My Japanese Life: Fuji Trip

So Wednesday was a national holiday here in Japan. What better to do that to drive up to Mt. Fuji eh?

It was absolutely gorgeous weather, blue skies and cool. Of course it was much colder up in the mountain area so I brought a heavy coat. I'm quite thankful for that too. The mountains always tend to have these pesky yet interesting microclimates, where you can be in a sunny area, then go up into some clouds which sprout rain and turn you into a popsicle. I've been told that many people each year die on the mountain because they go for a summer hike and forget to bring rain gear and freeze. Even mild temperatures can been a killer once it starts raining.

Another hazard is that most compasses don't work properly, and the forests have a very disorienting effect. Many people each year die around Fuji because they get lost and can't find their way out.

With you being fully briefed of the dangers, your mission, should you choose to accept it is a trip to Fuji san. It's absolutely a beautiful place, and you can never be disappointed. BTW, People here give it a surname like Mr./Mrs. 'san' because maybe it has a spirit like the people.

I was happy that the sun was out, because it let me have the chance to take some beautiful photos. I'm slightly disappointed, because I foolishly forgot to set my camera into Raw+L mode to get the full images. It was in M mode which is for lower res (space-saving) mode. It normally wouldn't be much of a problem, but when you are shooting HDRI it leaves much more artifacts on the photos, and trying to align the photos is more difficult. Especially when you have a slower camera like mine.

Anyways, please check out some of my shots below.