A close call and a lesson well learned
So I woke up not only hungover but late. My check in was at 9.15, the airport a good hour away and I woke up at 8.30... goddamn.
Turning into a whirlwind of packing and panicing. I hit the Bus at 8.45 and worried my way to the airport. I arrived at around 9.45 and hit the 'special' counter and managed to get checked in and through customs, immigration and every other damned obstacle in my way to get to my flight... early. HAHA!
The flight to Hong Kong was uneventful so I just slept. Then spent a few hours in the airport and then caught my next flight to New Zealand. I watched a couple of movies on the flight such as Ultraviolet, which needs to be seen drunk to be enjoyed and King Kong, which was mildly entertaining since it was a cut version.

A familiar face and a 'few' drinks
Spent most of the day trying to contact STA travel and sort out my hostel booking but to no avail. I just had to pay for another night. So i swiftly dispatched an email to STA in the hopes they will refund the cash i paid for my accomodation.
I then headed across to the University area to meet up with Claire and her friend Kate. Inspirationally I managed to get there without getting too lost.
I met Kate and Claire in their hotel room and we chatted for a bit. I was a little surprised about my reaction to seeing a familiar face in such an unusual setting. I just sort of accepted it and it seemed like another night out to me... maybe I'm getting desensitised or something.
We hit out to an open air pub which was really cheap and sat and had a few beers surrounded on all sides by stands selling food, beer and other goodies. Was quite lively and fun.
We then hit a korean pub (as far as I could tell) and got laid into some more beer there. Was nice seeing Claire and hearing about all her adventures and being able to jabber on about mine again. It was a fairly drunken night and after Claire had got back to her hotel I headed out to get a Taxi back to my hostel to get packed up for my flight the next day.

Free ride and full price.
After disembarking from the ferry I was treated to a taxi ride to the train station, my train ticket and my dinner by my Swiss friend, Ted, which was damned nice of him if you ask me.
However it wasn't all roses once I arrived at my hostel since STA had sent me the wrong conformation sheet and I had to pay the 60 yuan (4 quid) for my first night until I could get it sorted. But hey... I was still up on the money front so i wasn't going to complain.

Motion sickness and a hangover
Either of those on their own I can handle... but both at once! You gotta be kidding me!!!
I felt ok by the evening and was shown a research presentation by Ted on the effects of Green Tea on muscular Dystrophy. It was very interesting although some of the chemical terms went right over my head.
Afterwards we dropped into the kareoke bar and listened to some good singing and some really awful singing as well. Was a good night.

On the boat
Caught my Ferry with no hassle at the port. I met some nice folk on the boat this time which means I will actually have people to talk to! Joseph, a Bostonian who has been teaching English for the last 4 years in Japan, J, another English teacher from austrailia who had been there for 1 year, Ted, a proffessor of pharmicology at the University of Geneva and a lovely Japanese couple named Michi and Yoichiro who had just gotten engaged. We drank and swapped some stories.

Aftermath and Kobe.
After Fuji I settled down and ate a LOT of greasy food to help my body settle back to normal... and goddamn it felt good!
Joss then got his results through from his Uni to say he'd got a 1st class honours so we sank some whiskey to celebrate.
The next day I headed out to Kobe. I dumped my stuff in my Hostel and then took a look round the city.
I had my last Japanese meal: Katsu-don. Pork cutlet over rice which had become a favourite of mine.
I am gonna miss Japan, But I'll be back... Fuji awaits.

Mt Fuji
Woke up easily and met Joss in the lobby of our hostel with my pack all ready to go.
We stopped off at a local supermarket and stocked up on food and water, then made our way to the train station. It took around 3 hours to get to Fujiyoshida, the village at the base of the mountain and by then I was pretty excited about things.
We started on the trail at 4 oclock hoping to reach Station 5 within 5 hours. We passed the shrine at the foot of the mountain where pilgrims use to pray for a safe journey.
We set a decent pace through the thick forest along the beaten track. We swapped stories and talked nonsense. The going wasn't too tough and our spirits were pretty high. We made good time and had reached 5th station by 8.30 so we were ahead of schedule. We had some food and put on some warmer clothes.
We then made a mistake. We ended up going up the descending trail which is mainly a thick gravel track. Every step we took we slid back a quarter step so the going was really tough. By this point we were starting to feel the altitude a lot more. We were both pretty breathless and I had a slight headache. We reached 7th station and I gratefully tucked into some food. I needed all the energy I could get. By this point it was around 10.30 and we took an hours break to eat and drink and let our stomach settle.
We pushed on into the night with my headlamp to guide us. We stoppe frequently as my altitude sickness was getting worse. My head was pounding and I was breathless almost constantly. We reached 8th station sometime after midnight and pressed on. Halfway between 8th and real 8th station my headlamp stopped working so we were forced to stop at a mountain hut. Our plan to reach the summit for sunrise was over. We bedded down in a mountain hut but got little to no sleep. We 'awoke' feeling worse than we did before. We pressed on and real 8th station but unfortunately that was it for me. The lack of sleep, physical exertion and altitude had me nausous and dizzy. I had no choice but to turn back.
I wished Joss luck, handed him my walking stick and headed back down to the hut we stopped in.
I got 2 hours proper sleep and woke up feeling 100% better. Joss arrived back and looked terrible.
"You okay?" I asked "Did you make it?"
He smiled "Just"
I was beyond pleased.
We made our way back down to 5th station and caught out bus back to the train station.
I was a little disapointed in that after the two hours sleep I am sure I would've made it to the top... but I didnt have time since we were on a tight schedule.
I learned a lot on Mt. Fuji. My own physical limitations for one and how I overestimate myself these days. I learned about planning ahead on such trips as this and to do more research on the subject. I also learned a lot about my climbing partner, Joss. It was a big experience regardless of whether I made it or not and I'm glad I could share it with him.
On a last note: When Joss came back down from the top he handed me a stone.
"I dont know if you're into that kinda thing but it's from the top." he told me.
I eventually understood. I have to go and put it back now at some point. In other words I will definately make it up Mt. Fuji.

Whole lotta nothing
Joss and I decided we wouldn't go up Mt. Fuji because a) it was raining and b) we were both hungover. There was no way we would make it up Fuji in our current conditions. We took the day REALLY easy so we would be ready for the climb the next day.

Harajuku and making out like bandits
Sunday... so time to hit Harajuku! I headed to the park so I could get a good look around. I arrived at Jingu Bashi bridge and was instantly in a throng of Goths. Now... western goths seem to just wear lots of black, studs, necklaces etc without any real thought to the outfit as a whole... well... Tokyo goths make it seem that way! I have never seen goths as stylish as these guys. After taking a few photos of these oddballs I headed to see the other attractions.
The main ones being all the bands that were playing. The stand-out one being an all girl rock group called 'The Pink Panda'.
Soon after I found the dancing Elvises. A group of leather clad quiff wearing rock n rollers with the worst dancing I have seen in a while... and funnily enough they were excrutiatingly entertaining.
Afterwards I caught some awesomely good dancing in the form of Gekigan Gabez. It was a mix of mime, physical comedy, acrobatics and rock 'n' roll dancing. Seriously entertaining, stayed and watched them for around two hours.
Afterwards I met with Joss at the hostel and we headed out for some food and some beer. We stopped at a rowdy local bar and ordered some Beers and two dishes of sashimi. An old man next to us signalled to us how to eat it. You take some wasabi and mix it with soy sauce in a side dish then dip in the raw fish. 'Some' wasabi didnt work for me so I put it all in and made a thick paste of spicy goodness, much to the other patrons entertainment. Joss knew when a gauntlet had been thrown so proceeded to do the same. We finished up and thought about another beer. But before we could order two beers arrived out of no where. Apparently a guy across the bar had seen our escapades and was amused by them. After that we received a plate of fried fish from the same source and after that a plate of chicken wings too. Then as he was leaving he said he would take care of our entire bill! After we left Joss and I assumed we must have been the nights entertainment... which we could handle considering how much food we got away with!
We got a couple more beers and headed back to the hostel where we started drinking with a girl called Stephanie which turned into a very good night.

Another day in Tokyo
Although the title may make the idea of another day seem usual and ordinary... maybe even boring... trust me... another day in Tokyo is awesome! Today the day started with Joss taking me down to a magical land where there were many many fine foods on display. It was Shibuya food market and man there was some awesome stuff. The food was well presented with lots of good colours and really vibrantly fresh produce on display. Joss and I bought some stuff and tried some of the free samples.
We tried to find a sword museum but ended up in Harajuku park where we caught people doing just about everything you could think of: from playing football/frisbee/rugby, juggling, Japanese drumming and dancing, cycling, skating, bands playing and people just posing around. Lots of good energy and once again the Japanese passion for whatever they are doing.
Meiji shrine was next for us to take in some of the traditional Japanese element and also to do the little Shinto wish-making/prayer thing. The shrine was very impressive, the huge Torii gates on the way in also were quite cool.
After that we headed to the Tokyo Government offices and headed up to the 45th floor to get a good look over the city. I didnt take a picture cos there is no way I coulda done the view justice.
Then we sorta just bummed around shinjuku for a while and then joined the Breakdance crew we'd met yesterday for a while. I enjoyed doing a bit of uprocking and just getting a feel again for my style. Once again though, Joss and the Jap guys were totally blowing me out with their skillz. I called it a night early and headed off.
After that I headed to the station and came accross one of the weirdest dance acts I'd ever seen. Guys dressed as weird Samurais flashing their torso's and screaming. Was entertaining, especially when the lead guy ran up to me smiled widely and screamed "HALLO!". I said hello back and he gave me a thumbs up and then screamed again and flashed his pecs at me then ran back to the group. Was... very odd.