Today was a big tour day as we visited Mount Fuji and the surrounding area. To get there you can either take the Shinkansen (bullet train) or the bus, we opted for the later as I think it is more interesting and, besides, we will be taking the bullet train quite a few times next week. It is quite a good distance so we were up at 5:45 to start to get ready, leaving the hotel at 6:30. The coach was to meet us outside the Mitsukoshi Ginza department store we visited the other day, near one of the entrances to the subway station. We were early for our 7:20 pick up but we saw nothing open as we walked around though we saw a few people outside of a local Starbucks waiting for it to open at 7 so we joined them and Mel was able to grab a coffee for the coach trip.

We only had a few minutes to wait before a representative from the company took our names, gave us stickers to identify our tour group and told us where to stand for our trip. There were a few tours meeting at the same time and place so it was a bit busy but we did not have to wait long for our bus to arrive. We grabbed seats on the left side of the bus (as they drive on the left this meant we should have good views of the surroundings rather than of the other side of the road) in 4A and 4B. Our guide was from the Philippines but has been living in Japan for more than 14 years. He gave us stickers to put on our jackets identifying us as part of his group so we did not get lost. A short time later we stopped at Shinjuku to pick up more passengers, stopping near a busy junction. As we continued through Tokyo our guide gave us some information about the areas we passed through on the busy, but clean roads.

There were a few tolls we had to pass through but an hour after we left Ginza Mount Fuji was visible out the front window. We were very lucky today as it was quite clear so we were able to see the snow-topped Mount Fuji quite clearly. At this point the guide revealed to us that unfortunately the only “station” on the mountain actually open due to the weather (cold and lots of snow) was the lowest which had great views of the surrounding forest and not so much of the mountain itself so the group agreed that we would spend time elsewhere instead. We still got quite close but sadly on this trip we were not going to be setting foot on the mountain itself.

Our first stop was at “Oshino” village near the base of Mount Fuji. Before we arrived our guide briefed us on what to expect including describing the town, what food to look out for and where to take pictures, along with the time he expected us back at the coach (making it clear they would leave “on time”). The coach parked outside the small village which we then entered on foot along a small, narrow road used by local cars only.

Oshino is well known for it’s eight springs (“Oshino Hakkai”) and its amazing views of the nearby Mount Fuji. The springs are part of the Mount Fuji UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. We walked to the main tourist area where the springs are located with the tour guide as he pointed out shops along the way selling various local food specialties that we could stop and enjoy on the way back to the bus (if we had time, we didn’t have much of it…).

Many of the buildings here are thatched which look quite nice and the views of Fuji reflected in the small, but clear, series of ponds is quite incredible.

We were told the best place to get a picture at the far end of the area so we dutifully did so before returning to a large shop beside one of the biggest pools where we were told we could fill our water bottle with the famous local water from a fountain located on the rim of an inner circular pond containing lots of fish.

Our guide had pointed out that you could pay for the water inside the shop or get it for free outside…We visited a stall inside the very busy shop (which sold not only food but all sorts of souvenirs) where I bought a squid croquette on a stick while Mel opted for a cheese croquette which she told me was not very nice. Mel then went in search of a toilet while I picked up a green bun filled with a red pepper paste that we were told was a local specialty. I also picked up some rather fancy looking organic “matcha” tea powder (the famous green tea) and some wide, long packaged noodles to take home to the UK. We managed to get back to the bus before it was due to leave at 10:45 and many other people were on time as well…though we had to wait for a few stragglers.

The next stop was for lunch only a short distance away at a “Ninja” themed restaurant - “Shinobi No Sato Ninja Village” (https://www.oshinoninja.com/en/). Yes, it was not great in terms of food but mildly amusing as an attraction including some interesting displays inside of weapons and armour as well as a small garden area with various fun “ninja” activities.

It is obviously geared up for large tour groups and we were shown to a large room where a buffet was set up and each of our place setting already had a “hot pot” set up which was basically a noodle soup with a couple of meat dumplings. The buffet was uninspired with things like fried noodles, “takoyaki” (the squid balls I like, but here very bland and soft), fried fish, seafood salad, scrambled eggs (?), macaroni salad, bread and, on the side miso soup, curry sauce and rice.

While eating we talked to a man and his mother from Sydney which was quite interesting. Dessert was “matcha” (green tea) ice cream.

My mother and I did this same tour back in 2007 and we opted NOT to include the lunch as it did not sound that great and we thought we could find something else near to where we would stop to get something to eat. It turned out there was only one place to eat where we stopped so we were forced to have the meal we had opted out of…This time I knew we would have no choice so had reluctantly agreed to the meal and it was exactly what I expected: Disappointing.

We still had lots of time before we were to head out so we visited the small garden beside the restaurant which was barren this time of year with a sad looking pond in the middle. Beyond this was a ninja activity centre with all sorts of things you could try out amongst, ostensibly, a Japanese garden with orange tori gate and bridges, which was also looking quite barren.

We took the requisite pictures of Fuji only a short distance away and still clearly visible with the cloudless sky. Mel tried out a zip-line type thing where she sat on a ball at the end of a rope attached on a pulley to an overhead line while I tried crossing a pond which had uneven stones, some of which were “booby trapped” (squirted water at you). We gave the ninja house a miss as (a) we needed to buy a ticket and (b) we were running out of time.

Back in the coach we continued onto our next stop passing through various small towns and forested areas. Any time we passed through a village we took note of the shops, most of which were chains on the highway including a few branches of the “Big Boy” fast food restaurant. It is quite pretty here though the only green is from the evergreens.

From the valley, the coach followed a winding road up and over a mountain into the Hakone area inside Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. The region is dominated by Mount Hakone with Lake Ashi at its base. The coach stopped at the base station of the “Hakone Ropeway” gondola to take us to the top of the mountain. The station, as might be expected, was full of non-Japanese tourists so we ended up queuing for some time to get onto one of the cars noting the graphic “Volcanic Gas Warning” signs off to the side and free masks labelled “volcanic gas exposure prevention measure”.

The trip up on our full lift (about 16 people seated) was quite pleasant and only took a few minutes. As we left the station we were treated to views of Lake Ashi below and the pirate-ship themed tour boats.

As we ascended Mount Fuji also came into view with its distinctive cone shape topped with snow rising into the clear blue sky. We had been told to NOT get out at the half-way point station (“Ubako”) but rather stay until the top, “Owakudani”, at a height of 1,044 meters. As we approached this point we could see steam rising into the air from the mountainside ahead and off to our right. When we arrived at the top we left the station to see a tourist building off to the right and to the left and beyond steam rising from multiple spots on the yellow-tinged side of the mountain.

Following the path we were able to see the vents themselves which were the most yellow (sulphur) amongst a number of concrete terraces obviously constructed to stabilise the mountainside. Of course, it was a bit smelly with the sulphur as well. There is a path beyond the buildings that is now blocked off, closed because of the volcanic activity. In June 2015 there was a period of increased volcanic activity in the area that resulted in what we saw now including the closure of the path and the increased number of vents in the area.

Near to the main building was a model of a huge black egg that you could pose in front of as this is what the area is known for - Eggs cooked in the thermal vents which you can purchase (there was a large queue of people waiting to buy). Evidently they are good for you.

Thinking back to my visit in 2007 with my mother I do not recall any of this but rather only getting out at the top station where there was not a lot to see other than a small nearby shrine. A look at the map shows that there are two ropeways - The “Hakone Komagatake Ropeway” and the “Hakone Ropeway”. In 2007 it looks like we visited the former but this time I visited the later which takes in the northern side of the mountain and the hot springs. Not sure why we would not have visited the hot springs previously given that they are so spectacular, but I am not a tour organizer!

We made a brief convenience stop in the main building where we used up a bunch of 10 yen coins to buy a bottle of water (180 yen). At the far side of the site, near where the closed path begins, there were a few stalls selling things to eat. We wanted to see if we could get a good picture of Fuji so we walked through a car park, dodging the traffic, to find the best spot. It truly was a good location for a picture with our being so high and the sky being so clear.

While we were walking around, the coach had travelled up the mountain and was waiting in a nearby car park where we promptly descended along the winding road back to the ropeway station we had just entered except this time we turned left instead of right, heading down some steps to the waterfront to get on our pirate (!) boat for a trip along the lake.

For our “cruise” we had been told by the guide to “stand on the upper deck at the back on the right to get the best views of Fuji” so we dutifully headed up through the already crowded enclosed floors onto the not-so-crowded upper deck and placed ourselves precisely as suggested, pushing aside the rope rigging along the handrails. Of course, all of the sails and rigging are for show with the boat powered by motors.

Lake Ashi is quite small, only 6 km long surrounded by the forest and mountains of Hakone. With its proximity to Mount Fuji a short 30 minute cruise on Lake Ashi is often included. On our crammed boat we took in the length of the lake from the pirate ship port at the base of the Hakone Ropeway to the town Hakone on the south, the largest town on the lake.

There was no commentary but I remembered things from my previous trip as we passed by first the small “Hakuryū Shrine”, noticeable through the leaf-less trees on the eastern shore of the lake with a small orange “tori” (an ornamental gate, in this case with two uprights and a double span beam across the top) in the water about 20 meters from shore.

As we approached Hakone itself we could see in the water on the distant eastern shore the far more elaborate tori (“Heiwa no Torii”) of the “Hakone Shrine”.

We never did get a great view of Fuji from our perch on the top deck but we did have a good view of the surrounding landscape though it was a bit…cold. A friendly bunch of people from our group were busy sampling some local alcohol.

Arriving at “Hakonemachi-ko” port to the sound of our guide using the ship’s intercom (“get out here”, NOT the next stop) we once again boarded our bus for the short trip around the end of the lake to have a closer look at the busy “Hakone Shrine” which is positioned on the edge of the lake on the mountainside. There is a steep, stepped path from the shrine to the shore of the lake where you can view the lake but as we passed we could see a huge crowd of people in a queue to take pictures. After climbing a steep road to the car park, the coach parked with the guide letting us know how much time we had before we would have to leave.

We had been told that there were two drinks we could try here in addition to the, obviously, health giving natural spring water - Their non-alcoholic ginger beer and, more surprisingly, non-alcoholic sake. While Mel visited the rest rooms of the visitor centre in the middle of the site, a short walk up a ramp from the coach park, I picked up some of the ginger beer then walked up the 89 uneven stone steps with wooden handrails to the buildings of the temple itself.

At the top, there was the typical wooden prayer boards (“ema”) tied on rails to either side of the elaborately decorated main shrine which was crowded with visitors wishing to pay their respects (add donation, two bows, join hands in prayer position, two claps and a final prayer – Mel gave it a go).

Continuing down the steps we went all the way down towards the water but were not going to queue for hours (we only had minutes!) to get a close picture of the tori only a few meters from the shore so we decided instead to get as close as we could and take a picture from there…complete with a passing bird-shaped pedal boat.

Our guide had been encouraging all of us to catch the Shinkansen (bullet train) back to Tokyo as he said there would be traffic going back, it would be uncomfortable, etc, etc, but we were not in a hurry and we know we will be on a bunch of trains next week so we decided to take the coach back despite his pleas (as he collected tips from us). We followed a winding road down from the mountains - It was surprising how high we were! - into a valley to the train station at Odawara.

Along the way a couple of our fellow travellers offered us a few of their “black eggs” which they had bought at the top of the ropeway having mistakenly ordered half a dozen instead of a couple.

Most of our group left to catch the train and we were told we would have to leave the coach we had been using to join another coach for the trip back to Tokyo.

We only had to wait about half an hour before we were shown onto a bus with a lady guide who, after ensuring we were all onboard and debriefed, promptly informed us “please do not disturb me as I sleep”, which she did for the 2.5 hours of the trip back to the city.

We only really had one major traffic jam just outside of Tokyo but looking back we had amazing views of the snow-topped Fuji framed by the setting sun.

We arrived in Tokyo just before 7 pm and were dropped at Shinjuku station. We took a bit of time to explore a nearby “Bic Camera” store – Like other stores in the chain, quite a big electronic and white-goods store spread out over many floors. I always find stores like this quite interesting with so many different things for sale than we see back home. We admired compact, combined air conditioner/heating units as Mel has been looking at one for the shop – there were so many options here! Of course, the televisions and such were quite amazing too. The basement food hall did not have too many appealing options so we opted to take the train to Tokyo Station as I had read there was a section of the station in one of the lower floors called “Tokyo Ramen Street” (“First Avenue”) which is full of restaurants.

It took a while to find it but eventually we did and it was worth searching out. As it was about 8:30 in the evening many of the ramen shops were closing up so we ended up visiting a katsu (deep fried meat in panko bed crumbs) restaurant - Our first of this trip - “Kagoshima Kurokatsu-tei” (https://www.kurokatutei.net/in/english.html) serving “aged black pork”. We are both huge fans and this place looked great - Fantastic looking food on the pictures on the outside of the shop, and it was very busy (also a good sign).

We queued for a few minutes before being shown to a small table, nominally seating four, against the far wall.

We picked our options from an English menu - I had the “mixed katsu” while Mel had the standard (pork) “katsu”. A short time later we were presented with our meals which, in addition to the signature katsu on a metal trivet in the middle of our tray, had miso soup, dipping sauces, rice, cabbage salad (with a delicious dressing from a pouring container on our table), pickles and, thankfully, a small mortar and pestle filled with sesame seeds. For the latter, you grind up the seeds yourself then add “tonkatsu” sauce to it, as a dip for the katsu - Delicious. The rice and cabbage salad were also bottomless, which suited me just fine.

My mixed katsu was interesting - A standard sliced pork cutlet alongside another that was layers of pork meat and vegetables then a small portion of a prawn cutlet as well.

When leaving I was surprised I was able to pay by simply touching my Visa card…was not sure how well that would work here.

A final hunt for the day was for black sesame ice cream at McDonalds which I can swear I have seen advertised. We found the McDonalds at Tokyo station but, sadly, no sign of the ice cream. Other unusual desserts, but not what we were craving. Oh well. We were left with the snacks waiting at the hotel and crashed in our room at 10:30 pm after a VERY long day.

 

>> Next: Day 8