Race you to the top.

"Climb every mountain" sang Maria in the Sound of Music. But I'm not so sure it's necessary. At least not every mountain.

I have a confession to make. I didn't climb Mt Misen. I can hear Christian gasp from hear. I walked up to the cable car (didn't run like they suggested!), took the cable car, the rope way, walked 500 metres up hill and then realised I didn't want to do this. That for the last 500 metres I had this internal monologue about why we climb mountains. I was also thoroughly hot (my shirt was soaked), bothered (it was the end of a day's walking) and flustered.

I could only think that people went up mountains to say that they did. I guess I'm not one of those people turned on by that because so close to the top, I turned around. I recalled the glum faces on the people in the ropeway going down. They didn't look like getting to the top had thrilled them. It all seemed a bit pointless unless I had a flag to stick on top of it, and that seemed a bit imperialistic too.

So I didn't go and apparently I missed Buddha's cauldron which has been bubbling since buddha himself lit it. Uh huh. And another magnificent shrine. Or temple. That I can't tell the difference between a shrine or a temple should say that I am not a conneiseur of these things and wouldn't know my Buddhist from my shinto, my Edo from my er Id?!

A lot of towns seem to have cable cars and rope ways and of course mountains to climb. Miyajima at least had a stunning view but unless other stunning vistas are promised (aerial views of factories not included) then I am going to leave mountain climbing for men with tesosterone to sweat out. And Sister Maria.