Tama Hills

Four months after our first trip to Tama Hills we finally made it back!  This time it was a bit too cold to tent camp so instead we rented cabins with some of our best friends.  I found very little information about the cabins before we left so I'm going to do a little photo tour of our cabin before I get into our weekend.

 We stayed in one of the two pet friendly cabins.  They were separate from the cabins that do not allow pets but only by about a five minute walk.  If you want to be next to friends though, you'll either both want to book the pet cabins or ones that aren't pet friendly.  Like I said though, it's only about a 5 minute walk between them so it really wasn't a big deal to be separated.  Their website doesn't really say how many the standard cabins sleep but since it's only a one bedroom, we assumed only 2 adults but in reality, 6 adults could share one cabin (if you don't all mind sharing a bathroom).  There was a bed in the bedroom, a futon couch in the living room and a loft that was carpeted and had a cheap futon type mattress for sleeping.  There was technically only dining seating for 4 but you could also eat at the coffee table like we did.  The kitchen has 2 electric burners, no oven, a microwave and a fridge/freezer.  There were some basic utensils, one pot, one pan, and a dining set for 4.  Basically, only the basics are provided.  If you require anything more than that, you should bring it with you.  Also, the beds were horribly uncomfortable, I'd almost have preferred to be in a tent, except for the below freezing temps at night.

As for our weekend?  

We did a little artistic photo taking,

a little hiking,

a little climbing, 

a little hole peeking 

a little old dog assisting,

a little father/son bonding,

a little law breaking, 

a little shadow watching (best walking stick EVER, I'm so bummed I left it behind),

a little sun soaking,

a little archery teaching,

and a whole lot of eating!

 (I know, I know, who eats crab legs while "camping"?!?  WE DID and it was awesome!)

Tama Hills

About an hour from Camp Zama is a recreation area called Tama Hills that is run by the AF.  We've heard great things about the area and finally made time this weekend to go see it for ourselves.  We had a great 2 days taking advantage of all they have to offer.

From what I read on plaques and was told by random people through out the weekend, the land was used by the Japanese Army during WWI to store munitions.  Due to the thick foliage and construction design, the bunkers were not discovered until after the war ended.  The US Army took control of the site and used the buildings to store bombs during the Korean War.  Years after the wars ended, a golf course was built on a large chuck of the land and since then, the remaining land has been used by US forces {at some point, the USAF took over responsibility for the land from the USArmy} for religious retreats and Boy Scout functions.  In the 80's it was turned into the recreation area that can be found there today.  They offer a large variety of activities ranging from archery to horseback riding and putt putt to paint ball.  There is also a large selection of sleeping accommodations available including sites for tent camping, cabins and a hotel.  I don't know why it took us so long to get out there but I'm certain we'll be going again before we leave Japan.

We had a blast hiking through the woods.  We never knew what we'd find at the end of a trail.

of course there were bugs, mostly spiders! {I am grateful for my telephoto lens!}

my husband has an fairly extreme reaction to mosquitoes but luckily he only reacts for a very short period of time.

We also took to the archery field and played some putt-pitt

Doing what he must in order to make the shot!

The best part about Tama Hills is that they allow pets!  Mr. Puppers was allowed to come along for the weekend and I'm quite sure he enjoyed the open land more than Jason and I did!

breathing in the fresh air

the hike we went on might have worn him out a tad which resulted in a solid 3 hours in this position

One night we met up with some other families from Zama at another camp site.  They had brought along glow bracelets for their kids and we turned them into dog collar earrings which made it much easier to keep track of Buster in the dark!

I absolutely loved waking up to this face each morning

We definitely made some rookie mistakes on this trip, like not bringing ANY source of fire with us, which made it mighty memorable.  After a trip to the little store they have in the hotel {which is uber expensive but totally worth it} we got a fire going though, it was a beauty.

We ate like kings all weekend.  I never in a million years would have thought to make shrimp scampi while camping but Jason suggested it and I made it happen.

We're already planning our next trip out to Tama Hills!

A wise woman

A couple months ago I was all prepped and ready to climb Mt Fuji then due to one thing or another all of our plans to hike were cancelled {3 different times}.  I was starting to think that we just might not get around to doing it while we're here.  The mountain is only technically open until the end of August and our time was running out, so we picked a day and decided to make it happen, no excuses.  Sunday night we packed up some stuff and headed out toward the mountain.  We decided to camp near one of the five lakes {Lake Saiko} at the base of the mountain and get a very early start on our hike the next morning.

It was a perfect, relaxing night!  I only wish we had been able to sleep a little longer.  We were up and moving at 0330 and packed and on the road by 0400.  We drove about 45 minutes up the mountain to the 5th station where we began our hike.

I love this image of my husband and the very beginning of the trail

385 minutes = 6 hours 25 minutes

Getting started

This is just a small portion of the climb to the top

Finally above the clouds

Taking a break at one of the stations along the way.  I felt really good the whole way up so long as we took frequent short breaks.  If I went too long without taking a break {and by too long I mean more than about 10 minutes} I started to feel really tired and generally not well.  Thankfully, Jason was extremely patient with me.

My favorite part of the day, rock climbing!

Not looking forward to what lies ahead

Each of the huts along the path have stamps that they will burn into a hiking stick for you for a fee {200-300yen each}.  The whole reason I wanted to do the hike was to get the stick with all the stamps!  I will cherish that thing for as long as I live!

Some of the terrain...it varied drastically from area to area

Above 10,000 ft

Hikers

So close to the top...yet so far away!

Still feeling really good at this point!

Last torii before the summit!

AT THE TOP!

In front of the crater of Mt Fuji

We spent about an hour at the top resting and enjoying the view.  We ate some ramen and had a coke and a beer then began the journey back down.

This part was significantly less fun that the trip to the top.  About 20 minutes into these never ending  dirt/gravel switchbacks, my left knee was killing me.  I seriously considered sitting on my rear and attempting to scoot myself to the bottom because the pain was excruciating with ever step!

The amount of dirt that was kicked up as we were going down was crazy so we suited up in our bandit gear for the trek!

It was a brutal 3 hours of painful slipping and sliding back to the bottom,

but we made it!

It took us 10 hours total; 6 hours up, 1 hour at the top, and 3 hours back down.  I am not in great {or even good} cardiovascular shape, I cannot run one mile without stopping, but I didn't have any problems completing the march up the mountain.  We went very slowly and stopped frequently and that worked for us.  The walk down was much more physically challenging for me.  The pressure on my knees and the unstable ground was an awful combination for me.  I had made a reservation at our outdoor recreation office to rent trekking poles but I forgot to pick them up before we left.  I think they would have helped me significantly on the way down.

Overall we had a great experience.  The weather was perfect {a bit too prefect, I have the first official sunburn of my life and awful tan/burn lines to prove it} and we both made it up and back uninjured.  I had prepared myself for the worst and found it to be better than my expectations.  My husband thought it wouldn't be too bad and he was more miserable than I was.  I'm glad we did it but it is definitely something I never want to do again.  

There is a popular saying in Japan, "A wise man climbs Fuji once, only a fool will climb it twice", and I now fully understand it's meaning.

~A wise woman