Japan

Mount Daisen just looks exactly like on of the Japanese mountains you see in so many guidebooks and famous pictures of Japan. It's one of the tallest peaks in Japan and I can see the tip of it from the balcony of my apartment. Since I've been here, I've gone out on my balcony many times and just enjoyed looking at it on beautifully clear days.

The second day I was in Japan, I saw it from the window of my train heading towards Matsue and I was so cracked out and tired at the moment that I actually thought it was Mt. Fuji (I had no geographical sense, or, well, any sense at the time)!

So, when I got the chance to go climb it, I jumped all over that!!

Me and the Nova manager in Izumo, Andy, packed tons of water and chocolate and just went for it! I can honestly say it is THE MOST difficult hike I've ever done. It's only 2.6 kilometers, but, it is so incredibly steep and you have to literally rocks climb a little in some parts. It took us three hours to get to the top and another 2 and a half to get down.

As I'm writing now, it's late Monday night and I'm still very sore (plus I had cycled to the coast four hours to go fishing the day before - not to smart, eh?). However, the view is absolutely worth it! As you can see in the pictures, we literally climbed above the clouds and it's just the most spectacular view! I'm planning to learn to ski and snowboard here in the winter because it's only about a 45 minute drive from Matsue.