RyokOhio: The Lewises In Japan Blog: Japan Trip 2019, Day 1-2: Flying In and Mount Takao

We're bAAAAAAck! You just can't keep me away from Japan, it's so wonderful being back here! This trip is only one week and some change, shorter than normal, but at the beginning of this year I was determined to make 2019 significantly better than 2018 was. What better way to ensure that than a trip to my favorite place on earth? With my favoritest person on earth?

Okay, so maybe the 5th time is the charm, but flying in this time has been the easiest and (seemed like) the quickest so far. I was able to sleep for a few hours (thank you doctor for the prescription for Ativan), my jet lag rooster clock had me pushing my sleep forward an hour each night and that seems to be working, TSA precheck worked like a charm and we were able to easily get through security. PERFECT! I couldn't be happier with how our flight went. According to Jeff's stopwatch, it took exactly 18 hours and minutes. That's a LONG day, but not an entire one.

When we landed we went straight to our hotel, the Akihabara Washington Hotel, to check in. I had never used agoda.com to book a hotel and I was worried it wouldn't work or we'd get scammed, but nope, it worked just fine! It will be the perfect place to sleep and bathe and act as a hub while we enjoy our week in Tokyo. To make sure we didn't go to bed too early we ate some sushi at a sushi-go-round, popped into some shops and arcades here in Akiba, and then headed back. I got to enjoy a nice soak in the tub (I still stand by my obsession with Japanese bathrooms, they do it RIGHT) and Jeff and I were out as soon as our heads hit our pillows!

Our first full day was a day trip to a small mountain about an hour outside of Tokyo: Mount Takao. Fall colors are still a couple weeks away for the Tokyo area so the leaves are still green and it was WARM today! Like in the low 70's! When we arrived at Takao-guchi station the street that leads to the mountain trails are lined with little omiyage shops with foods and trinkets to buy for friends, or eat and enjoy the local flavors. We were just starting out so we swore to buy something on the way back.

Looking at the huge, billboard-sized maps of the mountain and their trails we decide to be healthy, skip the railway incline up half the mountain, and walk it. HAHAHAHA, no. We got about 1.8 km into the super-steep, uphill path and I was wheezing and huffing and puffing like the overweight gaijin that I am, when we saw that what the maps made look like a short distance, was actually much much further! There was still 2.3 km! We weren't even halfway! We immediately turned around, went downhill and happily joined the line for the railway incline. This takes you halfway up and then you can take 6 different routes to the top of the Mountain where the main shrine is. We talked a big game about taking the long scenic one, but ended up taking the main route everyone takes, and it was still beautiful and a lot of fun. Lots of statues, humongous trees, mini shrines, shops, and vending machines along the way.

The theme of Mount Takao is the Japanese mythological creature Tengu. In fact, there are two famous ones that they claim were born right on that mountain: a small green tengu and a big red one. They guard the colorful shrine near the top of the mountain. The local popular food is soba and grated mountain yam. We ate at the historic Takahashiya and enjoyed their famous tororo soba! We also HAD to get an adorable tengu taiyaki. And a freshly grilled shoyu senbei. Mmm, good eatin'!

While hiking the trails and going up the mountain, I made a cute and heartwarming observation: many older Japanese hikers (usually old men) walked slowly but surely, at their own pace, and often I saw them carefully touch a branch or a flower, reverently observing nature up close and just enjoying it. I LOVE IT. I want to make this a part of my lifestyle!

After lots of stairs and steps and inclines that left us winded (as people in their 80s and troops of tiny school children walked right past us with no problem whatsoever) we finally made it to the top! YAY! We looked at the view, freaked out about a spider, ate delicious soba, and then went right back down the mountain.

So after walking over 20,000 steps we decided, while riding the train back to the hotel, to go out and shop for a little! We changed shoes, freshened up, and then went right back out into Akiba. Jeff searched for Japanese Magic the Gathering cards and merchandise from his favorite animes, and I pulled up my Google map with all the stores that have been recommended on reddit for figurines. And then I proceeded to buy 4 nendoroids (hey, they were on my souvenir list! I was looking for them anyway!) and this shopping of 4 stores, each one had 5+ floors brought us up to 8:00 pm. But were we tired! Heck no! Not us! We keep going! So we went to Yoshinoya, a favorite fast food beef bowl place, had some dinner, and then sang for an hour at Karaoke Kan.

Were we tired YET?! Yes. Yes we were. Our feet had had enough.

So now it's bedtime for us Bonzos. I can't wait to have another fun day!

Pictures to come later. Too sleepy. Go check out our instagrams https://www.instagram.com/jephlewis/ and https://www.instagram.com/shidoburrito/ in the meantime!

Three days later and here are some pics!

Tengu taiyaki! Filled with a really delicious anko (I can be picky) these were adorable and delicious!

"Mount Takao is closely associated with devotion to tengu. Two figures standing in front of the Izuna Gongen-do Hall exemplify the two types of tengu. The smaller tengu is depicted with a beak of crow, while the larger one has a big nose. The small tengu is considered to be still undergoing religious training, while the large tengu is often likened to an experienced yamabushi who has attained spiritual power through religious training at Mount Takao."