5 weeks in Japan

Just a quick update before I leave for the next 5 WEEKS!

I'm heading out this Thurs - 7/26 and my team ("Team Japan" as we like to call ourselves) is stopping in Beijing to see the Great Wall on our way to Tokyo. I'm pretty excited about it - I think we're gonna go to the Si Ma Tai portion of the Wall.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Wall_of_China
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simatai

We get to Tokyo Sunday night (7/29) and have a pretty busy 5 weeks of work.
I'll be staying in Tokyo for the first 3 weeks (7/29 - 8/17) and then in Osaka for the last 2 weeks (8/17 - 8/29) and returning to Tokyo for the last 2 days (8/29 - 8/31)

For my first weekend in Japan, I plan to hike up Mt. Fuji via the "night hike" - starting my climb around 9pm to reach the summit in time for the sunrise at 4:30am. Don't worry, I'm not alone - a few of my co-workers are coming with me! After hanging out at the top for a bit and enjoying the sunrise, we'll head back down the mountain and get back to our hotel in Tokyo where I'll probably pass out for the rest of the weekend.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mt_fuji

Our second weekend in Japan will be spent in Tokyo as it's a long weekend, Oban, and we have 2 days off from work - woohoo!! I'll just be exploring the city, etc.

The third weekend I'll be heading to Osaka early and will probably spend most of my weekend in Kyoto since it's pretty close in distance.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto,_Japan

For my fourth and final weekend, I'm flying to Hong Kong to visit my friend Vishnu and hang out in the city.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_kong

I'll be back in Chicago on Sept. 1, just in time to start packing up again to move into my very first condo!

So that's my brief itinerary for the next month or so...I'll try to keep you updated weekly after each of my weekend adventures with pictures and all!

FYI - Japan is 14 hours ahead of CST.

Take care and I'm usually online so keep in touch!
Ambika