Mt. Fuji

Another essential day trip from Tokyo was to go see Mount Fuji. To be honest, we slightly ballsed up our travel arrangements to the Fuji area. It was not as simple as we had hoped. We briefly looked at the bus from Tokyo which can take you directly, however it is very long and we wanted to use our JR passes as it was their last valid day of use. Therefore we made our way on the JR train to Gotemba. From here we attempted to use the local train line to get closer to Fuji, but this failed when we realised after two stops, that the stop names did not correspond to exactly where we wanted to go. In the end, we found an information office who informed us we would need to get a bus to Kawaguchi Lake and from there we would be able to view Fuji close up. After a bit of waiting around we boarded the bus towards Mt. Fuji in the early afternoon. The bus took over an hour to reach Kawaguchiko station where we finally got to see the iconic volcano. 

A short walk from the bus station led us down towards the lakeside. There was a chilly breeze coming across the lake and some low cloud over the mountain tops in the distance. Although parts of Fuji too was shrouded in cloud, we could catch glimpses of snow atop the summit. To get an even better shot, we jumped of the cable car to Kawaguchiko Tenjozan Park. From this high vantage point, we stood opposite Mt. Fuji, overlooking the town and the expansive lake below. Practising the art of patience, we waited in hope that the cloud would clear, enabling us to gain an even better view. Thankfully our efforts were rewarded and the cloud began to thin, revealing more and more of the textbook shaped volcano. We must have taken hundreds of photos! After marvelling for almost an hour, we were pretty frozen. We made the descent back down on the cable car and headed back towards the bus station. Along the way we came across a little coffee cart and got a much appreciated hot drink from the nice Japanese barista. He was kind enough to let us take a quick snap of his makeshift coffee cart, which was actually his van. Tummies warmed with coffee and hot chocolate, we caught a train back from the station rather than another lengthy bus ride. 

Although Mt. Fuji is in fact an active volcano, it has not erupted in a very very long time (1707 to be exact). This does not stop some crazy people however climbing it. Unfortunately (or perhaps not), it was out of season for climbers and hikers attempting the trek up the mountain when we visited the area. Despite our own little adventure being slightly more complicated than we expected, the journey was well worth the effort.