March 17, 2016
Jet Teacher Teresa's End of Term Post!
Teresa here!
This month, my fiancé and I set out to hike our first mountain, Mount Takao in West Tokyo! The commute took about two hours, and when we arrived, we mentally prepared ourselves as we absorbed the blue sky.
Initially, we wanted to climb Route 6, which is an unpaved route that brings us to Biwa Waterfall, but it was CLOSED! We were looking forward to seeing the the waterfall too..
So instead, we hiked the paved path up the mountain. According to a sign, it usually takes only 45 minutes to climb to the summit, but we took 2 hours. We need a serious workout session soon.
Along the way up, we saw this beautiful structure, which prompted my fiancé to say, “Takao-san? Don’t you mean Tako-san?” I promptly started to fall over in laughter because tako is octopus.
Even better though, I met a real life Eevee. Look at the ears!
The end prize was the best. I saw Mount Fuji shining in all its glory!
The hike was full of tears, laughter, empowerment, and fear, just like a good (and perhaps cheesy) movie. If you like an easy hike while feeling like a movie star, visit Mount “Tako!”
Cheers!
Teresa Fong
JET Assistant English Language Teacher