Mount Fuji

Today we visited Mount Fuji. Actually, we didn’t. We visited Kawaguchiko Lakes, where you can get gorgeous views of Mount Fuji. This was the first day of a long weekend, so, although the weather was auspicious, the traffic wasn’t, and the bus took one and a half hours longer than expected to reach the lake. During our trip there, we could see the mountain most of the way - even when we were still in Tokyo! Most people don’t see Mount Fuji when they visit it, because the weather is rarely auspicious.

When we got there, we were in the middle of town, so Fuji wasn’t visible. 

We then caught the local bus took its last stop at Oishi Park, where you can get really good views, and took pictures. 

They have a lot of different flower plantings in this park, and it’s very popular with tourists. 

We were overwhelmed by the numbers of people here.

We gradually worked our way back around the lake, taking pictures of Fuji as we went, 

but we ran out of time when we reached the bridge over the lake. So we walked across the bridge and caught the bus back to the bus station. We didn’t miss our bus to Tokyo, but it took longer to get back than it should have, and picked us up half an hour late, so it was a very long day.

We did do things other than take photos of Mount Fuji. We visited the Lake Kawaguchiko maple corridor.

We found somewhere to have lunch. 

At the bridge we visited a shrine. 

But the day was really dedicated to Mount Fuji.