Surfing...Camping...Hiking...

This past weekend was very fun filled. Saturday morning, Michael went to Oarai with Tsuruta-san (Michael’s co-worker) to surf for the first time. Tsuruta-san has been surfing for many years, so he offered to take Michael. Unfortunately I do not have pictures, but Michael claims he did stand up a few times. Surfing was fun, but takes a lot of strength. After surfing, Michael and I went up to Nikko to camp alongside Lake Chuzenji with some of the other OAPs and OAP’s friends. I can’t remember everyone’s name, but it was a good time. There were maybe 5 or 6 tents set up and then a couple of bbq grills in the middle for everyone to use. We sat around talking, eating and having a good time. Michael and I called it a night early to be rested for the next day. On Sunday, Michael and I went to hike Nantaisan with a few of his co-workers. Nantaisan is 2,484 meters high (8,149 feet). This was the first time I hiked so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Nantaisan’s path is quite steep, so about a third of the way up I was ready to call quits. I was very thankful that Michael and his co-workers were supportive and I did make it to the top of the summit. It’s was an incredible feeling, we had a panoramic view of Lake Chuzenji and the sky was pretty clear majority of the time. It was quite the feeling walking through the clouds and then seeing the clouds below you. Nantaisan was considered training for Mount Fuji because the shape of the mountain closely resembles Mount Fuji’s. We will be climbing Mount Fuji in August which is very exciting. Enjoy our pictures, I think there are some where you can see me struggling.

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