Japan
Honshū, Japan (Summer 2006)
I went backpacking across Honshū (main island), Japan with my friend Bob in the summer of 2006. We started the trip by climbing Mt. Fuji using the Gotemba advanced route (by accident) on empty stomachs and little sleep, with some additional misfortunes, including water, sanity and toe nail loss. We did get what we came for though and got to see the sunrise from Fuji. Nonetheless, we will be more prepared next time 🙂 Overall, we covered a lot of ground in a short amount of time, from Tokyo, the ancient temple town of Kamakura, and Kyoto, to Osaka, Miyajima Island (Hiroshima) and the Hakuba Alps (near Nagano). I think that Japan is a very unique country because of its blend of tranquil historical beauty, bustling and cutting-edge urbanization and friendly but quite reserved people.
Mike Gil, Ph.D.
Mike Gil, Ph.D. 