Thank goodness the weekend is here… fortunately today is rainy so I don’t feel too bad about being at my hagwon doing audio files. I’m nearing the end of my time at this place and I’m currently working on trying to get into a couple of university positions. That was back in mid June.  Here is what has since transpired…

The first two uni gigs did not call me back, but i did get a callback from the third one I tried. Long story short, after two interviews I was formally offered the job a couple days ago. I have not made a decision yet about the job and I am waiting to see the contract language before I make any judgements…..

At this moment I am typing from a computer in Japan, K and I have been on vacation since Tuesday. We bought the JR pass, which has allowed us to see hiroshima, kyoto and Tokyo.

The hike itself was beautiful! I started from a shrine in Fuji Yoshida that marks the beginning of the oldest of the Mt Fuji hiking trails. The day me and K arrived in Japan, I met a guy who works for ECC in Daegu, and it turns out he was also going to do the same trail with a friend of his, so we wound up going together while K had a full day to herself in Tokyo. The shrie at the start of the trail was the most beautiful temple places I have ever seen. The trail itself was beautiful, secluded, and peaceful. We met a French couple with whom we shared the trail for a few hours. They decided to stay and camp before the 5th station, whereas we had to continue on to the seventh.

The mountain hut we booked was $75 each, and the condition of the hut was not exactly worthy of its price tag, the three of us shared a large damp bunk. I seperated from my hiking partners because I wanted to reach the peak by sunrise. They had no desire to get up at 12:30am to start the second part of the hike. Especially since we turned in to sleep at 10:30. It did not bother me however, I got up on schedule and starting getting my stuff ready for going to the peak. My flashlight was now suddenly missing so I had to spend $20 on a new one plus spare batteries. I started hiking and got to the peak around 4:48, two minutes before sunrise. I got some nice shots and started my descent. I came to a fork …(ran out of money …. back in Korea, typing from Busan …. AHHHH–SAAAAA!!) in the road so to speak. My map had taken a beating from sweat and rain and I wasn’t sure which path to take. So I waited at the crossroads and met a Japanese man and explained my dilemma, that I needed to catch the bus to Kawachiko from the fifth Station. He told me “Take this one, it’s really good and you can catch the bus.” After an hour I get to the next mountain hut where I am informed that I had indeed chosen the wrong path. But true to the man’s word I could catch the bus after the next station and the trail was popular and fun, it was the “sand slide”. I also found out that I needed $15 for the bus and now I only had $10 left in my wallet. Luckily I had a pair of Angels with me in the form of Dennis, a man from Wisconsin and his Japanese wife. They offered to spot me the bus money so I could get to the bus station whereupon I’d pay them back. I fulfilled my word and paid them back in Gotemba, they will always have my gratitude for the kindness they showed me.

So together the three of us leave the hut and make our way down the sand slide. It was fun and kareening down the mountain with reckless abandon. This by the way, is a very fucking stupid thing to do on 2 hrs sleep in the fog and about 25km into a hike at 7 o’clock in the morning. So I tripped on a lava stone. I opened a deep gash under my knee, and got it full of Fuji lava sand.

…. (one month later)

My knee took almost the full month to heal but here I am back in Japan! I’m going to be here for ten days. Basically, it’s a hiking vacation. I’ll check out a couple of active volcanoes, and time permitting I’ll try fuji again, or I may go to the Japanese Alps for a day or two… Ahh the good life.