Shinbashi Koichi Festival - party time for all age groups!

Do you know what I love about festivals in Japan? Everyone gets a little crazy! People dance, they drink, they dress up, they talk to overheated, red faced gaijin while  they wear long sleeves and beanies in 70% humidity and don't appear to even break a drop of sweat themselves.

We went to the Shinbashi Koichi festival on Friday night and there was something there for everyone. Despite it being stinking hot and forgetting my hand towel to wipe off the rivers of sweat pouring off my forehead, we had a fantastic time. The festival is on the last Thursday and Friday of July each year.

Some of the food stall around SL plaza, Shinbashi train station.

We grabbed a couple of cans of beer and watched the start of the Yukata Beauty contest which kicked off at 6:30pm. 

 

The winner walks away with ¥100,000 and a four-night trip to Hawaii. Not bad for looking pretty in a kimono and answering a few questions about yourself.

Next up we bought drinks from this guy offering free hugs.

Ate some delicious seafood and other assorted yakitori delights.

Laughed at drunk salarymen testing out motorbikes and cycling video games.

Wandered through the area where kids were enjoying themselves at the carnival games.

Had some delicious Kirin beers with frozen heads.

Watched some awesome silver foxes get stuck into the dancing.

Bon Odori is a Japanese style of dancing to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. The style of dancing and the music used for Bon Odori is unique to different regions. There is usually a wooden stage  called  a yagura, set up for the musicians and singers. Everyone else dances in a clockwise direction around the stage.  Taiko drumming and Bon Odori dancing takes place on both festival days.

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We made friends with this crazy guy and his mates gave us boiled eggs and edamame and one of them bought Chris a beer while I was trying to learn the dance moves around the stage area.

The drummer and his protege were amazing too.

After a few hours of dancing, drinking, eating and drumming, the winners of the beauty contest were announced.

After one last photo with our new best friends, Chris finally dragged me away from the dancing and off home (via one last drink stop at Craft Beer market).

The Fuiji Climb

Sometimes my enthusiasm to engage in uniquely Japanese activities overrides my usual aversion to intense outdoor pursuits. Climbing Mt Fuji involves approximately 6 hours walking time up to the summit (not including rest breaks etc) and 3 hours to get back down. I naively thought doing a few stair climbs in my building and hitting the gym a bit more frequently than usual would prepare me for the Mt Fuji climb. Um, not so much.

Chris also briefly questioned my sanity as we packed up our ski jackets & thermals on a 34 degree day in Tokyo. My stirring rendition of 'Climb every mountain' only resulted in a grimace in response so I promised him there would be beers at the summit to cheer him up.

We did the climb with 45 people organized by Tokyo Snow Club. They provided us with 3 guides to climb up with us, oxygen cans, torches, water and snacks. The bus dropped us at Station 5 where we walked around to get used to the altitude, picked up some beers and snacks, got interviewed by Japanese TV and had the option to pick up souvenir walking stick from 1,500 yen.

I skipped the walking sticks but you could stop off at each station rest stop and have a stamp engraved into them for 300 yen a pop. Some of the sticks had bells attached. By the end of the hike I wanted to tell the owners of those sticks to shove those bells where the sun don't shine. Most irritating noise ever!!

From Station 5 we walked together as a giant group along the Yoshida trail to Station 6. We hung around there for an amazeballs sunset and to make sure we were all set with the altitude. Chris was a fan of the oxygen cans but I found it didn't really do a lot of me. Rest and snacks were more my life savers.

And then it was onto the real climbing. The trail is only listed as intermediate and you certainly see plenty of oldies and kids hiking up but it is not an easy climb. The altitude really takes your breath away and you need to scramble over rocks in a few of the steeper sections. We took it nice and slow and stopped plenty of times for snacks, water, toilet breaks and even attempted some sleep along the way. (You need lots of 100 yen coins for the toilets but being Japan, they have change machine in some of the rest stops).

The higher you climb the more crowded and colder it gets. Everyone is trying to get to the summit for sunrise and it bottlenecks to a slooooow crawl by early morning. Many people hike up to around Station 8 and then stay in a lodge to sleep for a few hours and start climbing again from 2am. We were advised against staying in the lodges as they charge around 8,000 yen and there are people constantly coming in and out so you don't get much sleep anyway.

 You can see the twinkle of the head lamps as people climb up for the sunrise.

Unfortunately we didn't allow enough time for the traffic jams to clear and we were about 400m from the summit as the sun rose.

 We heard later that it was actually clouded over at the summit at sunrise so it was probably good we were lagging behind.

Very happy to finally have a beer at the summit at 5am!

We didn't loiter too long at the top as the weather was blowing in and it was getting chilly bro!

 The crater at the top was worth checking out but we didn't bother hiking around to the post office. Sorry Mum, no postcard from the top of Mt Fuji this time.

Climbing back down sucked. I was exhausted and the loose gravel was causing havoc with my balance. I think I counted 5 times that I landed flat on my back. Even people with their walking sticks were stumbling right over. I attempted the half jog/half slide style for awhile and while it was quicker and felt a bit more stable underfoot it zapped my energy even faster than my stumbling walk. Eventually we made it back down and onto the bus & everyone slept all the way home.

(And kudos to the girl who completed the climb in her Doc Martens but I really wanted to shake some sense into the crazy ladies who changed back into their heels after the hike. Do you seriously need to wear high heels for the bus ride home after an overnight hike??)

Oh and when you pay the voluntary admission fee of 1,000 yen you get these fabulous portable toilets to use at the summit if you so require. No loos at the top.

Fortunately I didn't need to go at the summit, not sure I am willing to test out the human size kitty litter tray just yet.

Climbing Mt Fuji was amazing and we were very lucky having such clear weather, thanks to the typhoon that passed through a couple of days prior, but I would never do it again. Once is enough thank you very much. As the saying goes in Japan, “He who climbs Mt. Fuji is a wise man; he who climbs twice is a fool.”

Friday morning walk through Roppongi

A walk through Roppongi is never dull but last week's stroll to the train station was particularly entertaining. I was meeting my friend's parents in Shinjuku at 10am so I would have been walking along towards Roppongi station at about 9:30am last Friday morning.

I spotted passed out man No.1 in the doorway of a 7 11. He was lying in a loose fetal position, his legs were only slightly curled but his head was jammed quite tightly towards his middle. His back was up against the glass window but his arms were splayed with fingertips touching the black spongy doormat, dangerously close to the sliding door of the entrance. I watched as people approached the store, thinking that they may attempt to wake him or prop him up so his fingers were out of danger of being crushed, but no, they stepped over him and continued into the store.

Passed out man No.2 was at the bottom of the first set of stairs in the train station. He was sitting upright, knees up, with his head bent forward lolling towards his feet. He had two policemen and his friend attempting to rouse him. I observed his fly was open, giggled to myself and then continued towards the ticket gate.

This was when karma smacked me in the face for laughing at the poor unfortunates and I realized I had left my phone on the charger with my train pass in the cover. So, not wanting to be late for my friend's parents, I dashed back past the guy at the bottom of the stairs, past the 711 doorway guy and back home.

On my 2nd walk to the station, I heard a BBC English accented voice calling plaintively for my assistance. "Excuse me, excuse me! Do you speak Japanese?" a young, blonde guy called out to me, twisting his head and upper body around with some difficulty. He had a policeman holding him by each elbow. "They don't speak English, I don't know where they are taking me!"

I had to admit my Japanese was not much chop. I asked what he had done. He said he couldn't remember. I asked how long he had been in Tokyo and he said it had been his first night in the country. I tried to reassure him that they were probably only taking him to the police station at the top of the street. And they must have been called to escort him off the premises. "What premises?" he asked. As If I knew the answer to that! "I'm sure someone will speak English at the station," I attempted to reassure the confused, stumbling traveler.

And that's when I noticed the smirk on one of the policeman's faces. Ah ha! They did speak English.They knew exactly what the young drunkard was prattling on about. I smiled back at the policeman, waved goodbye to the Brit and continued on my way, confident he would be released after a warning.

Roppongi is a vicious beast. Always drawing new crowds in with flashing lights during the depths of the night and spitting them out again in the harsh glare of a new morning. Makes for pretty funny enteratinment for those of us who have become immune to her charms!

Minakami Adventure weekend

Here I am, three days after returning from a weekend away in Minakami and I am still finding a few bruises and feeling pain from muscles I didn't know I had. (Whether they are from the outdoor activities or the dancing afterwards I'm not sure) Definitely a sign of a good weekend away.

 We met the Tokyo Snow Club bus at Shinjuku at 6:45am on Saturday and headed off for a 3 hour drive to Minakami with some rest stops for food and bathroom breaks along the way.  It takes 1 hour 20 on the shinkansen, which was handy for a couple of people who missed the early morning bus and were able to catch up with us at our accommodation.

Minakami is heaven for outdoor enthusiasts. The river Tone runs through the centre of the town and is where the rafting, kayaking and canyoning takes place. Skiing and snowboarding can be done on the surrounding mountains in winter. There is also bungee jumping, paragliding, mountain biking and the like.

We signed up for canyoning on the Saturday afternoon. We dumped our bags in our room at Canyons Minakami and chilled out in the common room until it was time to get ready to go. It was a bit of an epic struggle to get dressed. Wetsuit socks followed by long johns followed by jacket and canyoning shoes. Then outside to get a harness, gloves, life jacket and helmet. Man were we cooking once we were loaded onto the mini bus. Sweat dripped us off like sumos in a sauna.

We had signed up for the Nishikuro canyon course but as soon as we got into the water after a quick abseiling practice, a pretty intense dump of rain started. The guides decided it wasn't safe to continue so we loaded back onto the bus and headed to the Fox Canyon instead. Lucky for us, the water levels were safer here and we were able to slide down waterfalls feet first on our stomachs or headfirst on our backs.  We could also jump, dive, bomb or back-flip into the deeper water.

 Amazing what you can push yourself to do when you are in a group and there is only one way out and that is down. I'm not a super strong swimmer so I felt a bit nervous sliding down a waterfall but you are roped into your harness for half o the drop and by the time they released me I was totally ready to speed up my descent. Fun times had by all.

Video here if you want to see what canyoning is like in Fox Canyon.

A shower never felt so good after peeling off all the wetsuit layers. And that first beer afterwards went down a treat. And the next beer while we watched the rugby and the next few while we had the group BBQ. And the next few while the snow club guys did their DJ sets....

 Unfortunately the beers didn't help me out the next day when my brain decided to forget how to get dressed in all those layers of wetsuit stuff to go rafting. I managed to put my left leg through one section instead of my right leg. And it took me FOREVER to work out why I then couldn't zip myself up properly.

My issues didn't end there, once we were in the raft getting our instructions my brain decided to go AWOL and I got a bit of a telling off for not being able to squeeze my feet into the right position quick enough. Fortunately my brain woke up again once we were in the water bouncing around and I managed to avoid being launched out of the raft. Unlike a couple of our mates who popped out at one point and were swept over to the side when our raft decided to do a semi flip.

Our guide was hilarious and rafting was heaps of fun. We got to do another cliff jump at one point too. I have decided the best tactic for me is to get in there and jump without thinking. If I take too long and spend too much time anticipating what will happen I get a bit chicken. So I got to the front of the queue, jumped where the guide pointed and screamed till I hit the water. Bam! What a rush!

After rafting, we were starving. So we hit up a local soba place and got stuck into some delicious noodles and tempura. The noodles are hand rolled fresh everyday. And the tempura was to die for.

 Website  - Kadoya Soba

After packing up at Canyons lodge we were back onto the bus with a stop off at Takaragawa Onsen. I had to steel my onsen nerves again, as this would be my first mixed onsen experience. This onsen allows you to hire towels to wear in the water so you are not bearing all to the general public.

 However, the majority of the guys still only get around with the small towels, known by us gaijin as 'd*ck towels'. They don't cover much and they are white, which means they become pretty damn see through when wet! I was too tired to care about a few eyeful's of old man junk so I decided to stick it out in the general pool areas but I can understand why a few of the girls chose to head to the women's only section.

The women's towels were not exactly large either and I had to keep my hand clamped tightly at the fold to stop my own privates being out on display. I noticed a few of the old ducks were wearing loose cotton dresses in the water, think that would be a much better option that a towel!

Despite the awkwardness of trying to stay covered, it was a beautiful setting for an outdoor onsen. The tree covered mountains made for a very scenic backdrop as you soaked in the hot water. It was cute seeing an old fella give his missus as neck massage too. And there were plenty of people enjoying beers while they soaked. I can see why the Japanese dig this stuff.


Now back to my recovery on the couch :)

Forget Disney, Fuji-Q is where the big kid rides are at!

Best way to hit up Fuji-Q is to reserve a bus seat online and get the  Toku-Q Pack. It costs 7,300 yen and gets you return bus tickets from Shinjuku West bus station to Fuji-Q and a day pass which gives you unlimited rides for the day. You just reserve your seat online, payment for your ticket is when you turn up at the Keio bus ticket office.

Finding the Keio ticket office can be a bit tricky. I had to ask a couple of people for directions. You come out of the Shinjuku station west exit and the ticket office is  between Yodobashi and the Keio department store. The buses out to Fuji-Q do fill up so it is best to reserve your seats at least a couple of days ahead.  The bus rides takes an hour and 40 minutes.

Just be aware that they do seem to close the theme park on random days. We had reserved seats on the bus for last Tuesday but when we turned up at the ticket office there was a big sign up saying Fuji-Q closed for the day. There is a calender showing the closed days but it is only on the Japanese version of the Fuji-Q website. The slightest bit of rain also means the majority of rides get stopped so you might want to keep that in mind during the rainy season.

Once you arrive the fun begins! These roller-coasters are not for the faint hearted. Or for anyone with any of the many, many ailments they list while you wait in the queue. You can't be too old either, all the rides have age limits, some of which are 59. So sorry Mum & Dad, you guys are out.

We hit up Fujiyama first, mainly because it is the first one on your left after you get through the entry gate. Probably not the best move as it was also the longest wait we had for the day, 50 minutes. Better idea would be to head to the back of the park and make your way back towards the entry gate and skip some of the queues.

Fujiyama was my favourite ride of the day. It is long, it is fast and it has a 70m drop. As the crank the ride slowly up the steepest section, my palms were sweating, I felt slightly sick and I started questioning my own sanity. I had my eyes squeezed shut for most of the descent but man what a rush!

Everyone looks a little dishevelled at the end of the ride. 

Next we conquered Takabisha, the roller-coaster with the steepest drop in the world, a 121 degree tilt. I was very surprised that I got off this ride without losing my dignity. I have never felt fear on a ride like I did on this one. I can't believe this ride is in the same country as the lame ones at DisneySea. Its like going for a spin in my 1976 Datsun and then being taken round the Nuburgring in a Porsche 911.

I feel justified in nearly turning my trousers brown, its in the Guinness book of records. It is officially scary. 

Next up we went on Dodonpa, one hell of a fast roller-coaster. It hits 172km/hr at 1.8 seconds after the ride starts. Reminded me of the super man ride at Movie World, Gold Coast. Think it has the same G force, at 4.25. Awesome stuff.

Unfortunately, the last of the big 4 roller-coasters was not open. Eejanaika has 14 rolls and you have to take your shoes off to ride it. Will have to go back and try that one!!

After some Mos burger for lunch we checked out some of the tamer rides. It was pretty hot and humid so we thought we would go on a water ride. We were pretty amused to see everyone shelling out an extra 100 yen to buy ponchos to wear on the ride. What is the point of going on a water themed ride to stay dry?

Well, they all had the last laugh because we got soaked!! Good excuse to have an ice cream while we dried off.

No other rides really deserve a special mention unless you are into the anime Evangelion. They have a pretty cool display of stuff from the series you can pose for cheesy photos with.

Oh yeah, going on the little kid roller-coaster 'A little ride on the clouds' was pretty funny too. Mainly because the ride was designed for an adult to sit with a kid being held in front. No-one in the queue had a kid with them but we were all still told to get on the ride 2 by 2. Watching two blokes squeeze onto a ride together and cuddle was one of the funnier sights of the day. Awkward giggles all round.

Oh yeah, token photo of Mt Fuji from the bus stop. Only time she popped out of the mist for us.