Japan - Fuji

A short journey from Tokyo took us to Kawaguchiko where we would spend two nights and hope to see Mt Fuji.

We had decided that we would not attempt the climb up but instead walk in mountains around the volcano so that we could enjoy some views. It is notoriously ‘shy’ and it is with some luck that you will see it from the ground without cloud so by going up we would be increasing or chances.

We arrived on a mostly sunny day in the Five Lakes area and after checking in to our Ryokan (traditional Japanese Inn), with sliding doors, Tatami floor,  futon bedding and Yukatas (type of Kimono) to use to go to the shared bathroom, we went out on a sightseeing bus to see the picturesque setting around two of the lakes near us, Lakes Kawaguchi and Saiko.  

We got off the bus to visit a lava cave which in truth wasn’t much and i’m sure there are better ones around the world but we’d never seen a cave made by lava before so it was worth seeing. 

We did manage to spot the top of Fuji on a couple of occasions on the journey back so at least we had seen it partially if we weren’t lucky the next day.

After enjoying a bowl of Ramen for dinner, we had an early night as we wanted to get up early at sunrise the next day to hopefully get that good view before the clouds came in and we were also going for a long walk.

We were blessed. We woke up and Fuji was there out of the window of our Ryokan looking huge and impressive. We quickly got dressed and walked up the road to get some photos and after about 30 minutes, it was gone again. We enjoyed a traditional Japanese breakfast of Miso Soup, Omelette, Rice and Fried Fish and went out for our hike up the mountains.

We started the hike by cheating and taking a Funicular to a viewpoint! We couldn’t see Fuji from this viewpoint as the clouds were playing their part but can imagine it would be a great spot on a clear day. So we walked through some forests that looked very similar to what we get in Europe save for the odd monkey for about three hours or so and were richly rewarded. We stopped at this great spot to have our picnic lunch and had the best views we could hope for. The only thing missing was snow but you only get that in winter and spring so it wasn’t the ‘classic’ view but a great one all the same. 

It’s difficult to describe how amazing it is. It’s a huge mountain and no photo can do it justice. It really does look like a mountain that you draw when you’re a kid, the classic cone shape.

We took far too many photos and chided ourselves that it would take us ages to go through them all and pick the best ones but better to have that problem than not at all.

After staring in awe for probably a good hour at different locations we made our way back down but a took a wrong turning which added a few extra km to our walk but also did allow us to see some beautiful waterfalls so a fortuitous mistake.

We got home quite tired but luckily some Ryokans have big bath tubs and if you’re lucky enough, you get one all to yourself for a few minutes which was bliss. We treated ourselves to a typical Japanese dinner of hamburger and chips at the nearby cafe ;-) and an early night ensued.

We were indeed lucky, when we woke up the next morning, Fuji could not be seen, the clouds had rolled in early before sunrise. We had another Japanese breakfast and headed to the train station to make our way to our next location, Matsumoto in the Japanese Alps.