The trip to Mt.Fuji was a somewhat more unusual and complicated one. We were picked up at the hotel and shuttled to a bus terminal. Once we were at the bus terminal we needed to check-in and board a coach. Once there, the real trip began! Our tour guide for the day was a middle-aged male, his name was Hari.
The first leg of the trip (out to Mt.Fuji) was fairly interesting. The trip out to Mt.Fuji wasn't the quickest but Hari ensured that we weren't too bored. Actually, I found the trip quite interesting! Hari gave us some trivia about Japan in general, outlined Japanese history, taught us some Japanese, and even explained why snow falls on Japan!
Driving down to Mt.Fuji on the Chuo highway also provided some humour. Hari was speaking about the Chuo highway and where it lead, suddenly he said the following:
"We are currently heading up towards the mountains. The speed limit is...
Classic. He was so calm and blazze about the obvious fact that we were speeding. Furthermore, it wasn't as though we were overtaking other vehicles either! Everyone on the road was travelling at roughly the same speed - it was quite the experience. You had to be there, I guess.
Our first stop for the morning was the Mt.Fuji visitors centre. It was there we managed to get a few happy snaps of Mt.Fuji (aka Fuji-san). The visitors centre isn't too flash - but it is a toilet break before the long journey up the mountain. The visitors centre is a treasure trove of information... and there's also food and souveniers to buy as well.
There are four levels of Mt.Fuji - the visitors centre close to the base, a checkpoint at approximately 1km up the mountain, a checkpoint at approximately 2km, another at about 2.5km, and then there is the summit at 3337m. Due to the weather conditions we were only allowed to head up to the checkpoint at 2020m - not close enough to the summit... oh well.
After our little sojuourn to Fuji-san we headed back towards the base for lunch. Hari told us that on past tours the food that was served was Western and that after a survey was conducted the tourists preferred a Japanese-style lunch. Given the quality of the lunch that we had... I would heartily disagree! Given that we ate well over the last two nights the lunch here was an absolute shocker. It probably didn't help that we were eating Japanese food in a Chinese restaurant.
The next stop on the tour was a place called Hakone. Let me tell you, this place is absolutely beautiful. Pristine water and a landscape that is clearly postcard-worthy! Seeing nature in all its glory is a marvellous sight. Even more surprising is it's proximity to the megalopolis that is Toyko.
Once we got to Hakone we boarded a slow ferry which did a small circuit around Lake Ashi. This is definitely a place to go for relaxation purposes. This area has withstood the test of time... and modern man. The most striking facet of the trip across Lake Ashi was the stillness of its waters.
The experience was only going to get better as we took a gondola up to the top of Mt.Komagatake. The experience up at the top of Mt.Komagatake was just as serene as when we were at sea level. I'm not really a master of descriptive language, so it's probably easier to look at photos.
The tour ended up at approximately 7pm and we were dropped off at Shinjuku - apparently the hang-out place for the younger generations. Once getting there this seemed to be quite true. Furthermore, there seemed to be a disproportionate amount of girls than guys. Not that i'm complaining or anything.
The search for dinner was on almost straight away - as the lunch itself was totally rubbish! Shinjuku was one packed place and I don't think i'd be able to find my way back if I had my time again. We settled with this place called Ducky Duck. From memory there were only 3 guys in the cafe/restaurant, Dave and I counted as 2. Totally bizzare. Maybe it isn't so bizzare in the end as girls do enjoy hanging out at cafes and such back in Sydney.
To close this entry off- a strange phenomenon as we were paying whilst exiting Ducky Duck. The attentive look that I got from the shop assistant girl at the front as we paid for our meals. I'm not saying that she was attracted to me, but the look/stare that she gave was intense - there was eye contact for a few seconds. Yep, intense. She had blue-tinted contacts. Ahh... I bet she wasn't interested... such is life. I guess I can dream a little :).
I really need to take more photos of people...
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