abroadinjapan

Why I'm Climbing Mount Fuji with Natsuki in 2023

Added 2023-04-22 16:27:52 +0000 UTC

“A wise man climbs Mt. Fuji once, only a fool climbs it twice.”
- Over-referenced Japanese proverb.

First off, guys, many thanks for all the birthday wishes! 33 may seem like an unremarkable number, but it's one of the 7 or 8 times you get to enjoy the magic of having the same double digits in a lifetime.

As the years rocket past, it scares me to think it's been three years since I turned 30. I remember being 26 as if it were yesterday and giggling with glee at a friend who'd just turned 30.

"Just you wait. It'll be you one day," she bitterly remarked.

"BAH. I'll never turn 30!" I'd declared as I sipped triumphantly on my plum wine, an affable young man with the world at his feet.

Somehow that was 7 fucking years ago and I remember it clear as day.
It wasn't supposed to be this way. I thought time would stop and I'd forever be in my 20's.

ALAS. The only thing we have is the present. Here and now.
And if last year taught me anything, it's that the best moments seldom happen when I'm sat indoors at my desk.

You need to get out and get punched in the face in LA.

As I sat over dinner with Natsuki a few days ago, I cast my mind back to the first time we met in the streets of Sakata, almost a decade earlier and just two weeks before my ill-fated but ultimately successful previous ascent of Mount Fuji.

I remembered how he'd wished me - little more than a stranger at the time - good fortune on the climb ahead, and how he'd congratulated me with a beer when we met for the third time ever, just a few days afterward.

"Natsuki, you should climb it for your 50th birthday mate. We can go together this time."

It wasn't the first time I'd suggested it, but this time Natsuki agreed. It was now or never. Beyond 50, life throws a lot more curveballs after all.

And so, having embarked on my own fitness journey last year, I look forward to this year's project of turning Natsuki's health around. Not only that, but I want to dedicate a lot more time this year to working on videos and projects alongside Natsuki.

Whether we can get him to quit smoking remains a far more difficult question. First things first, let's get him up to the summit of Mount Fuji in one piece - and back down for that matter.

But to me, he's the soul of Abroad in Japan, and as he hits the milestone of turning 50 this August (I know, I can't believe he's almost 50 either!), I want to put him front and center this year on the channel.

We'll absolutely plan to document the journey and film his fitness progress in the weeks and months ahead and when all is said and done, it should be an epic journey taking us from the rice fields of Yamagata to the summit of Japan's tallest mountain. Hopefully we can inspire a few folks to get fit along the way too.

Looking forward to taking you along for the ride on this one!

Chris

P.S. And you'll be seeing Natsuki in the next few days in the Kyoto bar video guys! Keep an eye out.