Mt. Fuji

Mt Fuji can be elusive and hard to see, especially before November/December, so we decided to spend 2 nights in the area in order to give us a better shot of seeing it. And how lucky we got, blue skies most of the time!

Most people see Fuji as a day trip or overnight trip from Tokyo as a package ticket through Hakone. You get a cable car ride, boat ride, and transport to and from Tokyo all included together. It makes it easy, but we also decided too touristy for us. We decided to go to the Fuji 5 Lakes area which is closer to Fuji itself, and also the hometown of our friend Asumi, who lives across the street from us in Singapore. Though there were still a fair number of tourists, we were easily able to get away from the crowds when we wanted to.

The entire area is beautiful, with rolling hills and small mountains on all side of Fuji. It seems Fuji is the only thing ever photographed in this area, but the surrounding countryside is so beautiful! After we checked into our inn (which had a view of Mt Fuji!) we decided to take the scenic bus to the north side of Lake Kawaguchi and get out to walk along the lake. The weather cleared just in time and we were treated to some amazing views (and wildflowers) along the way. At the end we rewarded ourselves with some delicious blueberry ice cream and a play at the playground.

 

 


When we woke up the next morning, it was blue skies again, so we decided to take advantage of the girls’ early waking and hike to the top of the Chureito Pagoda. We were able to walk through our small town to the entrance and then walk the 400 steps to the top before anyone else did (and I’m quite sure this is packed with people normally). The view from the top was beautiful, and so peaceful by ourselves. Emmeline did a great job walking up and down all by herself! We rewarded ourselves with treats from a very local bakery. We had no idea anything that we were choosing or eating, but it was all delicious. Japanese know how to do good bread!

   

 

The rest of the day we spent around Lake Saiko which is the next lake over. It was very calm and had far fewer tourists. We found quite possibly the most sketchy playground in all of Japan (turns out playgrounds are not easy to find or super nice in Japan), but Emmeline loved it and the view was pretty awesome! We picnicked along the lake, threw rocks in the lake, and enjoyed a bit of quiet before heading back home for the night.

 


The area is known for Hoto noodles, which is a noodle soup dish similar to ramen, but uses thick noodles and miso soup mixed with vegetables. Nick found us a great restaurant with a view of Fuji to enjoy some delicious Hoto for our last dinner. A great end to this part of the trip.

 


We loved Fuji 5 Lakes area and I could see coming back with a car to explore some of the farther areas of the region a bit more. Maybe we can bring Asumi and Saya along to help us with our Japanese. :)