Fuji?
I was awake at 6 am, dressed, and relaxed until the alarm woke Majella and Lucas at 6:30. While Majella showered I prepared coffee and noodles. Lucas prepared for the day. By 7 am we were all ready and we left the hotel soon after. Josh, our guide for the day, had been in contact on WhatsApp last night with copious instructions about the day. Most of all he had emphasised the need for punctuality, making it clear that there would be no waiting for anyone who was late. After all the warnings we were determined not to miss the bus.
We walked the short distance to Shin-Nihombashi, caught the train to Tokyo station, and found our way out to the meeting point. It was barely 7:30 am but Josh was waiting. We reported as Group 4, he indicated our bus, and advised a toilet stop inside the station before boarding. We obeyed and then boarded, finding our assigned seats from the drawing he had sent last night. Some passengers were already on board and others boarded soon after.
We waited quietly until 8 am when Josh boarded and suggested we all rest while the bus drove to the second meeting point at Shinjuku. There we boarded more passengers before heading out of the city. At that point the sky was partly cloudy and there were occasional patches of sunshine.
On the way out of the city Josh delivered information about our itinerary for the day, the various options, and costs. He did that in English and Mandarin and also told a little about himself. He comes from Taiwan and has been living in Japan for two years.
Beyond the city we occasionally passed through industrial areas and larger towns but the road mostly wound through steep forested hills with houses clustered alongside. The clouds were now solid rather than scattered and seemed lower with mist hanging in the valleys.
A little way beyond Shinjuku Josh regaled us with the first of his ‘stories’ about life in Japan. He assured us that telling us any history or facts and figures was unnecessary because we could look those up on the Internet for ourselves. Instead he gave us his take on Japanese culture, talking at length about the requirement to fit in and not standout with those who dared to be different and nonconformist likely to be bullied. He saw problems with the Japanese arrangement of jobs for life because it restricted opportunities to change jobs. He didn’t seem to see how others might think security was a good thing. It was an interesting interpretation of Japanese culture but I wondered how it might go down with any Japanese friends he had. Perhaps they are all nonconformists.
The first tour stop, around 10:20 am, was for the Shibazakura pink moss festival. Our bus pulled into a parking lot where there were already at least 20 large buses parked. Once we had parked, Josh arranged tickets with the cash he had collected earlier and we entered the park. The festival runs in April and May and attracts crowds to see Fuji across expansive gardens planted mostly with vivid pink moss. On a good day there are clear views of Fuji across the flowers and a lake. This was not a clear day and we could see just the lower slopes.
We strolled through the gardens enjoying the variety of blooms. There were several food vans and a coffee shop where we had coffee and a cream puff for Majella and chocolate scone for me. Lucas still had juice and chocolate biscuits he had brought from his breakfast.
At 11:30 am we were back on the bus and headed for our next stop at Shimoyoshida Station where we arrived about 12:15 pm. Josh informed us that the bus would leave at 1:30 pm and then led us to the first level of the hillside. From there steps and a graded path led to a pagoda further up and then again to a memorial and on to the summit.
Lucas dashed up the stairs while Majella and I went at a more sedate pace. Majella waited at the pagoda level while I went further to find Lucas at the memorial level. On a clear day Fuji is visible and the classic photo has the top of the pagoda in front of Fuji. Not today; we could not see it at all.
We descended with less effort and walked back to the station pausing to buy some strawberries. Since we had 20 minutes to wait and had opted not to have the later restaurant lunch, Josh suggested we go around the corner to a convenience store to buy lunch. There we found fried chicken for Lucas, a small sushi-plus platter for Majella, and a cold hotdog for me. We sat in a bus shelter to eat before boarding our bus to move on.
The bus drove on about 30 minutes to Yamanakako and Lake Yamanaka, described on signs as Swan Lake because of the swans that frequent it. While those who had chosen the restaurant lunch ate we looked through some nearby souvenir shops. At 2:25 pm we met Josh and others near the large swan shaped boat in which we were to cruise. There were a swan, multiple varieties of duck, and koi near the shore.
Our swan boat cruised in a loop around the lake which was bordered by small settlements and hotels. On a clear day we would have seen Fuji which the hotels were oriented to view but today was far from clear as the cloud and mist hung ever lower.
When the boat docked we had some time to wander and enjoy the blossoms. At 3:20 pm we boarded the bus ready for our return to Tokyo. That journey reversed our outward journey of this morning. Josh entertained us with more of his stories about life in Japan along the way.
As we approached Shinjuku we wondered about getting off there but there was rain on the bus windscreen and Majella had not brought her umbrella. We decided to go back to our hotel for the umbrella and then go out. When we were dropped off at Tokyo station the rain had stopped so we decided to carry on without the umbrella. We had no plan but I had seen a comment from Laura on one of Majella’s Facebook posts asking if we had seen the 3D cat sign. A quick search found it was in Shinjuku, where we had decided not to disembark,so off we went.
The app I have been using easily found a way and we managed to get to the platform just in time for the train. We alighted at Shinjuku and struggled to find our way outside. When we got out I could not get clear directions on my app. Majella asked someone and we tried to follow those directions without success. She asked again and we finally emerged again from the station in front of the 3D cat sign.
We watched it for a while as it went through a variety of actions including rolling over and going back through a hole it had come out of. It was quite realistic. Eventually we crossed the street to explore the local area. Majella found a shoe shop and bought a pair of Skechers at a good price – less than the 5000 yen that would have qualified for tax free. Lucas had evidently found wifi while waiting and had located Animate, an anime/manga store he wanted to visit. He led us there but it was less interesting than he had hoped.
By then it was approaching 8 pm so we decided to walk toward Shinjuku station and look for food on the way. We looked at pictures in the windows of several places along the way but failed to find any where we could see something we wanted to eat. In desperation Majella wondered if there might be a bakery nearby. I searched and found 3 somethings in building adjacent to the station. We walked there to look. The first may have had sandwiches earlier in the day but was out of the stock, the second seemed to specialise in cakes, the third was a Tully’s coffee shop. Lucas had pizza and Majella and I had hotdogs. Majella found her chilli dog too hot at the first bite so we swapped. It was lively.
Back down at the station we boarded a train going to Tokyo station and changed there to one for Shin-Nihombashi. Once there we paused at the local FamilyMart to buy some breakfast items and then went back to our room to relax. It had been a long but interesting day.
