I’ve decided that you can only say you’re ‘too busy’ when you can’t even find the time to write to friends. After watching so many of you go through phases of silence, I guess I finally passed that point. It’s coming up on 3 months since I wrote and I think it will have to be short. I have 5 large active projects and am told that I need to improve my prioritisation skills. Hmm. Which do I drop? One of the 4 ‘must do or significant pieces of the Japanese business fall over’ projects, or the other one that is my department’s ‘number one priority’? I’ve already had to let go of all the ‘these would really make my job easier’ smaller projects. And of course, ‘if you want something done, ask a busy person’, so I’m the representative for our floor in the Employee Association.
Otherwise, life is good. Damion, Michelle and Janelle have been in Japan since I last wrote. Damion made a name for himself in the IBM region office and looks like moving over permanently. He came down to Kobe once and I made the trek to up to the crowds. I visited my first ‘onsen,’ hot springs, with Damion and his mates and found that it’s not the best place to go if you’re not used to scalding water and definitely not if you’re homophobic. I’m both, but it’s part of the Japanese culture so I’m going to have to get used to it. Caught up with Janelle on the phone, and spent an evening in an Izakaya (restaurant where you order your food by the mouthful and your alcohol by the jugful) with Mich getting all the goss on P&G Oz.
Mum and Dad are coming over in September, after a few false starts from Dad. They’ll be able to give all the Olympic escapees on the list an update of what to expect weatherwise when you get here.
UP THE MOUNTAIN
Ohashi-san, one of the more adventurous Japanese at work, asked me for advice on walking the Cradle Mountain track in Tasmania. He was very disappointed when he got there that they wouldn’t let him attempt it without a tent. It hadn’t occurred to me to mention it and it hadn’t occurred to him to ask. Last weekend I found out why.
I was one of the organisers of a 2-day hike with the P&G hiking club. Ten of us took an overnight train to Nagano and set out up the hill in the early morning light. Everyone was commenting on my huge pack, and I couldn’t quite believe their tiny ones. I had already confirmed that I didn’t need a tent because there was a hut or lodge or some such at the top. I took it anyway because I hadn’t had a chance to even put it up yet. It suddenly occurred to me that I hadn’t seen sleeping bag listed on the ‘what to take’ sheet. I’d thought it was one of those obvious items that it wouldn’t occur to anyone to mention. I mean, who’d go hiking without a sleeping bag… or a tent? But there was no way anyone could have fit a sleeping bag in their packs. I knew I was (or they were) in for a surprise.
Despite the ease of the climb (OK, short maybe, not easy – my legs were still cramped 4 days later) one of the girls gave up and relented to having her pack carried by a more experienced climber who was glad of the challenge in the extra weight. She (the now packless girl) whinged about the weight of the all the CDs she’d brought and I was glad she was joking. Otherwise it was uneventful. Even Mt. Fuji wasn’t visible through all the cloud.
The top of the mountain itself was spectacular. Rock speared vertically out of the ground in monochrome shades. Grey rock was black where the lichen grew, and white where it had sheared off. The fallen shears fragmented and crumbled, leaving the ridgeline bare like the spine of an old horse. The illusion of being an artist’s pencilled sketch was ruined only by the colour of shrubs tumbling into the valleys below.
Finally sitting on the peak, glimpsing the surrounding mountains through the clouds, it was easy to believe these were the lands of the gods. The darker pyramid of cloud capped by the brilliant ball high above my head was Mt. Olympus.
And the surprise? Although they call it a ‘yamagoya’ (lit. mountain small room), I thought ‘resort’ was more appropriate. There were 600 people staying in the hut that night. Dinner, breakfast and a packed lunch were all on the menu. So were futons, quilts, pillows… I would’ve slept outside myself, but the tent area was full so I didn’t even get to put the bloody thing up. Instead I had to sleep inside in a room with 60 others, being kept awake by a cold wall, a lack of quilt (shared) and 12 different snores. I basically spent the night drafting this letter.
The next morning I found all the girls applying their makeup. I’d have preferred CDs. So, if you want to come hiking when you come over, bring your dress shoes, an umbrella to double as a walking stick and a small container of water – please don’t bring make up – and you’ll be set for a 6 day walk.
That’s enough for now. It pretty much covers my recent life – work, hiking, work, Episode 1, work, aikidou, and work. Tomorrow I’m spending a fortune on going to see the world’s best fireworks display, so you might get another letter soon.