Job Discussion Forums

markle · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Posts: 1316 Location: Out of Japan

Getting close to the time when we head back home and I'm realising that there are a few 'Japan' things that we never got around to doing. Never went to a sumo tourney or a baseball game, never ate fugu or horse, don't own a yukata, watched kabuki or noh. Missed Unibasal and Disney.
Anybody have any others?

steki47 · Joined: 20 Apr 2008 Posts: 1029 Location: BFE Inaka

1. Never went to the phallus fertility festival.
2. Only visited 2 (of 3) ninja museums.

cornishmuppet · Joined: 27 Mar 2004 Posts: 642 Location: Nagano, Japan

Did you go the one in Togakushi (outside Nagano)?

Coming up for five years and still haven't climbed Fuji. It's on the list for this summer, though it was on the list for last summer too....

markle · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Posts: 1316 Location: Out of Japan

Ah yes, Fuji, skipped that.
Phallus phestivals, never made it to the 2do list.

steki47 · Joined: 20 Apr 2008 Posts: 1029 Location: BFE Inaka

AndyH · Joined: 30 Sep 2004 Posts: 417

Never went to a Sumo tourney.

Never visited Osaka.

Didn't sleep in a capsul hotel.

However, I did survive a winter in Hokkaido, went to the phallus festival in Kawasaki, climbed Mt. Fuji, spent a day at sea with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces, visited most of the places in Japan I wanted to see, married a Japanese woman, and fathered a child (we now have two kids). Not bad, overall.

flyer · Joined: 16 May 2003 Posts: 539 Location: Sapporo Japan

OK ....................

did survive 7 winters in Hokkaido

did climb Mt Fuji twice!

didn't eat fugu

didn't go to kabuki

didn't see the ninjya village

didn't see any sumo

did go to Okinawa

didn't go to capsul hotel or even the phallus festival in Kawasaki

but not too bad, esp since I am not going home yet

markle · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Posts: 1316 Location: Out of Japan

Capsule Hotel! never did. Did go to a love hotel in Osaka. Fun.

Thought about getting a Japanese wife and a couple kids but thought it might upset my current wife a bit.

JL · Joined: 26 Oct 2008 Posts: 241 Location: Las Vegas, NV USA

markle · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Posts: 1316 Location: Out of Japan

You don't know the half of it. She's Thai, and Thai women are world leaders in castrating wayward husbands. In fact the most experienced "stickadicktomy" doctor is Thai.

elkarlo · Joined: 08 Dec 2008 Posts: 240 Location: Maryland

So how is mount Fuji? I never got a chance to climb it. I plan on it this time, as I will be closer to it. Some people have said it was amazing and life changing, while others said it was littered with trash and gross.

elkarlo · Joined: 08 Dec 2008 Posts: 240 Location: Maryland

markle · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Posts: 1316 Location: Out of Japan

Hoser · Joined: 19 Mar 2005 Posts: 694 Location: Toronto, Canada

The climb is cold and boring. You may get rained on. Once you get close to the top it turns into an absolute traffic jam. Coming down is an absolute killer on the knees. Whether or not the whole thing is worth depends on what kind of view you get at sunrise. It's not fun but everybody should do it at least once. If you just want to have a fun little hike and get a nice view (and live in Tokyo) then you should just go to Mt Takao with some friends.

Apsara · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 2142 Location: Tokyo, Japan

I've climbed it twice and was lucky enough not to be rained on either time. We managed to stay a bit ahead of the hordes by leaving a bit early so didn't suffer too much from traffic jams. The climb is hard and cold, but I thought the view from the top was pretty cool- you can see Tokyo, some of the Izu islands, the Fuji 5 lakes, and the crater is impressive too.

I didn't have knee problems going down- we ran though, sliding in the sand, so maybe that helps.

I don't know that I would do it again- I'm hoping to knock off Kinabalu in Malaysia, which is higher than Fuji, some time next year, but I think from now I'll be happy just to look at Fuji from a distance.