We started our Honshu adventures in Tokyo. One of our first stops was Tokyo tower and the observation deck.
It was an amazing view and gave us some perspective of how large Tokyo really is- there were buildings as far as the eye could see.
We had some delicious meals, including sushi. We tried different varieties of fatty tuna, which was incredible.
We also visited the Tsukiji Fish Market, which used to be where the fish auctions took place but is now hundreds of food stalls. We tried some unique things, including dried fish and squid, wagyu beef (unbelievably good), and more fatty tuna. We also walked around Shinjuku and visited Shibuya Crossing, known as one of the busiest street crossings in the world. It did not disappoint, and we were slightly overwhelmed by all of the people, flashing lights, advertisements, stores, and of course, the heat. We were glad to see it, but we wouldn't spend more time there.
From Tokyo, we took the bus to Yamanaka Lake, near Mount Fuji. We waffled about whether or not we wanted to hike it but decided to go for it. It was a tough climb, really steep (26% grade at one point), gaining over 1800m (~6000ft). The clouds came in about halfway through the hike, so we had no visibility after that.
Once we made it to the top, we got to look down into the volcanic crater, which was super cool. It took us 4.5 hours to get to the top, and about 2 hours to get down.
Stats at the summit! It was the highest mountain William and I have ever climbed, coming it at over 12,000ft.
The way down was a lot quicker because of the fine shale that lets you 'surf' down. It also started pouring rain when we had about an hour left to go, so that sped us up a bit.
Was it a good experience? Yes. Would I do it again? Hell no. As the saying goes: "A wise man will climb Mt Fuji once. Only a fool would do it twice."
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