Fujisan

First off, thanks to all of you who have posted comments. It's encouraging to know that people are reading and interested in what's going on. Last night I met the first group of students that I'll be studying with; the rest I should meet either on Saturday or Sunday. We went out for a bit to eat. They all seem very nice, and it was great to meet them all. It was a treat to be able to interact with people so easily. We actually made plans to meet up again early tomorrow morning. There's a huge fish market in Tokyo (from what I understand one of the world's largest), and it's quite the sight to be seen. The only catch is that it's generally over by the time most people meet up. So we're meeting at the school at 6:30 tomorrow morning to go and check it all out and probably have some sushi for breakfast.

Today was my much-anticipated trip halfway up the summit of Mt. Fuji. Unfortunately, the views of the mountain itself weren't so great. This is the rainy season in Japan and today was a pretty wet day. There were lots of clouds and at such a high altitude they were more like fog, obstructing our view of the mountain. It was still a fun day though. The tour guide was amazing; a really positive and upbeat older Japanese man who so obviously loves his job. He told lots of stories about Japan, past and present, and even showed us how to make an origami Mt. Fuji. The highlight of the day, though, was getting to meet some other English-speakers. The tour was great and it was made even better by being able to share it with the other people who were there. I picked up some cool gifts/souvenirs and even sent a post card, so keep an eye on your mailbox, it could be yours. On the way back we took the bullet train; a commuter train that travels at almost 200 miles per hour. A few of them whizzed by us as we were on the platform and it was really amazing. Anyway, I've got to run for now, I'm determined to learn at least a little Japanese to make myself slightly more functional. Sayonara for now...