After an eleven-hour flight, we landed in Tokyo, Japan.
It's so different there! First, they drive on the wrong side of the road.
"It's not wrong to them," Mom teased.
I rolled my eyes.
The taxi driver drove fast down the street. People bumped into each other on the sidewalks. Cars honked at other cars. The buildings were very tall. Signs and decorations hung from the buildings. The city was so colorful.
We pulled up in front of the hotel. We got out of the car. Right away, two Japanese ladies ran to Rachel. They handed me their camera. I guessed I was supposed to take their picture.
After I took two pictures of Rachel and the ladies, they bobbed up and down and left.
Rachel is blonde, tall, and pretty. She also has amazing blue eyes. The flight attendant told us that the Japanese people love blondes because the hair color is unusual to them.
Rachel was stopped two more times in the hotel.
I felt jealous. No one wanted a picture with me! My brown hair must be no big deal there.
I lowered my head and walked to the elevator.
The hotel room was amazing. Actually, it was a suite. It had two bedrooms, a small kitchen, and a living room. We wandered around. Amazing!
I walked into the bathroom.
"Come see this!" I shouted.
Mom, Gary, and Rachel ran to see. They looked shocked.
It had marble countertops and sinks that sat on top of them. The lights were fancy and had crystals hanging from them. But the two most amazing things were the toilet and tub.
"How much room does one person need in a tub?" Mom asked.
The tub was the size of my bedroom at home. It was huge! With jets and armrests.
"A small army could fit in there," Rachel joked.
"I call first bath!" I yelled.
Gary was not paying attention to the tub. He was studying the toilet.
"This toilet has a control panel!" he said.
We looked silly, all gathered around the toilet. But we couldn't help it. It was so unusual. There were buttons for everything.
Seat warmer. Because every bottom deserves a warm seat.
Noise maker. Because everyone needs that sometimes!
Deodorizer. Because that comes in handy, too!
Classical Music. Everyone deserves to be relaxed while going.
Water squirter. In case... Oh, never mind.
"I think you can launch the space shuttle with this toilet," Gary laughed.
We all laughed. So far, this toilet was my favorite thing in Japan. But I had only been there for an hour.
After more giggling, we left the bathroom.
Rachel and I unpacked our bags. We each got a huge bed. We flopped on them and giggled again.
"Girls! I have a brochure for you. It talks about climbing Mt. Fuji," Mom called to us.
We sat in the living room of the suite. We read the brochure. I looked at all the photos of the mountain. My heart pounded. I couldn't believe we might do this!
"It says here the mountain is 3776 meters high," I read aloud.
"What's that in feet?" Rachel asked.
I kept reading. "It's 12,390 feet. Sounds high."
"Thin air," my mom called from the kitchen.
"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.
"The higher in elevation you climb, the thinner the air. Most people get sick. It's called altitude sickness," Mom answered.
"What kind of sick?" I asked.
"Headaches, upset stomach, dizziness," she told us.
"That won't be a problem for us," I said.
"Yeah, we're young and healthy, we'll be fine. I brought an extra inhaler just in case," Rachel said.
"I forgot," Mom said to Rachel. "You have asthma. You sure you're okay to climb?"
Rachel nodded. "Yep, I checked with the doctor. He said to go slow and take the extra inhaler."
Go slow? I thought. I don't want to go slow. If we're going to climb this mountain, we need to push hard.
I was anxious to plan the climb. I read more in the brochure. The official climbing season was in July and August. No snow would be on the mountain during those eight weeks.
"Let's go tomorrow!" I said.
"I am in, Kira!" Rachel agreed.
We planned the snacks we would take. We packed the camera and some money. We laid out our hiking boots and clothes for the next day.
Mom said we should get some extra sleep. She would make us a healthy breakfast in the morning.
We went to bed early. But I didn't sleep well. I was too excited for tomorrow.
