9/23/10

It is rare to find other people here that are willing to use their day off as a way to explore any sort of outdoor activity. I understand why, the heat here is miserable! There are moments I feel an urge to throw a full blown temper tantrum but refrain, not because it would make me look childish, but because I would break even more of a sweat moving around. 

When a girl from my training group suggested going on a hike at Mt. Takao, I jumped at the opportunity. A handful of us from training all decided this was what we would do on our first holiday off. Today, we met up to take on Mt. Takao.

I was warned there was 100% chance of rain, but I was too optimistic and too eager to care. Having felt a bit down and out that I don’t have a solid group of runners, bikers, or an outdoorsy community to belong too like I did in Seattle, I desperately wanted to create that here.  So, when waking this morning, I walked out onto my balcony, stood there staring at the overcast and said to myself, “No big! Nothing an umbrella can’t handle!” So I grabbed my umbrella, packed some snacks, and met up with my one friend here.  We traveled the hour or so toward the meeting spot we all agreed on.

There were seven of us. We were all dressed in our best hiking gear; tee-shirts/tank tops, shorts and sneakers. By the time we had made it to the train, it was pouring bucket of rain. Still optimistic, we caught the train toward Mt. Takao. I could sense no one wanted to be Debbie Downer and say, “Hey guys, you think the torrential downpour will affect our hike? Shouldn’t we rethink this?” Most of us had traveled well over an hour to get there. Nothing could stop our motivation to hike the mountain.

After another 15 minutes of train travel, we arrived at Mt. Takao. Luckily, there was a shop that was stocked with cheap waterproof (-ish, being the keyword) ponchos. We each purchased a poncho, geared up and…stood there. No one moved.

By this point our optimism became, more of a requirement. We traveled this far, there is no turning back….”come on guys! Let’s go!” One of the girls in our group yelled. I have to admit, her determination was quite  endearing. I wanted so badly to try and convince the group this was a bad idea, but I didn’t want to squash anyone’s ambition. Seeing the streets starting to flood caused me to reconsider ever calling myself the ‘outdoorsy type.’  We all marched to the cable car that was to take us to our hiking route. I was surprised there were enough people to fill the cable car. At least we weren’t the only ones trying to make the best of our day off.

We rode the cable car up the mountain to the trailhead. Still a downpour, we hopped off the cable car and eagerly ran to the area that was known as having an amazing view of both Yokohama and Tokyo. The best view we got was a cloudy, grey mess. We could see nothing amid the stormy clouds. And by this point, it was a full-blown thunderstorm with lightning that felt dangerously close. After the heat wave we’ve endured since landing in Japan, the extreme wind and rain made us feel beyond frozen. Shivering wearing only our tank-tops, shorts and a semi-waterproof poncho, the trek began.

We started walking up the hill. I have to pause and point something out here. The ‘hike’ we were about to take was a paved road. This was a first for me. I laughed thinking, only in Japan would a hike be this clean and organized. “Okay,” I thought to myself, “We’ve got ourselves a paved route to hike on so the Japanese can still look fashionable while ‘climbing’ a mountain.” And if you wonder whether I saw girls wearing high heels, to trek the mountain during a thunderstorm, the answer is, yes.

After only about 20 feet up the mountain, the thunder and lightning became too intense. Our ponchos were not strong enough to keep us semi-dry, and the wind made it tough to hold the umbrellas. Conversation was impossible over the swaying trees, the crack of the thunder and the pounding rain. “Ladies and gentlemen, looks like we got ourselves one hell of a storm!” I yelled in a southern accent, with my hand in a fist as if it were a mic, pretending to be a weather forecaster. Finally, one of the guys in our group stopped and said, “Guys, really? Shouldn’t we turn around? I mean, it’s getting worse and I’m completely soaked!” You could hear the relief in our voices as we agreed with him and practically sprinted back down the mountain. I was thankful he had the guts to point out the obvious. I was over being outdoorsy.

When reaching the trains, we were a collection of drenched individuals.  A poncho torn, hair matted to our heads, shoes filled with water and our optimism deflated, we decided to go to the nearest mall. There we could find food, shopping and hot beverages.

We looked like untamed plastic beasts, walking through Christian Dior and Channel. It is normal to get stared at, being that we are foreigners, but at this moment in particular, the Japanese glared at us. The Japanese would never be caught dead wearing a cheap plastic poncho, it’s just unfathomable! Tracking water through the perfume isles, we unintentionally, but obnoxiously rallied together to organize a plan. We were all grumpy, loud and hungry. After wandering around in our squeaking wet shoes, for about an hour, we found a café that was able to accommodate all our desires; food, hot beverages and snacks. Everyone was satisfied…finally!

Sitting at the café, we laughed about our attempt to hike Mt. Takao. We were all a bit disappointed in the day, but it was consensual that we were happy to spend a little time with one another. We are spread out, living in various areas of Japan.  It was comforting to know we were all dealing with the same frustrations and troubles of adapting to a new environment. It was clear none of us were alone in our feelings. During this conversation, I was reminded how lucky I am to have found such a solid group of individuals that would make this much of an effort to try and tackle a mountain during one of mother nature’s fits. To me, this was proof I could always call them friends.   Now I can say I have more than one friend here in Japan. Maybe I am building a community here. It’s not the same as Seattle, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.