Robot Claw

There’s a ropeway right next to our hotel which leads to an ‘observatory’ with incredible views of Mount Fuji.

At 3776 m it’s far from the tallest mountain in the world, but it is Japan’s tallest, and its relative isolation coupled with its symmetry have rightly made it an icon of Japan. It’s always impressive seeing it from a distance, but the views we had today were breathtaking.

It was just below freezing when we went up and since we still have some cold symptoms we had to protect against breathing the freezing air. But the sky was clear and the views were tremendous, not just of Fuji but the lake as well. I’d say this observation area is a contender for one of the best in the world.

Actually climbing Fuji is a big task that requires careful preparation (an old Japanese saying says only wise men climb Fuji but only fools climb it more than once) and I’ll never do it, but I learned today that the first man who ever did apparently completed the task about 1500 years ago when he rode to the top ‘instantly’ on a horse! Since he was a prince, I’m guessing the accuracy of the tale may have elements of uncertainty to it 🙂

After we descended we took a short cruise on the lake to once again view Fuji, this time from the water. The lake is very still and the surface reflective, and apparently at certain times it can also be mirrorlike. Today was not one such time – not least because of the boat wake – but I did my best to capture a reflected image regardless.

The other mountains you see in the above photo are to the north/northwest of Fuji and are less than half of its height. They’re impressive as well, but given you can just turn around and see Fuji I suspect these guys get short shrift. The above photo by the way was taken from the viewing terrace on the roof of our hotel.

It was a relaxing day and we’re both feeling much better, and we’ll repeat this again tomorrow. The hot springs at this hotel are great, so I look forward to several more soaks before we depart.

That’s the night view of the lake from the front of our hotel. And yes, even with all the obvious light pollution it’s still dark enough here to clearly see stars!

Today we traveled to Kawaguchiko, a town on the foothills of Fuji. Since there’s no direct train there from Nagoya, we had to go via Tokyo. Naturally therefore our first leg (back to Tokyo) was on a Shinkansen.

The train was much busier than four days ago, since we’re now entering into the new year holiday, which is one of Japans biggest travel periods. The stations were busy with people heading home for new year, gifts in hand.

Once we got to Tokyo we had to take three more trains to Kawaguchiko, and in total the travel took a little under six hours. Probably the most single-day train travel we’ve ever done in our lives!

And once we got to our hotel and opened the door, this was our view. Here’s a better look at what we see from our room:

That’s Lake Kawaguchi, and it’s surrounded by lots of onsen (hot springs hotels), including the one we are staying in. I’m sick as a dog and KLS is recovering, so for the next few days we’ll relax and enjoy the onsen life!

We started by booking a private hot spring, which we just returned from. It was open-air, which means chilly above the water and toasty below. Here’s what it looked like:

We had a good soak and then some ramen for dinner:

Now it’s time to loaf around and watch idols on TV. Tomorrow we’ll go and check out some tourist stuff around the lake, but tonight it’s time to sleep without an alarm for the first time this trip 🙂