Summer season is often synonymous to conference season. And in Japan, conference organizers know how to escape the summer heat for a few days. That’s why we find ourselves this week at the foot of Mt. Fuji. The seminar house where the Summer Institute 2010 on String Theory and Cosmology takes place, is called Fuji Calm, and calm it is. The balmy mountain air is only disturbed by sounds of insects and birds. The fact that the facilities are hovering on the brink of mild disrepair is amply made up by the fact that Mt. Fuji thrones right in front. The view is truly stunning. Yet Fuji is a bit of a diva and only shows itself in a good mood early in the morning and around sunset. The rest of the day it can only be identified by the heap of clouds under which it is hiding.
