Feeding the Birds

A father and daughter feeding birds on Takao-san.

I'm going to start studying Japanese part-time at a language school. Today was my first day, but rather than regular classes they had a field trip to nearby Mount Takao. Mount Takao may be a small hill for the group of Nepalese students that I hiked with today, but for the people of Tokyo it's the highest hill in the city... Starting from the bottom it took over an hour to reach the top. Near the top of the mountain we found ourselves weaving past little restaurants and then a cluster of buildings constituting a temple. We ended up in front of several little restaurants, so I ordered a bowl of udon -- a nice way to finish a little mountain climbing adventure.

The language school is located in Nishi Hachioji. So far I really like the staff and teachers. It seems like a friendly place that emphasizes communication not just test scores. Every season they take trips together: climbing Takao, going skiing, visiting a local beer brewery, and climbing Mount Fuji. I'll write more about the language school now and then, but for anyone interested here's the website.