August 1, 2016 (Tsukuba, Japan)
I’ll admit, Grant and I didn’t visit Mt. Fuji. Nor did we even see the mountain on this visit. To make me feel better, and to give me a mountain experience, my aunt and uncle took us to a mountain that happened to be near their home. And it turns out, this mountain has nothing to be ashamed of. It’s called Mt. Tsukuba and is famous in Japan, especially because it has two peaks named Nyotai-san, which is 877 meters high (2,877 feet), and Nantai-san, which is 871 meters tall (2,858 feet). These two peaks are said to be male and female deities and make up a couple. Each peak has a shinto shrine and many visitors come here to receive blessings for marital happiness and conjugal bliss.
Mt. Tsukuba also attracts foreign tourists throughout the year. The top has splendid panoramic views of the Tokyo skyline, Lake Kasumigaura, and on a very clear day, Mt. Fuji. Unlike other mountains in Japan which are volcanic, Mt. Tsukuba is made of non-volcanic rocks like granite and gabbro.
According to Wikipedia, there is a legend that begins thousands of years ago when a deity came down from the heavens and asked two mountains if it could take a rest overnight. Mt. Fuji, with its splendid peak and smooth sides, was arrogant and prideful and felt it did not need the deity’s blessings so it declined the request. But Mt. Tsukuba offered the deity its hospitality, even providing food and water. Because of this, Mt. Fuji is now a barren and windswept place and Mt. Tsukuba is teeming with vegetation and life, expressed as brilliant colors when the seasons change.
I’ll admit another thing, Grant and I didn’t actually climb the mountain, we took a gondola from the mountain base up to a spot between the two peaks and then climbed for 5 minutes until we reached the top of Nyotai-san (the female deity).
After making our way back down on the gondola, we decided to take an ice cream break. If you see an ad for the ice cream pictured below, I’m warning you… eat your ice cream as soon as possible and stay in the shade. Do not expose to sunlight. The ice cream is made with raw, full fat dairy cream (delicious) and comes in an ultra-thin buttery cookie (just like a Yoku Moku Cigare cookie) rolled into a cone shape (super delicious). It’s pure bliss until the ice cream starts to melt and the cookie cone disintegrates. As the pressure from your hand holding on to the cone builds, the ice cream bursts and you are left with a dripping, delicious mess. This particular experience was even more hilarious because it happened to my aunt and I at the same time, just as her cell phone started ringing. Her hands were occupied with the exploded ice cream so she couldn’t answer it, and the ring tone was playing none other than… ‘the Entertainer’. Rather than help, Grant and my uncle continued to laugh and take pictures.
My aunt and uncle then took us to lunch at Bando-Taro, a restaurant that reminds me of a Japanese diner, with a food variety to match. You can order any Japanese food you can imagine, with the twist of having our own private room.
At the entrance of the restaurant, there was a chest full of toys for little kids. A waitress thought it would be amusing to give us a Japanese “yo-yo” which is just a partially filled water balloon tied to a long rubber band. This is what Grant ends up doing with it:
In conclusion, visiting Mt. Tsukuba is a fun way of experiencing a Japanese mountain if you don’t have time to get to Mt. Fuji. The location is convenient as it is just outside of Tokyo and is relatively easy to get to.
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