, it gives you a cozy feeling. Still feeling cozy but with a racing heart beat, we reached our destination. Back in Shinjuku, we were keen to get back to Shibuya, and the apartment for a much needed shower, and change of clothes. 

When we did reach back to the apartment, we thanked the universe that we didn't lose or misplace the key and we bundled into the room. Fast forward 2 hours and we were both clean and relaxing. Finally my heart rate was going down and I was so hungry. In clean clothes that did not have any dust embedded in it...which felt nice. We decided to venture off to Harajuku to have ramen at the ichiran located there as I figured it might have less people as the one in Shibuya usually has a line even to 10pm. At this point it was around 8pm and Shibuya would definitely be packed, hence the Harajuku choice. My feet were dead, and so was Simon's, but we powered on because noodles were calling. 

We finally reached the store and HUZZAH! There was barely a line, only 2 people in front. We got our tickets from the machine and we were pretty much taken in straight away into a private booth. I didn't know it was a thing in this chain but they managed to fit in little private eating booths for pairs and for mothers with children which was nice. We dinged the order button and soon we had our hot delicious bowls of yummy. We pretty much devoured our food and it was amazing as always. 

After our meal, most stores were closing, but we thought we should take a leisurely stroll back to the apartment, via Shibuya and tower records. Which we went into and perused the music and some of the levels. It is an amazing store, huge and a lot of music. You're bound to find whatever genre here. With sooooooo many CD's with some books, DVDs and other merch thrown in...even a themed cafe that changes time to time. So Much Yay.

It got to that time though, where we were so tired and just wanted to lie down. Wearily walking back to the apartment, we made in just in time before I collapsed, lol. I was so tired, we were bound to sleep well tonight...and that we did.

Until next post..

xxT

Steps taken this day: 23,520f

Floors climbed the day before: 220!!!!!

Monday 4th July 2016

Today was an early start. Simon and I grabbed all our gear and food and took the train to Shinjuku. I was kind of nervous as it was a place I hadn't explored yet and it was in front of a building I didn't know. Another thing is that there are well OVER 200 EXITS! So if we ended going out from the wrong one. We could end up kilometres away and miss our tour bus. Thankfully the good ole JR free wifi was pulsing and I was able to get a map up and loaded so I can use the GPS to get to the meeting place. Which was fairly easy which is good. Another tip, I might have already mentioned in another post, but once you have a map loaded on google maps on your mobile phone, you don't need an internet connection for you to track your movements and direction of travel. Which is BRILLIANT! 

Anyway, we were getting close to our destination and we could see a fair few people sitting around with backpacks, hiking boots, walking poles and somewhat disheveled appearance (probably because people had to get on transport pretty early to get here on time). It was our tour group! Yay, we weren't scammed, alone or the extremely unfit ones. There were people of all types and ages, which gave us some confidence that we weren't going to collapse on the Mountain and die. 

While we waited a bit for more people to get here, we devoured some of our sandwiches and yogurt. And they were delicious! One thing about Japanese convenience store foods, is that they are actually delicious and aren't crusty and gross like we have back in Australia. Most people wouldn't dare buy that packaged sandwich from a 7 eleven. But in Japan, the food is prepared so well and flavoursome I couldn't get over it. 

After eating our food and drinking some water, we boarded the bus and it was time to get comfortable for the drive. One funny thing was that the last two people to get on the bus came in dresses and thongs (flip flops for you non-Australians) and of course, they were Australians. I would guess BlackMilk dresses and two flimsy foam pieces attached by your toe is not hiking gear, but they probably hired the gear through the tour company which is an option, if you're not looking at spending a lot more money on buying and lugging equipment around.

A pit stop later and an ascent up the base of Mt Fuji to the 5th Station, shiz was getting real. Soon we will be setting off on our long climb to the 8th station. We collected all our gear and all went up to our set restaurant for lunch. We were briefed on where to meet afterwards, and the time. Also to not eat the whole meal so we don't feel sluggish and tired. The food consisted of Soup, noodles, tempura, vegetables, rice and tea which was really nice. I wasn't really feeling the lunch too well from nerves but I ate enough and left to fix my gear.

At around 11:45am we met up at our meeting place and was informed of the best methods for the climb, from pace, posture, walking style and safety. Afterwards, we set off on the first leg of the climb. At this point most didn't know what to expect. In case you wanted to know...dust and very loose dirt. We had about 6-7 hours of climbing to get to the 8th station and it was pretty easy going with the pace set by the guide. We did regret now having walking poles though as that would have taken some of the strain off of us. We took some breaks every 30 mins or so, but to stave off tiredness the breaks didn't last very long which I was kind of sad about but I understood why. On the way up it is pretty windy so the dust is savage at getting into eyes, mouths, clothing etc. So definitely take sunglasses or googles. Seriously nothing worse than getting volcanic dust in you eyes...so stingy. We reached the 6th station for a bit of a break and bathroom stop, and from here the climb started to get difficult. (FYI to use the bathroom you have to pay 200 yen to use it for cleaning costs. Also there are no bins on Mt Fuji, so whatever rubbish you bring you have to take with you when you leave...apart from sanitary items.)

dat view doe

delicious dirt. it seriously gets everywhere and sticks to your skin. Nasty.

One way that the guide managed to keep everyone together was that we had to travel in a single file and the slowest at the front, fastest/more experienced people at the back. Which was a great way. There were a couple of people over 50 years old in our group so that was a good pace. After a while we passed our first mountain hut. Which was a cute sort of cabin like place where you can pick up supplies, go to the bathroom or get a branded stamp on to your wooden walking stick that you got from the 5th station. Walking on right by, we continued our ascent, again up ramping trails of volcanic dust and rock. After a bit more of a steep climb we arrived at the 7th Station which is 2,700m high. We got to stop here for a bit longer and sit and eat some snacks. Simon and I got to devour our protein bars and muesli bars, I was getting pretty hungry at that point so I was so excited to finally eat. In what seemed like no time at all, we had to begin our climb again. And this time is when the Mountain ramped up it's difficulty level.

It was still a bit manageable but this time it was more steep rock climbing than walking. With jagged rocks and irregular stepping heights the majority of the landscape. What was difficult as well is that you can't hold of use the chain to help when you need as they aren't built to withstand a person's weight pulling. This is when things were getting a bit difficult for me. I was getting moments where my lungs felt like I was breathing in nothing. Also was feeling moments of disorientation and vertigo. Which, on a mountain, climbing up steep sharp rocks...is not a good thing. Remember what I said in my last post, I kinda forgot I am an Alpha Thalassemia Trait so half of my red blood cells aren't large enough to carry the normal amount of oxygen around my body. And when you're on a Mountain with thinning oxygen levels...you're not going to have a good time. Normally this doesn't affect me, I can go to the gym, exercise like normal and it doesn't make me feel bad in the slightest. Which is why I don't think about my thalassemia ever.

An hour or two went by (it's hard to tell as you just keep your head down and focus on what your doing and where you're going), we finally reached the last hut before the 8th station. I was clinging onto the hope that that WAS the 8th station, but alas. It wasn't. There was still another 2.5 hour climb to the 8th station. Part of me kind of died when I heard that. I looked at what we had to climb for 2 and half more hours and it was allllllll steep rock climbing. At this point I barely made it up without fainting off the Mountain. With my dizziness increasing, disorientation along with a headache. I couldn't fight the altitude sickness much longer. If I were to choose to continue, I would have either vomited, disorientatedly fallen backwards and die or both. So at this point, at around 3100m I made the tough decision to tell Simon that I couldn't go on. I was the only one to quit and not make the 8th station journey. Which made me feel pretty crummy. Firstly, I wasn't going to make it to the final station of the day and knowing Simon, he wouldn't let me go back to the 7th station alone. So he would miss out on proceeding ahead too. We told one of the guides and she rand up the 7th station to let them know we were coming and told us which way to go. Thankfully we didn't have to go down the way we came up because that would have been a nightmare and possibly have turned into the world's worst slip and slide. But there was a roped off area with a ramp down which I'm guessing was a road for supplies to mountain huts and descending for some. The dirt was so loose and hard to walk down without sliding and slipping of loose stones. But it beat going uphill on steep rocks at this point. It took about 20mins or so before we finally got to where we needed to go. We saw 2 knights in shining blue, as two of the 7th station men came to meet us and guide us to the hut. They didn't speak any english but were so helpful. One even took my backpack.

It seemed like we reached them in time as thunder, lightning and clouds were starting to roll in and I was afraid to be caught in a storm. We had to climb up a bit and go cross country to get to the hut, which actually made me die a bit more inside because I was struggling to get enough oxygen in it was hurting my lungs. But soon, we reached the cabin, got to sit down and the staff gave us slippers.

We finally got to take our hiking boots off, which I was kind of nervous about because sweaty feet and hiking boots always don't mix. But it wasn't so bad...thankfully... T_T
They showed us where we will be sleeping, the toilets and when dinner would be ready. Our beds were pretty much just the wooden floor and the room was entirely these wooden bunk beds and hard rice filled like pillows. It was nice that we were the only ones sleeping here as if not, you would be sleeping right next to strangers with no boarder or boundary next to you.

 Already being at this altitude felt better and since we had sometime until dinner, we decided to clean up and freshen ourselves. There were no showers at our hut, so we had to do a wet wipe shower and hope for the best. I cleaned up as much as I could and changed into some thermals as the temperature was dropping. Then we ventured out of our bunks and into the main area for dinner. It was curry and rice with miso and a drink. They also gave us our bentos for breakfast the next day. I was still feeling a bit queasy so I ate mostly my rice and miso and gave the rest to Simon. I didn't want to risk vomming and the nice lady thinking it was because of her food. After eating we just kind of wanted to sit there and enjoy the view, the people and watching other hikers go past.

And the view is stunning. We sat and I bought us hot chocolates, and we just watched and enjoyed where we were.

please ignore how delirious I look/really gross

 The staff are so lovely and extremely nice. The lady who prepares the food was the only person who spoke english, so when one of her workmates tried to use google translate to ask questions, she helped translate. And she was seriously the cutest woman ever, she had a cool knit hat on and the most adorable personality, she hopes to visit Australia one day and I truly hope she makes it here. The staff there made our stay absolutely forgettable as they were all round amazing people.

At around 7pm, we decided to retire into our room and get comfy...as much as possible on hard rice like pillows. We managed to fall asleep, I kept waking up though as we were on the side where the toilet was so other guests staying on the other side of the hut, had to come into our room to get through to the bathroom. What felt like no time I woke up with the worst headache I think I have ever had. I looked at my phone and saw it was 11:23...at first I freaked out and thought, 11:23am??! OMG WE SLEPT THROUGH MY ALARM AND GOING TO MISS THE TOUR GROUP BACK AT 5TH STATION. Then I got my act together and realized it was 11:23PM, not even midnight. My head was throbbing so bad I thought I was going to vomit everywhere. But I managed to keep it together and take a couple headache tablets. I would think I got the headache from breathing enough while sleeping in such a high altitude. But I finally managed to fall back asleep, once I fluffed my rice pillow ;P

trying to get comfy like...

Sunday 3rd July 2016

Today started out pretty easy, today was going to be the day of exploring all the different shops Shibuya, Harajuku and Ikebukuro had to offer. We had a late breakfast as we wanted some actual breakfast foods, which took us to Bills in Harajuku. The line was so long. By the time we were half way through the line, we thought we had been here long enough we should stick it out as other places would have lines as long. 

It again, was a hot day and we were so grateful when we got closer to the front of the line as I could get some breeze from the fan. It's the little things.

Soon we were seated and got to ordering. It's a pretty moderately priced place, so more so like usual hipster cafe prices in Australia. Simon ordered the ricotta pancakes with butterscotch and bananas and I got the French toast with burnt butter, pistachios and a sour stone fruit sauce. I wish I had photos but we were so hungry we demolished it! What was beautiful though is that on top of the shopping centre, is that next to the starbucks was a fabulous garden with places to sit and drink your venti triple shot soy half pump mochaccino with no whip.

Afterwards, we were going to get said coffee from starbucks, but again, the line was huge and went out the door so that was a no go. So we ventured to that street of awesomeness, Takeshita dori.