I ended up illegally camping in the Alps as the cheapest room available was 95 dollars, but it wasn’t nearly as frosty as my ill-fated night at the summit of Mt. Fuji .

Basically it is just another bunch of landscape photos :-p

[[Show as slideshow]]

Technorati Tags: japan, japanese alps, japanese travel, mt fuji, photography, photos, tateyama-kurobe alpine route, travel, traveling

Related posts:

1. Japanese Onsen July 2008
2. Mt. Fuji July 14-15/Vladivostok – Fushiki Ferry July 18-20th
3. Japan 2008 II

July 08 - Tatayama Kurobe Alpine Route - Japan

Over the meadows and through the mountains. The official beginning of my J2J '08 journey (Japanese Alps to Julian Alps)

37 Photos

July '08 - Yoyogi Park - Tokyo - Japan

Popular Sunday hangout in Tokyo

12 Photos

July '08 - Tokyo - Imperial Palace/City Hall/Shibuya District - Japan

Imperial Palace, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Shibuya Intersection

35 Photos

July '08 - Tokyo Shinjuku District - Japan

Random Tokyo urban life images

14 Photos

July '08 - Kyoto - Japan

The former Imperial Japanese Capital

18 Photos

Technorati Tags: japan, japanese travel, photography, photos

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1. Japan 2008
2. Japan 2008 II
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Baths and Onsen – while equally relaxing and refreshing to me are slightly different. A true Onsen would include an actually volcanic hot spring or at the very least, water emanating from a nearby hot spring. Baths are generally just a place to bathe. Either way, I’ve never come out of a place feeling so clean and reinvigorated. One of the places I was staying at in Tokyo had a very nice bath with the standard hot tub experience and honestly…the real reason I skipped out on a night at Roppongi was that this hotel bath closed at 10pm and I had been looking forward to a soak all day.

After I descended Mt. Fuji after a good ass-kicking I immediately sought out the best Onsen within a reasonable distance from the train station. I indicated to the information office that I wasn’t concerned regarding price – just aesthetics and atmosphere leaning more to a view of Fuji and a traditional outdoor spring. I was introduced to this place which apparently had a great view of Fuji but it required an out of the way bus ride. Unfortunately the view wasn’t that great as it was obscured by a 6 foot fence but the environment was fantastic and I credit this bath with preventing my body from ceasing to function in any practical sense. Technically, I suppose it wasn’t a real Onsen either – given the lack of a volcanic spring…but it sure felt like one.

Gonna miss those and the Russian equivalent banya sauna experience with birch branch thrashing and cold-water jumping just doesn’t seem nearly as relaxing for some reason.

Technorati Tags: baths, hot springs, japan, japanese travel, mt fuji, onsen, tokyo, travel

Related posts:

1. Japanese Alps – Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route – July 2008
2. Mt. Fuji July 14-15/Vladivostok – Fushiki Ferry July 18-20th
3. Japan 2008

While I can’t quite date the décor and style, The MV Rus is a little like being transported back to the pre 90′s.

I neglected to purchase a proper electrical converter but was lucky enough to discover that the boat provides such devices free of charge (return of course) to passengers. It would have been a very disappointing weblog given that I was hoping to catch up on some entries during this time. Even though, I find myself suffering from writers block…I utterly despise that term as it assumes that the user considers himself/herself a writer – which I don’t.

It also isn’t helping that my laptop is officially past retirement. The hardware is almost completely shot with the most annoying problem being the power cord which barely connects to the socket. The slightest nudge will disconnect the electrons and then down goes little grey. In the past 30 minutes the power has been cut about six times. The internal mouse is also acting up – at times placing my cursor at random screen locations.

I am missing Japan though. Although I managed to accomplish all of my Japanese travel goals (with the exception of a night at Roppongi) I feel strongly that 12 days in-country isn’t nearly adequate enough. I cannot stress enough the sheer amount of things to see and do in Japan. It is just amazing. A month or longer would be more adequate. And while I should be anticipating my upcoming time at Kingston I find myself very curious about the concept of living in Tokyo. This feeling is a first for me…every previous country I’ve visited I’ve left satisfied that I’d seen and done everything that I wanted to and didn’t feel disappointed in leaving and that the time spent was just enough.

Mt. Fuji was interesting.

I’ll never consider myself a climber. Ever. Fuji is a sharp ascent – going from sea level to 3700m in less than a day. But I’m not a stranger to mountains, or even high altitudes (having visited both sides of Everest, and spent time in the Annapurna’s and the Tibetan plateau. When I was in the Himalayas I found that I acclimatized relatively well and would feel any attitude effects until I was above 4000m…so in terms of altitude I was ok. But I have never had my ass handed to me by a mountain like it was by Fuji-san. I like to say that Tokyo is a city that will knock you on your ass…figuratively. Fuji-san knocked me on my ass…literally.

It was neither the climb nor the decent. Fuji is the first scramble I’ve ever done at night with a headlamp. This is a very common approach as it is the most efficient method by which to place scramblers at the summit in time for the sun-rise experience. I started at around 6pm…which was a bit early than most night climbers who apparently prefer a 9pm start time. The plus to my approach is that I will be rewarded with a clear path, but I will be forced to wait at the top, or shell out for a mountain hut. No worries though, I had my tent.

A clear path I did receive and I felt like I was the only one on the mountain. Distant lightning storms from 3500m are quite something.

It was the summit that changed everything.

It was there that I had seriously miscalculated the mountain and first realized my mistake. Fuji-san is not like other peaks. Unlike other high points in other countries, Fuji essentially stands alone. There isn’t anything else around that is comparable. It is a very exposed peak, very smooth – you could even say symmetrical and rounded and for the most part lacks any vegetation. It also sits right next to the coast.

Wind storm is an understatement.

I hit the summit around 11pm and realized that the entire summit was a wind slate. Some how I managed to get my tent together but I wasn’t able to pitch it as the ground material is essentially a loose conglomerate of ash and volcanic rock. Pegs are about as useful as chopsticks under those conditions. Even protected by some buildings to my north and east I my tent was still knocked flat by the wind. Rock ballast was required to hold down the corners and contribute to the combined weight of myself and my bag. Even with my sleeping bag and extra clothes I had a very cold night. If heat wasn’t a problem, the wind would have kept me awake.

11pm to 5am. No sleep – after a 5 hour ascent.

Tent – covered in volcanic ash.

Bryan – very cold.

The morning – I managed to join the folks reaching the summit for a less than spectacular cloudy, cold and dusty sunrise.

Drank 3 cans of hot chocolate – that helped.

The descent. I have always considered descents much more demanding than ascents…even more so when you haven’t slept. Loose volcanic rock and dust the whole way down.

The verdict on Fuji-san. Don’t be a knob and use a tent. Just opt for the mountain huts or climb at a later time.

But definitely go. I loved the ascent and the hot spring bath at the bottom helped to make the top feel a bit better.

I was to have another interesting, although more pleasant tent experience in the Japanese Alps two days later.

Technorati Tags: fushiki, japan, japan russia ferry, japanese alps, japanese travel, mt fuji, tokyo, travel, vladivostok

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1. Japanese Alps – Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route – July 2008
2. Japanese Onsen July 2008
3. Vladivostok, Russia – July 2008

I’ll be sailing aboard this sucker which, according to photos and descriptions, doesn’t seem to shabby. Transport time is about 42 hours – arriving sometime on the 20th. I’ve book a homestay in Vladivostok through HOFA largely because I’m looking for some assistance getting the train tickets I want and because there isn’t any other options in Vlad, short of 100 dollars a night. Vladivostok is seriously lacking any sort of budget accomodations…which is actually rather surprising given that all of the other major stops along the TSR (Irkutsk, Yekaterinburg, Moscow and St. Petersburg) all have several cheaper options.

Given the length of this voyage, I hope to catch up with some entries regarding my time in Japan – including my time in Tokyo, on Mt. Fuji and moving through the Japanese Alps.

Technorati Tags: hofa, japan, japan russia ferry, japanese alps, mt fuji, russia, vladivostok

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“To lead a life surrounded solely by one’s favorite things, to make it more
comfortable it such is your wishes, this is an article that best suites
the purpose”.

Water kettle scripture – Kyoko Ryokan, Kyoto, Japan

I was going to lead into this entry with a post regarding the things I’ll remember most about China and the things I remember least. A good, solid final China post to counteract my complaints from the previous week. Alas, busy weekend events didn’t allow it, although I’m hoping that I won’t submit to laziness and write in the upcoming weeks.

Japan 2008 currently is the ranking leader in terms of lack of preparedness. I’m not talking about drama laced travel-prick nonsense rooted in culture shock and “Oh my god, it is soooo different!!!” And “no one speaks English so I had to grunts and snorts in conjunction with hand signals to communicate with the bus driver”.

I’m talking about the fact that I did little, if any, logistical research prior to landing at Kansai Airport, Osaka. Normally pre-journey preparations consist of several weeks on Google, the thorn tree and other miscellaneous travel related websites. While I have kidnapped my friends Lonely Planet Tokyo guide, I don’t have and LP for Japan – which is a first for me and LP. However, moving and leaving-China related activities used far greater of my time than I had initially allocated (although that is not a bad
thing) and what time was dedicated to travel-logistics was spent on Russia associated issues for obvious reasons. I didn’t even have a set of charged batteries ready for my camera.

I considered Japan to be an easy assignment and requiring little preparation. So far, this has been the case. The only problem associated with poor planning was the realization a day before my Shanghai departure that the Japan Rail Pass must be purchased outside of Japan, rather than on arrival (which is what I had assumed) – solving this required a quick detour into a district of Shanghai the day of departure and a close arrival at Pudong airport – but it was not that big of a deal. The rail pass voucher would not be accepted upon arrival because the clerk at the Shanghai office had written a number of wrong things on the voucher. I arrived
in Osaka rather late so dealing with this problem wasn’t possible, but it was solved through a few phone calls the next morning.

As suspected, traveling in Japan is currently childs-play. There are no problems getting around, communicating or purchasing items. What I’m finding is that because traveling Japan is so easy there are too many options available for a traveler. This is where my lack of preparations is kicking me in the ass. Because I don’t have a guide book to give me a rough view of the best of each location and because I didn’t really bother to research each city I’ll be in (with the exception of Mt. Fuji and the Alpine Route) I don’t really know what I’m going to do each time I step off the train. Japan is also a very expensive place which means (in contrast to my developing world travel habits) one needs to plan ones days somewhat well (where one is going to stay, what one is going to do, how one is going to get there) or one is going to waste a significant pile of money.

I arrived in Kyoto just after lunch today – after spending the morning working out the issues with my Japan Rail Pass. I also managed to pick up a nasty infection in my right eye which really put the brakes on my ambitions today. Hopefully that will clear up by tomorrow which will allow me to carry out my rough Kyoto plan (which includes several temples, some forests, a fish market and hopefully the Imperial Palace). Off to
Tokyo on Friday.

Some things of note:

1. Stepping out of an airport and into the air and smell of a new country is now listed as one of my favorite sensations
2. I will never get bored of staring out the windows of both airplanes and trains (provide my eyes are not infected).
3. Japanese cities employ a very interesting and well designed network of alleyways.
4. Railways are the the future – it’s too bad that Canada hasn’t figured that one out yet.

*This post was written two days ago on my notebook without an internet connection. I’m currently in Tokyo where I’m planning about two days of city exploration followed by a trek up Mt. Fuji and a visit to the Onsen (hot springs) of Hakone.

Technorati Tags: china, japan, japan rail pass, kyoto, osaka, rail, russia, tokyo, travel

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I have developed a vague idea of what I’ll be up to in Japan and my various adventures in the land of the rising sun are going to last from July 7th to July 18th, upon which I shall set sail from Toyama, Japan on this little boat bound for Vladivostok , Russia.

While in Japan I plan on visiting Kyoto, then move up to Tokyo and perhaps climb Mt. Fuji. From Tokyo I hope to navigate the Japanese Alps via what is known as the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route – a bus, train, cable car and hiking tag team through some spectacular (I’m hoping) mountain countryside. This path will spit me out directly in Toyama, the departure harbor of Vladivostok bound used-car ferries.

*on an nostalgic note, the area of the alpine route was the region I was hoping to live in when I was considering Japan as my initial ESL destination of choice back when I was just finishing up my undergrad at UVic.

The Russian plans are also currently vague, but currently include finding a decent hotel in Vladivostok to register with (apparently this place suffers from a serious lack of affordable and useful accommodations) and find someone kind enough to write down train dates and times for me so I’m able to purchase a ticket at the station. Direct tickets to Moscow are almost impossible to get at this late date, but I’m planning to train hop my way – getting off at various stations along the route. I will definitely be getting off at Irkutsk (Lake Baikal) and perhaps Yekaterinburg and quite possible some smaller locations (not because I want to, but it is likely that I’ll be forced to given the ticket situation). Moscow is worthy of a few days and then on to St. Petersburg from which I plan to make my way to Europe via the Baltics (because they don’t require a transit visa like Belarus – and I don’t have enough passport pages for another visa).

Absolutely no idea what I’m going to do after that…although I have invitations to both Denmark and Ireland.

Then it is to Toronto and then onto new things in Kingston, Ontario – although I don’t have a place to live yet.

I had my mobile stolen in Shanghai. With only two weeks left in country it was kind of a bummer to lose all my numbers and be forced to get another mobile. I picked up a rather nice 2nd had Nokia 7260 for about 400RMB. A 2004 model, but essentially brand new – can use in Canada but it doesn’t have blue tooth…another annoying feature is its inability to switch between Chinese and English when writing a text message. But I suppose I won’t be needing that feature in Canada.

Technorati Tags: china, japan, russia, travel

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1. Japan 2008
2. Travel
3. Vladivostok, Russia – July 2008

Russia (as it did before) is turning my travelling style upside down.  A considerable increase in the amount of planning was expected but what is giving me headaches is the disappointing large number of question marks being discovered.  Question marks are on thing when travelling with developing world prices.  Question marks are one thing when dealing with easily obtained visas, question marks are one thing when you can speak their language.

The first big ? is the visa.  I was denied one back in 2006 and I’m absolutely terrified it is going to happen again.  Terrified because getting a Russkie visa isn’t like like getting a Nepalese visa…you can’t just show up at the border…hell, even the slight inconvenience of walking up to the visa section of the Mongolian embassy pales in comparison to the Russian visa roulette game.  Russian visas require special supporting documents bought from Russian agencies – these, in themselves, are very easy to obtain.  The problem arises with each individual Russian consulate and embassy.  Each operates as their own fiefdoms.  The Shanghai consulate is the only place I can get mine and ‘officially’ they require the 75USD original supporting documents.  However evidence abounds online that they happily accept quality pdf copies (which are bought for 30USD).   It is a  BIG price difference, considering there is another 60USD fee added onto that just for the  visa itself.  The Russians have got me so paranoid I’m even worried about my passport – it is REALLY beat up, with the Canadian coat-of-arms completely washed away – but it is chock full of stamps and visas and I’ve never had problems with it anywhere.  But the countries I’ve visited have all situated tourism as a main component of their economies…Russia obviously hasn’t and the consulate officer could be in a pissy mood and just flat out refuse me because of my dilapidated passport.

I’m also terrified that if I shell out the seventy five dollery-doos, they might not even accept that (also factor in a trip to Shanghai as well).

Second problems arises with scheduling the bi-weekly Japanese ferry to correspond with a train leaving Vladivostok.  Do I purchase Trans-Siberian tickets online? Or do I wing it from station to station at half the price?  Online might have a peace of mind, but apparently such vendors can be un-reliable as well.  July is high season, so tickets might be unavailable, however many people have reported having zero problems.

My current line of thinking is; just get the damn visa.  Work on the rest later and I’m partial to just winging the train tickets.  The boat isn’t a huge deal as I hope to book it immediately upon arriving in Japan (I’m planning a week stay there – not a huge amount of time…lots I want to see, but I’ll settle for Fuji, Tokyo and Kyoto).

I haven’t even considered what I’m going to do after I reach Moscow – I’ll be happy if I even get there!

Technorati Tags: boat, japan, russia, train, trans-siberian railway, travel, visa

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< blockquote>The finance ministry is imposing a 5 percent tax on chopsticks and floor planks, citing a need to conserve timber. Environmentalists around the world have been warning that China’s voracious demand for wood was contributing to the clear-cutting of many forests, especially in Southeast Asia.

I remember reading, but despite my best efforts, I cannot recall or find the source, that several cities in China had introduced an environmental tax on plastic bags. The tax wasn’t large, maybe .1 or .2 RMB, yet it was incredibly successful in reducing the use of plastic bags. I admire the financial conservation demonstrated by many Chinese people. The deposit on my empty bottles amounts to about .1 RMB, yet they practically snatched out of my hands by some residents in my neighborhood. Given these examples, I think that it is safe to assume that increasing the price of chopsticks will incur conservation and that more multiple use chopsticks will appear at noodle stands. However, I’m unaware of current market prices of disposable chopsticks relative to multiple use varieties and the success of this tax depends on making disposable chopsticks more of a financial burden than the reusable ones. Keep in mind that switching to reusable sticks will require a modest noodle stand (these guys are not pulling in a lot of RMB) to purchase adequate steam cleaners to sanitize the chopsticks.

Another alternative which has been floating around in the Chinese news recently is the idea of launching edible chopsticks made from cornstarch. At this point it appears to be mostly talk, with edible chopsticks and toothpicks being showcased most recently for top party officials at the 10th National People’s Congress in early March. Many questions still remain about the ability of these sticks to help me down Lanzhou da wan niu rou la mian without disintegrating.

The chopstick tax is only a portion of a wide range of items being taxed on April 1st, including luxury watches, yachts, golf balls and golf clubs, vehicles, and a 20% tax on baijiu 白酒 (white wine)…Not that I drink a lot of that anyways.

Chopsticks are a wood related item, and while on this topic I feel that it is apt to ask…”Do you know where your furniture is coming from?”

I write often about illegal forestry in Asia, which is mostly fuelled but China’s growing appetite for timber. Yet I had always assumed that use of such timber was to satisfy the Chinese domestic wood product demand. I cannot understand why I assumed this, given that a good proportion of almost everything produced in China, aside from energy, is exported in some form or another.

From the Financial Times:

Consumer demand in Europe, Japan and the US for reasonably priced everyday furniture and other Chinese wood products is feeding a growing appetite in China for imports of illegally felled timber, according to a new report.

According to the report by US-based Forest Trends, the Indonesia-based Centre for International Forestry Re-search, and the Beijing-based Centre for Chinese Agricultural Policy, China has become the world’s biggest wood workshop in less than a decade.

Chinese manufacturers account for 30 per cent of the world’s furniture trade, with the value of China’s exports of forest products rising from $3.6bn (£2bn) in 1997 to $17.2bn last year. Big markets such as the US and European Union have in- creased imports of Chinese wood products by between 700 and 900 per cent over the same period, the reports says.

It is not only China that is promoting illegal forest practices in developing or underdeveloped countries. Make sure you know where your forest products are coming from. If it’s got wood and says “Made in China”, please, don’t purchase.

Technorati Tags: beijing, bus, china, energy, environment, japan, plastic bags

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