Mt. Fuji....a one word description.....ummmmmmm WOW.....not sure that cuts it but these may do what words can't....
It was a long and amazing day today and again I ask myself why Samara and I can't spend longer in Japan, I want to explore Fujisan more, not just a day trip. But with limited time you want to get in as much in as you can. I want to come back to Japan one day but there are no guarantees so I don't want to walk away wishing we had done more (well I am going to do that LOL) but we're also packing a whole lot in so we don't spend to much time saying...I wish we had....
I can't take Mt. Fuji off my to do list yet, I guess it's half done because I have at least stood on the base of it, but not much higher then that (it's not climbing season to start with-so have to save that for another trip but you can usually get to at least Station 5 but we couldn't even get up that far today
because yesterday's snow closed the road off.)
But that's okay, I got to see it in all it's magnificent glory and throughout the day in a variety of ways, in bright sunshine, from the lake, as the wind was whipping through the snow at the top of the mountain, as the storm came in but always luckily completely in view, we were very fortunate to see it from all angles.
It was Samara's first experience in snow, it didn't count the other day because that was just slush, and she loved it (have to say so did I)
Did we throw snowballs at each other??? Umm of course, why wouldn't we?
Had too long a day ahead of us to make snow angels but the thought was there :) and making snowmen...does that count????
We had the most amazing lunch, for less than AUD$30 for the two of us ....our most expensive meal so far (see And Yet More Food entry) but it was divine. Sitting in the sun looking at Fujisan through the window made me want to do this trip again, next time in the spring to see cherry blossoms or the autumn to see the beautiful orange leaves or maybe ....hell I don't care I'd just like the chance to see it again.
From here we took a boat ride on Lake Kawaguchi which gave us lots more photo ops. (Think it might be a place I have to come back to, as there are supposed
to be some thermal springs and I might need them if I ever get to climb the mountain,)
I'm thinking that by the end of this trip I am going to have sooooooo many photos that I am really not sure how I will manage to get through them all. (I hope doing a blog will keep me from boring my friends with ALL the photos, there will be enough here (and on FB) to keep them happy without having to sit for hours with the 755th photo of Mt Fuji. (that may be exaggerating but who knows I will probably see Fujisan a few more times from the window of a Shinkansen and I'm sure I will have my camera out on one of those occasions.)
The weather began to turn, and the blue skies
surrounding Fujisan turned dark and our trip by aerial tram up Mt Komagatake was cancelled due to inclement weather which was such a shame but another excuse to come back just to do that trip :) ....and the subsititue offered was the Narukawa Art Museum which overlooks Lake Ashi. Hmmmm an aerial tram vs an art musuem....I know what I would have preferred, not that I didn't enjoy the museum, there were some beautiful works of art, but I couldn't take photos and the few things they were selling I couldn't afford. The art work had such a delicate feel to it and would to have some of it adorning a wall back home but not this time around (and not with my bank balance :) )
Funnily enough the one thing I did pick up was a small brochure and on the front page of it was a picture very similar to the one at the top of the blog.(or the one below without me in it LOL)
The setting is brilliant, these photos were taken from the garden and the cafe where we sat drinking green tea for me and capuccino for Samara to warm up after we'd been wandering around in the gardens taking photos.
We made our way to the train station from here and took our first bullet train back to Tokyo, (I think we need these back in Oz it would make the trip from Melbourne to Sydney and beyond so much faster and a lot more comfortable).
Yep they're fast (and these aren't the fastest of the bullet trains) The Japan Rail Pass doesn't cover the Nozomi trains which I think are the newer faster ones but hey I'm not complaing the Hikari goes fast enough for me :)
Fast enough in fact by the time we get back to Tokyo there is still time to explore so it's off to Shibuya and the hustle and bustle of Tokyo's Times Square. It's full of lights and traffic and people and there is a great vibe to it. Would like to explore more (I say that a lot about Japan....but there are those words I'm going to say again.....times a factor!!!)
After the tranquility of today though it's a bit in your face but still a lot of fun.
Samara and I decided that our last night in Tokyo would be spent....surprisingly enough eating....and we had heard that one stop up the train line from Shibuya in Ebisu were some great restaurants. The Yebisu Garden place is supposed to be a big tourist attraction, and it is really pretty but I prefer the other side of the area with all the great little restaurants (go to the gallery and check out just a few) Love love love that area with so many places I'd like to try, now that's a vibe I really really enjoyed (yes I know FOOD again) It was a hard choice, after all there's not a lot of English menus around, but there are plenty of pictures for us to peruse and decide what we want to eat. It was a case of narrowing it down and this is the one we chose and the meals we ate....did I say I really really really love Japanese food :)
