The Peak of Japan

The last week I've experienced so many peaks of my life in Japan...

• Actually climbing the highest mountain (or rather volcano) of Japan: Fujiyama
• Doing this, experiencing the longest line up ever for reaching a point!
• Reaching halftime in my experimental work

And by all this, having the most exhaustive week ever...

and just now, a short but hard earth"jump"quake scaring the sh... out of me (4.8 on the Richter Scale).

Here we go, some impressions for you

We climbed up Fujisan (the Japanese name) over night - the weiredest trek I've ever done. Starting at 2300m up to the summit at 3776m, we passed 1500m of rainy freezing times in line-ups. And how could I be so crazy, doing this after 4 days of GAME field work...(hello mates!)?

The mass of people did not allow us to reach the peak until the sunrise, but the "ahhhh" from the crowd when the clouds allowed the first view on the amazingly coloured horizon made it an unforgettable experience in any case.


Olivia and me, before our battle against nature - and mankind...


and after our victory :)


"Begegnung der 3. Art"
my shadow in a circular rainbow on the summit, above the volcano's crater


The next morning revealed the real beauty of Fuji-san:

even in black and white... (the slope is real!)

The feeling, to be above the clouds on red and black gravel with a brilliant blue sky...

...and scattered patches of green plants, braving the harsh conditions of this altitude, more than compensated for the exhausting ascension.


Further down the misty morning atmosphere added a magical touch to the natural beauty of the most respected mountain of Japan.




The hard trip filled me with such a good feeling, that amazingly I did not have any problems to get up at 5am the next morning... starting the second set of experiments.

Yesterday we successfully transplanted our marine fouling panels from one site to the other, crossing the peak of my thesis' experimental work. I hope to add some more pics and explanations for all the "non-insiders" soon. Sorry.

This morning, I could finally get some sleep - and enjoy a wonderful espresso with foamy milk. Can You imagine the smile on my face?

I hope You're all doing as well as I am. Enjoy life - the happy moments just weigh so much more than memories of exhaustion :)

Ki o tsukette kudasai,

Heike