So much for an early night

I just sat on my balcony with my camera instead of sleeping. I don't regret it in the slightest, I love storms. Am I crazy to wish I could have gone up on the roof to get a better view? Possibly.

Odd and ends

Hanabi!

It's been done a million times over but I had never done it before! I bought an el cheapo (yet very reliable, in my experience) Velbon Tripod and headed out to Tamagawa riverside to watch the fireworks with Maisie and Haruna.

We managed to get a great spot well before sunset, armed with snacks and drinks we waited...

It was a very nice sunset so the waiting was enjoyable.

...and so it begins!

I was too busy enjoying the show and photographing it (and also, I "don't have the balls", according to Maisie) to photograph the spectators but that's definitely something I want to try out next time. So many people dress up for the occasion in their yukatas (sort of like a summer kimono) it's great.

If only they'd not played so much Disney music and general cheese it would have been perfect!

Climbing Mt. Fuji - Pt. 2

There's a bit of a leap from where I left off with my last Fuji post.

After resting at the 8th Station we set off again in the dark. This part of the climb required some more concentration because of that and there were queues of people all heading to the summit with us as well. Being the impatient young things we are, we scrambled past people when we could, opting for rockier routes if it meant leap-frogging the main line of climbers.

I left my camera in my bag so that it wasn't swinging around when I couldn't see it. It took a few knocks on the way when it was still daylight, I didn't want to risk serious damage in the dark. Once we reached the summit I pulled it back out of the bag and started shooting as the sun rose...

One sight I was not prepared for was the stream of 'stars' (headlamps and torches) from the climbers making their way up the mountain below us! Even the 6D can't capture it properly but it looked fantastic with the horizon glowing in the distance.

Since I was the one with the camera, there isn't much evidence of me actually being on the mountain, had to get a quick selfie as the sun came up.

This is the highest point on the summit. The best spot to view the sunrise is on the other side of the crater.

Another sight I had not thought about, the shadow of Fuji on the ground below.

Celebratory beer and ice cream once we got back to the 5th station!

It was very surreal looking back up at the mountain knowing we had been stood there only 3 hours earlier.

My holiday got off to a very good start with this climb, although my calves have been aching ever since!