Mt. Kurama: March 29

Today I am going to Mt. Kurama with group of people I have never met. This field trip was organized by a Reiki salon called “Earth”. I was a bit nervous if I would fit in terms of the language and culture since I have been away from Japan so long. I also woke up with pain in my ankle since I walked so much the day before. Not a good start, but that was not going to stop me. I woke up bright and early. I don’t seem to be affected by jet lag at all. I have been going to bed 1-2am and getting up 7am past couple days without any naps. Since I am staying at Kurama Onsen (Inn) tonight, I needed to pack my sleep over stuff as well as my camera gear and some hiking stuff.


I arrive at the meeting spot (Demachiyanagi station) at 10:20am with 10 minutes to spare. I was told the organizer of this event is a middle age guy with shaved head. I don’t see anyone by that description, but I found a couple people who are dressed for hiking. I asked if they are going to Mt. Kurama for the Reiki field trip and they were. We introduced ourselves and started to chat. It seems like everyone in this field trip is a student of the organizer who is a Reiki Teacher. Some of the students knew each other, but not all of them did. So, I was not the only stranger. It was about 10 of us including a couple of kids. They were all about in their 30s to 40s and very nice people. I was stupid enough to buy many things at the Kurama temple, so I was carrying my camera bag, purse, and the paper bag from the Kurama temple. The people on a field trip, without my asking, kept holding my bags for me so that I can take photographs. Towards the end of the hike, it was a very slippery downward hike. I did lose balance couple times and was very thankful that I was not carrying the heavy paper bag with me.

To be continued...