Back in the cold of January, I was thinking of getting back to Japan. I am fascinated by the country and its people, an interest that goes back to 1970 when I was stationed there in the Navy for two years. I have been fortunate to have been able to go back three more times.

And then the opportunity to return and climb Mount Fuji came along — a chance to honor my brother Bob and to help raise money for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF). It was truly the chance of a lifetime. I was chosen to go along for my fifth trip to Japan.

Shortly after the MMRF's Moving Mountains for Multiple Myeloma program said "yes," I had been accepted onto the team, and I agreed that "yes," I would go ... I got nervous. I would have to raise $5,000 for the cause. Could I possibly do that? I would have to be able to get my 70-year-old body to the top of the mountain. That would take a lot of time and energy in preparation. And I would have to meet a bunch of new people … a step outside my comfort zone.

All those worries took care of themselves. I received so much support for the climb, I will never forget all those who helped. I made some new friends along the way. And I was able to reach the summit, although it was a harder and grittier experience than I had imagined. When I was planning the trip, I realized that was a possibility I would be so beat at the end of the climb that I would just want to come back home. But as the weeks went by, I knew I wanted to stay a few more days and have my wife, Gayle, join me.

It was great to spend an extra week "recovering" from the climb in such an enchanting, mysterious and yet friendly culture. In a world-class city like Tokyo, people can seem so involved in their own little world. But from the dinner we had with Takeda Pharmaceuticals representatives, to the climb up and down Fuji with Takeda's Shoukei Ehara, to numerous encounters in train stations when we were just momentarily lost and someone would come to our rescue, everywhere we went the Japanese people were so helpful. As we left an inn in Nikko, Gayle broke a plastic shoehorn she was using to put on her shoes. It was in too many pieces to bother with fixing, but the woman insisted on trying. When we returned from a two-hour museum visit to leave, she presented it to Gayle — glued back together and all taped up.

It is a long trip to Japan, but one that is always worth it. Thank you to the MMRF for letting me be part of this wonderful journey and for the chance to help, in a very small way, with your efforts to find a cure for multiple myeloma.