Japanese Woman has reached the World’s Tallest 14 Peaks

Japanese woman, Naoko Watanabe, 44, has summited all 14 of the world’s tallest mountains, as well as having summited the world’s second highest peak, K-2, three times, a world record. She became the first Japanese woman to reach the summit all of the world’s 14 highest peaks in October 2024, when she reached the 8,027 meter Mt. Shishapangma in China.

She recently told the Associated Press in an interview in Tokyo that she doesn’t consider herself a mountaineer. She said she is just an ordinary person who happens to achieve records while climbing during her vacations. Her first 8,000 meter mountain was twenty years ago, when she was a student nurse, and reached the summit of 8,201 meter Cho Oyu, the world’s sixth highest mountain on the China-Nepal border. Her medical training has helped her in emergency situations in her 31 expeditions over the last 20 years. 

She is planning to return to Pakistan’s Nanga Parbat (known as the killer mountain), this month with a group of amateurs, most of whom will stay in base camp. She said she will probably end up climbing mountains in the Himalayas about 100 times. 

I am in awe and I wish her all the best in her future adventures!

Japan Cuts Passport Fees

In April, Japan announced it will cut passport application fees to encourage overseas travel and to help raise Japan’s relatively low passport holder rate. 

Under the revised law, the 10 year passport fee for applicants 18 and over will change from the current 16,300 yen to 9,300 yen. The current fees for the five year passport for applicants aged 12 to 17 (11,300 yen) and for children under 12 (6,300 yen) will be replaced with the fee of 4,800 yen for all. The lower fees will apply to applications submitted beginning July 1st. All online applications will be discounted by 400 yen. 

Unfortunately, with the increased cost of jet fuel, airfares are rising exponentially, and fewer people can fly anywhere.

Friday Finish - The Tale of Genji

This is a wonderful Olympus kit. It had more than enough Olympus thread, beautiful soft fabric, and a large easy to read color chart. I have really enjoyed stitching it.

Hakone Sekisho

The rainy season has arrived. Not every day is rainy, but it’s a good idea to have your rain gear with you all the time. 

On Tuesday, I took the train to Mishima, where I met a friend and we went to Hakone Sekisho. The Tokugawa Shogunate settled 53 checkpoints throughout Japan. Hakone Sekisho (checkpoint) was settled in 1619 and was the largest and most important. The primary purpose of the checkpoints was to control weapons entering Edo (now Tokyo) and women attempting to leave Edo. Hakone Sekisho was known for its strictness, and was primarily responsible for keeping women from escaping Edo. 

The restoration of this checkpoint began in 1999 and opened to the public in April 2004. The project was fully completed in the spring of 2007. The facility is open 7 days a week, 9 am - 5 pm (closing 30 minutes earlier from December - February.) Admission is 500 yen. It was totally worth that fee. I really enjoyed seeing all the well done recreations.

It was a little rainy, but not a downpour. 

Details of the physical features of the inhabitants and the color and design of their clothing is unknown. To avoid giving a false impression to visitors to visitors, the mannequins have been painted in light colors.

After you climb the long stairs, there are more to climb to get to the Lookout. The view was nice, but would have been nicer if it wasn’t rainy.

Photos were not allowed in the exhibition hall. It had a lot of good exhibits inside.

We had a nice/late picnic lunch, then it was time for me to head home on the train.  

The closest JR station to where I live has a piano where anyone can play.  I always hope someone is playing as I pass through.