View from the middle of the climb.
Michi on an an easy (but tall!) climb.Last Saturday, Michi and I met up near Tokyo station, had some lunch, and yes, actually studied a little English and Japanese, respectively. Afterwards, we went to a book store and picked out some study materials for each other: an audiobook for Michi (Little House in the Big Woods, if I remember correctly), and a 2nd grader kanji puzzle book and listening/speaking practice book for me.
Sunday, as I mentioned before, I organized an outdoor rock climbing trip for the outdoor club. It went pretty smoothly, but we had some trouble meeting each other at the beginning, as there was some confusion over where we were meeting. 6 people signed up, including Michi and myself, but only 5 were able to make it.
Access was a little difficult. From Hon-Atsugi train station, you take bus number 9 to Koutakuji onsen iriguchi, and from there you walk about 20-30 minutes to the main rock: Ben-Ten iwa. Those with good memories might recall that this is the goddess (Ben-Ten) who breaks up couples that visit her places, the same goddess that has a shrine in Inogashira park (where Michi and I had our second date). Anyway, Ben-Ten iwa is quite tall: it has routes that are at least 35-45 meters tall, which meant that we couldn't actually climb some of them from the bottom to the top.
We spent the first part of the day on some underwhelming routes, really just hiking up steep slopes, but eventually the Japanese climbers started to leave and we took over some of their routes. These were the longer routes: more interesting because of the greater height, but still quite easy. Tatcha and I ended up doing a semi-multi-pitch route. Basically, she climbed up about 10 meters, created an anchor point, then belayed for me as I climbed up to her. From there, I lead climbed another 25-30 meters, then came down to Tatcha's anchor, and belayed for her as she climbed the same route, only top-roping it.
After that, we moved over to another rock face across the road from Ben-Ten iwa. Here, I finally got to climb an interesting route, a lead 5.10a/b. I set up a top-rope, and a couple of our climbers gave it a shot, but this wall proved a little too much for most of them (yes, I am bragging slightly). By this time, it was getting darker, clouds were rolling in, and it looked like it was going to rain, so we jetted out of there, caught the next bus back to the station, and parted ways at Shinjuku station.
Yesterday was just a regular day at work. I studied in my new kanji puzzle book a little, taught a class, and started creating a worksheet for my 2nd year students.
Today was a holiday. What holiday, I don't know, but Michi and I got to hang out the whole day, so I'm grateful for it. We had a picnic in Shinjuku park: this time I brought some curry I'd made the night before, and Michi brought some azuki beans (sweet red beans). This is a reversal from the last meal we made ourselves, where she made the main dish, and I made the dessert. It was a little cold, so the park was empty til a little after noon. After that, we headed to Kinshicho, and, of course, went indoor climbing.
The last time we went indoors, we both had scary falls while lead climbing, so this time we just top-roped it. I didn't really push myself difficulty-wise, but I still climbed a consistent 5.10a-d range all day. I think I'm getting a little more stamina in my forearms, and today felt kind of like a consolidation day: reviewing and reaffirming recent skill and strength gains. Michi still surprises me at how good she can climb. She weighs more than 30 pounds less than me, is 4-5 inches shorter, and 6 years older besides, and on top of all that, has only been climbing since this September. But somehow, she can do some really amazing moves.
The rest of the week should be pretty good, as I've got my part time job to look forward to, skyping with family and friends, and a meeting with some fellow ALTs tomorrow and also Friday night.
Cheers,
