Mt. Fuji: July 29-30, 2018 (off Tokyo)

Ask what the symbol of Japan is. Many people may answer Mt. Fuji.

It is the highest mountain in Japan with 3776-meter high. The shape has attracted Japanese people. The mountain has been drawn and written in many drawings, poems and literature works.The mountain has also been worshiped by people for centuries.

I climbed up Mr. Fuji for the first time in my life.

It was the day just after the typhoon 12 passed the area.

We climbed the mountain through Yoshida trail. The climb started at the Fuji Subaru Line 5^th station at 2305 meter. There are so many visitors, including foreigners, there. It is reported that around 300 thousand people visit the mountain every summer. The mountain inns are open from July 1 to mid-September.

It was rather easy to walk from the 5^th station to the 6^th station, at 2390-meter high. It took about 50 minutes. The trees lean because they are covered by now in the winter season.

I tried to take deep breath to prevent altitude sickness.

The trail becomes steeper after passing the 6^th station.

There are artificial walls built to prevent damages caused by snowslide between the 6^th and the 7^th stations. People walked the trail along the walls.

There spread forests under the mountain. We can also see Fujiyoshida City and the training ground of the Self Defense Force.

The trails became rocky as we approached the 7^th station, over 2700-meter high. (See also the 2nd photo from the top)
There are total 7 mountain inns in the 7^th station.

The climate frequently changed. It turned clear after having foggy situation. We luckily saw the rainbow.

We continued climbing the steep trail before arriving at the 8^th station in the evening of the first day.

We stayed at Taishikan in at 3100-meter high in the 8^th station. We had a short rest there.

This is a photo of the inn I took in the following morning during my walk down.

We left the inn for the top in the midnight.

The wind was strong that night and we need to wait hours in the rest area at the original 8^th station at 3400-meter high.

The trail was steep. We walked with a headlight on. With total 4-hour walk from the inn, we arrived the top. 10 of 23 members in our group succeeded to reach the top.

We saw the sunrise. (See also the top photo)

Clouds lied below us. (See also the 4th photo from the top)

Mt. Fuji has a ring-shaped top part. There are eight peaks there. (See also the 4th photo from the top)

It has a crater inside the ring.

The peak from the Yoshida trail is 3710-meter high. 

They have several shrines in the top part

Some visitors walked along the ring.

There is a different trail to go down the mountain.

The mountain looked red in the morning sun.

We could see various mountains near and far away from Mt. Fuji. (See also the 3rd photo from the top) 

They include Kai-Komagatake in the Minami Apls (about 60 km northwest from Mt. Fuji), Yatsugatake (about 75 km north-northwest), and Mt. Tsukuba (about 160 km northeast).

Bulldozers and other vehicles with caterpillar tracks go up the mountain.

Ishinomaki, Onagawa in Miyagi Prefecture (off Tokyo) : July 18, 2018

I visited Ishinomaki City, about 40 km northeast of Sendai, for the first time in seven years.

The city was severely hit by the tsunami disaster after the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011. More than 3000 people were killed.

There were many destroyed houses in the city when I visited there in September 2011, six months after the disaster. The roads were covered with water in the central city. The riverbanks of Old Kitakami River were seriously damaged. The records are found in a blog page at "

Sendai, Ishinomaki@Tohoku" (Sept. 2011).

The situation has changed. The buildings have been redeveloped. The riverbanks have been reconstructed.

There are many statues of manga (comic) characters in the streets. Some trains are painted with manga figures. (See the top photo)

The figures are the products of famous manga artist Ishinomori Shotaro.

The city decided to promote tourism with manga power.

Ishinomori was born in neighboring Tome City and commuted to Ishinomaki to watch movies when he was young. 

There is a museum of him in an island in Old Kitakami River. 

I visited there. Masked Rider, one of his characters, was sitting in a riverside chair.

The municipal hospital, which once located in the port area, has been removed to central city.

The riverbanks have been redeveloped in some parts (See the 2nd photo from the top). Construction works were under way in other parts.

New facilities have been built to keep the memory of the disaster and to support the activities for better local communities.

This room exhibits hand-written newspapers issued after the disaster by local newspaper company Ishinomaki Nichinichi Shimbun. They did so as the printing machines were destroyed by the disasters.

I also visited an information center where people can ask questions on the disasters and recovery.

The staff said that the recovery in the rural areas of the city was not as fast as it was in the central city.

Leaving Ishinomaki, I visited Onagawa Town. It took about 30 minutes by train.

The town was completely destroyed by tsunami seven years ago.

They developed a modern commercial area in front of the railroad station. It attract tens of thousand of people from Ishinomaki and other cities when they hold a festival.

It is often talked nationwide as a successful example in redeveloping local communities. (See also the 3rd photo from the top)

Construction works continue in many places in the town.

Temporary houses still remain in front of the station.

The trains run along the coast of Mangoku-ura (seawater lake) between Ishinomaki and Onagawa. They produce good oyster and seaweed here.

I was impressed with the scenes from the train when I moved between Sandai and Ishinomaki.

Most parts of rice fields and residential areas near the sea were washed away by tsunami in Higashi Matsushima City. Railways and roads were destroyed. 

The railway reopened and the roads were redeveloped. Birds fly over wide rice fields now.

The seawalls have been reinforced in the Matsushima Bay area. (See the 4th photo from the top) I saw many big changes.

Minamisoma, Iitate in Fukushima (off Tokyo): July 17, 2018

I passed through Fukushima Prefecture many times by Shinkansen bullet train after the nuclear plant accident in 2011. It was, however, the first time for me to walk in the cities and villages in Fukushima after 2011.

I took a train of the Joban Line at Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, moved southward along the sea coast. Some rice fields in the area were covered with the sea water and seriously damaged. They now returned to former situation.

I arrived at Haranomachi Station, the central part of Minamisoma City. The station is about 25 km from the Fukushima Daiichi (No1) Nuclear Power Plant. 

People look to have returned to their daily lives, at least in the surface. They were walking the streets, driving cars, working inside and outside the office, and shopping in the stores.

Still the influence of the nuclear accident is found in various points.

There are many facilities to support people recovering from the damages of the accidents. They also support the activities of NPOs.

The pollution maps of the radiation were displayed on the shop’s window.

Minamisoma is famous for its production of good horses. They have the Nomaoi festival every year. It will be held from 27 to 29 of July this year. (See the 4th photo from the top)

About 500 horses are planned to gather in the main arena.

Grass cutting and other preparation works were being made. 

I moved from Minamisoma to Fukushima City through mountainous areas by bus. The bus stopped at Iitate village on the way.

Iitate village was polluted by radioactive materials after the nuclear accident in 2011. About 6000 residents were forced to move outside of the village.

Nuclear decontamination works were made. Restrictions to enter the areas was gradually lifted and people started to return to the village. Parts of the area are still restricted to enter.

The bus station was placed at a commercial facility called Michi-no-eki (road station) Madei-kan. It opend in 2017. (See the 3rd photo from the top)

They started to cultivate the field. (See also the top Photo)

Large flower glasshouses have been built. (See the 2nd photo from the top) The business is operated by a joint venture set by the village and Akatsuka Co., a flower company in Mie Prefecture.

Though people's loves and business started to move, there are many things to do. Most fields are left unused and are covered with natural grasses. 

Some parts were covered with plastic sheets (I could not confirm what were inside).

The future of nuclear decontamination is not yet clear. There is a long list of questions.

I arrived in Fukushima City, the capital of Fukushima Prefecture. The street in front of the railway station was modern and busy.

There still remain many people in Fukushima City from Iitate village and other nuclear accident-hit communities.