Takaosan, we love you!

We took a day hike on Mount Takao yesterday and it was fantastique! So much better than Fuji, in my opinion. While Fuji is breathtaking from afar, in person Fuji is so commercial, with tons of people selling every plastic peice of crap that's ever been made with a picture of a mountain on it. Takao is a small town, and although there were souvenier shops, they were run from small local shops situated on one beautiful, quiet, clean street. On Takao itself, it was great to be surrounded by so much serene beauty, in a rainforest-like atmosphere, with nary another person around. And there was a shrine to Tengu -- what more could you ask for?

Okay, actually, there is more that you can ask for. We took the Chuo line to Takao and then transferred to a Keio line to Takaosanguchi. The countryside is beautiful -- mountains surrounding a gorgeous valley. But smack dab in the middle of of the end of the valley is a huge figure eight superhighway span. Is this really necessary for a town with a population of 20,000, if that?

If you haven't read _Dogs and Demons_ by Alex Kerr, about the systematic environmental and economic destruction of Japan, then it may come as a shock to you that Japan would do such a thing to a picturesque valley.

All I can say is, if you haven't read it, please read it, now. I recently realized that many of the reasons I had about deciding to come back to the States that I couldn't quite express in words are articulated in this book. Let me know what you think.