The end for a mountain climbing beginner.

Welcome to my surprise mountaintop graduation ceremony, surrounded by clouds and cherry blossoms — a sky-high festival! Everyone is welcome!

The other day, for the fifth time in my life, I took on a mountain climbing challenge: a traversed two mountains over 1,000 meters high, a challenging course for a beginner climber. The trains were packed with climbers in this area, where one can reach various mountains simply by transferring to the Chuo Line at Tokyo station. As is typical of Japan’s aging society, there were many senior citizens on the train.

That day was a fine, warm day in spring, perfect for hiking. The mountain we visited had a sense of depth that made us feel its vastness. Trees on the mountain stretched straight up towards the sky, and sunlight filtered through the gaps between them. As I lightly jogged along the mountain trail, I felt a soft sensation beneath my feet that couldn’t be experienced on asphalt.

After a tough part of the climb, I reached a rest point along the way. To my surprise, I was bowled over by the beauty of the scenery, a stunning collaboration of cherry blossoms and Mt. Fuji. Ahead of me was a tough uphill climb. I took deep breaths along the way, taking in oxygen as we climbed, one step at a time.

An hour and 20 minutes after the start, we finally stood on the 1038-meter summit! Happiness, as I enjoyed homemade rice balls with a view of Mt. Fuji. Nearby were two foreign men, probably bakers, who were eating sandwiches made from brown bread and cutting fresh bread wildly with bread knives. Some of them were making ajillo! How luxurious! I want to try that! I’ll put that on my baguette list! (lol)

Enjoying Mt. Fuji and the rice balls, we headed to the next mountain. “Well, now we’re going to go back down and climb again,” my buddy said, teasing me with a little anxiety about what was ahead. But I thought that as long as I moved forward one step at a time, I would be able to manage somehow. By the way, my buddy had been climbing mountains the day before!

Descend the summit and climb again. This was unknown territory for me. Along the way, I found a tree branch just the right length and it became my trusty walking stick. The walking stick successfully supported my body’s balance and I felt a sense of security.

Finally, we arrived at the peak of the other mountain. There, cherry blossoms were in full bloom! Moreover, I was able to see Mount Fuji for the third time that day. What kind of blessing could this be? Did I do something good?

All that was left was to descend the mountain. Thanks to the walking stick, I managed to cover the 11-kilometer distance in 5 hours, including break times, without putting any strain on my knees. My muscles were already starting to ache, but I didn’t feel any stress or fatigue. This time, it seems, it didn’t slow her down. So I felt like I had finally finished my “trial period.” From now on, I thought I’d pay a little more attention to my mountain fashion.

Four days after the mountain climb, my muscles went through destruction and regeneration, transforming into new muscles. And before I knew it, I found myself sitting in front of a grand piano. It was because I wanted to finish the trial period for the “singing and playing” I started around the same time as mountain climbing last year. And I played “Sakura-iro”.

There are still so many things I haven’t experienced in life. Maybe I should create a new bucket list. And I want to fully enjoy this wonderful Earth and continue to embark on even more adventures. And I will continue to blog about this continuing story.