And Now The Weird pt.1

So I've probably seen some things you can only see here in Japan. It's what I call the weird, Or at least it's weird through my western eyes. So I'll post some pics and tell you a little about them, and why I think there weird. Here we go....

The cigarette machine, maybe not so weird until you come to Japan and find one on every other block. Not just in bars or clubs but out in the middle of the street.

The beer/liquor machine is again the middle of the street. It's not monitored in any way, and it's actually really cheap.

Small door frames, I know on average the Japanese are a little smaller than Americans, but this is ridiculous. (this is not photoshoped)

The toilet is also kinda weird. I will really miss the heated seat, it's nice even on warm days. This particular one would open the lid and turn on a built in nightlight as you enter the bathroom. The buttons on the side are for the bidet (I found this out after the fact.)

So there you go, part 1 of the weird now for some facts
1) Every day 20 banks are robbed. The average take is $2,500!
2) One car out of every 230 made was stolen last year!
Cheers
Derek

I'm Back From The Forest

So I made it back in one piece, what a great time. Although the view of Mt. Fuji was minimal, The forest view was spectacular. I spent the last 4 days camping in the forest, which was hard in itself. The whole area is old lava flow from Fuji, so you only get about 2 inches to put in ground stakes. Not to mention the last 30 hours were spent in my tent because of rain. There were no bodies or ghosts, at least that I saw. The giant Japanese hornets are a bit on the scary side, these things are like 3 inches long. Not to mention they sound like a hurricane when they approach.

After that it was off to Fuji. The weather couldn't have been nicer, at least at base camp. There was about a 20 degree difference from base to 5th station. I was able to get up to the 8th station, but not to the summit. You really need climbing gear (ice pick, crampons) if you want to summit in the off season. So that gives me something to shot for on the next trip.

Now how about some pictures.


Facts
1) The liquid inside young coconuts can be used as substitute for blood plasma.
2) A Boeing 747s wingspan is longer than the Wright brother's first flight.