#DaysInJapan: A (Failed) Trip to Mount Fuji

Last week, we had a Forest Resource and Biomass course fieldtrip (that supposed to be) to Mount Fuji. We're so excited that day, even we could't patiently wait from the weeks before and always talked about that. At the D-day, we prepared our bento and went to the front of honkan (main building) in the early morning then started our trip by bus. Before to Mount Fuji, we went to some places: Ichijo Koumuten (Ichijo Cosntruction Company), Saruhashi (Monkey Bridge), and Wood Pellet Factory.

Ichijo Koumuten (Ichijo Cosntruction Company)

Ichijo Koumuten or Ichijo Construction Company is a company that founded 40 years ago, precisely at 1978. It concerns about producing a wooden residential housing that can be made by custom. This company also making a solar panel which the energy earned can be used as whole house heater, earthquake resistant houses, and also the interior utilities such as kitchen set and furniture. This company won so many awards in eco-friendly houses categories. The lumber and log uses in this company are from Japan for the pillars, and US for the frameworks, then the solar panels are manufactured in their factory in Philippines.

In this factory building, we could see the houses part that divided in many part such as doors, pillars, and others that made from wood. Later these parts can be assembled into fully built houses. We can also get into the room which solar panel energy heating system is installed, feel the earthquake simulation in the anti-earthquake resistant house then feel the difference with the one are not, and see the example of the wooden furniture installation.

were not allowed to take pictures in some places so

Saruhashi (Monkey Bridge)

The Saruhashi, which literally translated as Monkey Bridge, was built 1300 years ago and becomes the one of the japan famous ancient bridge. It got its name form a legend or the folklore story says that monkeys were holding hands to cross the river in the past. The uniqueness of this bridge is the cantilever design, which the structures was project horizontally into space, supported on only one end, not by pillars. This bridge has been rebuilt for many times because of some reasons but still using the same design and principle of course for preserve the historical side. 

The bridge which crosses the Katsura River, seems so beautiful in the autumn with the colorful trees leaves that grow in the high cliff. A stairs also take us down steps so we can see the river closely. Also there were small inflatable boats that can take us run along the river.

Wood Pellet Factory

The third place we visited was a wood pellet factory. The factory produce a wood pellet that can be used for a fire fuel same as the firewood and charcoal. But the wood pellet are so much better in economic and environmental side among the other fuel source because it is easier to produce fire and it takes a fewer wood as material compares with if we use a raw firewood instead. The wood pellet now are commonly used in japan as a fire fuel, and big amount of wood pellet stove are already used because of it advantages. 

 
The wood used as pellets are 3 kinds of different woods, and one of them is pines. In the outside, in front of the factory building, we can see a big log are stored and transported by a big lifting machine. And inside the factory we can see the machines that can process the full cycle of the wood pellet making. The process started by putting the logs as a raw material in the machine that will mash it into wood chips. And then the wood chips are moved into different machine that pressed, dried, and finally stored it as a ready-to-use wood pellet.

one wood pellet i brought back home

Fuji-san World Heritage Center

Mount Fuji is the tallest mountain and also become a most famous place in Japan. The height is about 3,776 meters above the sea level and always there is snow on the peak because of the low temperature. The temperature range is about 0-10 degrees Celsius, even during the summer. In the summer, so many people climb the mountain, and for climbing, there is a special seasons that the climbers are not allowed to climb except between that dates because of the safety.



Because the snow that came two days before the fieldtrip held, we couldn’t go into the 5th station of Mount Fuji hiking station as scheduled before. So instead of it, we went to the Fuji Visitor center that located at the foot of the mountain. In the Fuji Visitor center we can see so many information of Mount Fuji in many sides, such as historical side, religious side, and so on. The informative display such as animations and models are displayed so we can get so much information about Mount Fuji. And from the second floor of the visitor center, there is an observatory floor that usually we can see the mountain from there. But unfortunately, we even can’t see the Mount Fuji because of the cloudy sky. 

see the arrow, that's Mount Fuji.
(unfortunately thats all what could i take)

So sad, but were happy tho! Even we made a Mannequin Challenge with the sensei at the observatory floor (which i can't upload it here).

Thats all, tanks for reading!

Bonus group selfie!

(with the sensei(s) at the back)

Read other post about #DaysInJapan here

(Some part are written for the Mount Fuji fieldtrip report in Forest Resource and Biomass course)