Using the latest Spamuraivision technology I bring you Fuji-san as viewed travelling at 285 km/h! In other words I've meddled with this picture, taken from my seat on a Tokyo-bound shinkansen, to bring out the features which you can't see with normal, non-Spamurai eyes. The sky was a bit hazy, but still clear enough to be able to see this most famous of mountains. It was my first time, so I was pretty stoked. I've been past numerous times, but at the wrong times - it's always been invisible in the soupy spring/summer air. I think if it weren't for the snowcap, I would have missed it again.

This is how it really appeared. Hazy, but still... it's there! So if you want to climb Mt Fuji come in spring or autumn. If you want to see it, come in winter!

I was really surprised by the size of this thing. It's not that close to the train line, but it fills a good chunk of the sky. I guess if there were a building 3 km high it would be visible from a long way off, let alone a pile of earth that tall. It really makes you think funny words, like splendid! magnificent! subarashii! I believe the hedge things in the foreground are tea.



This is my friend Masato-san. He and I first met at Chatswood Presbyterian, back in Sydney. He lives near a city called Hiratsuka, visible here behind him. We are looking east along the coast of Honshu, in the direction of Tokyo, which is where I was headed. After shouting me to a really nice lunch, Masato-san took me to this very windy, beautiful vantage point. It's a really nice part of Japan.

Masato lives on the other side of the lookout.

I love bay windows and Masato has a really nice one! He became a Christian shortly after we met but this wasn't long before I left Sydney for Japan. So it was good to catch up and talk about our friends back at Chatswood and how it's been living as Christians in this very different culture.

It was a good time.

But, it had to end. Masato took me to the train station, but not until we'd made a slight detour on the way, to get another glimpse of Fuji-san. In one of those Japan-moments that I thought I'd only ever read about we pulled over to the side of the road and looked across rice paddies towards Mt Fuji to the accompaniment of a bullet train hurtling past.

In the coming issues, we'll keep heading east. I was on my way to Tokyo for a couple of days, to be followed by another stay with my friends Tom, Jen and Ruby in their home of Tsukuba, north of Tokyo. As it turned out, Fujisan's shyness waned further and I could see it from Tokyo! You'll see...

In the meantime, this has been a very good week. As you know, Valentine's Day was on Wednesday. I've been reaping the chocolatey goodness of being a male in Japan. Nothing is expected of me until March 14th, White Day... time to reciprocate. I've received chocolates, cookies and a cupcake from some little girls, a couple of teenagers and my manager! Yesterday was particularly good for other reasons - I managed to do a load of washing, talk to my sister, stitch my backpack and take a box to the post office all before work! I do start at 2 on Thursdays, but I usually would be lucky to get two of those things done.

Anyway, g'night.