lake kawaguchi (day 2)

We woke up early the next morning but Mount Fuji was still "sleeping".

Breakfast was quite heavy (for me)...an omelette, ham, sausage, some lettuce....yogurt, orange juice, toast, coffee.

After checking out, we walked from our hotel back to Lake Kawaguchi.

This is what the Momiji Kairo (Fall Foliage Corridor) looks like in morning lighting.

Can you believe the leaves were more plentiful and more colorful last week?!

Satoshi wanted to check out the Itchiku Kubota Museum, and since Mount Fuji was still "sleeping", we decided to check this museum out.

Itchiku Kubota was a textile artist who apparently revived a lost art technique called "tsujigahana" which is a method of dyeing and decorating cloth.

The kimono collection (on display) that he created were beautiful.

And the grounds that his museum is on is also beautiful, so be sure to walk around.

Admission is 1300 yen but worth it to see the hillsides behind the buildings especially since the leaves had changed.

Lunch was at Momiji-tei, which is famous for houtou.

Houtou is a local dish that is similar to miso soup with flat noodles in it.

Satoshi had the kinoko (mushroom) version while I ordered the kabocha (pumpkin).

Huge pieces of kabocha, daikon (radish) as well as other veggies and noodles...it was a very hardy dish.

After lunch, Mount Fuji decided to show herself, so we decided to check her out...

We went to Shimoyoshida and climbed up to see the view of Mount Fuji at the Arakurayama Sengen Park.

This is where many people, maybe even Lonely Planet has taken many shots of Mount Fuji.

At this time of day though, the backlight was pretty harsh so the photos we took were mostly shadowy.

If you are interested in seeing a short video, click the link here.

I hope you enjoyed our short adventure as much as we did.

We were lucky to see Mount Fuji for two days in a row.

Momiji-tei
3067-1 Kawaguchi, Minamitsuru-ward
Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi
Phone: 0555.76.8200
Hours 10:30-21:00

Arakurayama Sengen Park
From Fujikyu Shimoyoshida station about 10 minutes plus 398 stairs.
3353-1 Arakura, Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi

lake kawaguchi

From Shinjuku, it is about 2 hours by train to Lake Kawaguchi in Yamanashi Prefecture.

We've visited this area quite a few times over the years, most times being able to see Mount Fuji.

Click on the link to see a short video of Mount Fuji as seen from the Fujikyu train.

The train engineer was nice and drove slowly, so we all could get photos and such.

The photo above was taken near the Momiji Kairo (Fall Foliage Corridor)

Sadly, most of the trees in this area were past their peak.

Still, it was nice to be able to visit this area.

We walked along the lake and stopped in to Cafe Mimi for something to eat.

I ordered this gateau chocolat (chocolate cake) which came with tons of fruit! (cantaloupe, dragon fruit, strawberry, blueberry, banana, grapefruit, kaki (persimmon), nashi (asian pear), kiwi, and orange (and a scoop of vanilla ice cream))...Satoshi agreed it was worth the 1500 yen (about $15)....

Satoshi ordered the shrimp pasta, which came with a salad and drink for 2000 yen but thought his order should've been priced at 1500 while mine at 2000.

It was nice to gaze at Mount Fuji and listen to jazz while we ate.

Dinner was at the hotel we stayed at.

A beef herb terrine (more like pâté), marinated salmon and chicken cacciatora.

Amatriciana...too bad the garlic was burnt and bitter.

Filet steak with balsamic sauce...tender!

Raspberry mousse and kaki (persimmon).

It was a delicious meal, despite the bitter garlic...though I wished they had served more veggies.

Found this picture in the lobby...so cute!

We were lucky to have such great weather.

Hotel Saint Village
1666-1 Funatsu, Minamitsuru-ward
Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi
Phone: 0555.72.3453

sunday

Sunday the weather was sunny, no clouds in the sky...perfect Autumn day.

We went to check out one of the 9 metropolitan gardens...Kiyosumi Garden.

This garden is huge!

I found this matsu (pine) tied up like this...thought it was so pretty!

This garden is rather quiet (even though it is smack dab in the middle of the city)...perfect for yoga lessons, which they were having in this building.

It was definitely worth the 150 yen admission for this garden.

Then we went back to Kyu-Furukawa Garden to see their roses which were "supposed" to be in full bloom.

We were totally disappointed.

There were only a few in bloom.

I guess we were totally spoiled with our visits to Aramaki Rose Park.

I did find a dragonfly willing to pose for me.

Lunch was at Ohashiya.

Apparently they have been in business since Taisho 11 (1922).

Satoshi had their cold Okame Soba which had all sorts of veggies in it.

I had their Jizo Soba...this wasn't anything special except there were different toppings on the cold soba (nori, sesame seeds and shiso (perilla)).

At least the tsuyu (sauce) was what we were used to and not thick like that other place...

We then walked Sugamo Shopping Arcade and came across this butterfly.

First time trying a Russian Tale, gelatin like outside filled with mousse and a little cake...sweet-sour with raspberry and dark cherry...delicious.

Apparently I had tried Patissier Yoshinori Asami's confections when he was with Patisserie Kubler back in 2009.

I want to go back to try his parfaits and baked items.

We ended the weekend with another look at Mount Fuji as the sun set...with humidity at bay, it makes seeing Mount Fuji easier.

We also noticed that Mount Fuji had snow on top...oh and that apartment complex is coming up, and we are still crossing our fingers that it won't block our view...

Kiyosumi Garden
3-3-9 Kiyosumi
Koto, Tokyo
Phone: 03.3641.5892
Hours: 9:00-17:00

Ohashiya
3-34-3 Sugamo
Toshima, Tokyo
Phone: 03.3918.3434
Hours: 10:30-18:00

Patisserie Yoshinori Asami
3-23-3 Sugamo
Toshima, Tokyo
Phone: 03.5980.7674
Closed Tuesdays & Wednesdays
Hours: 10:30-19:30

sad

With all the rain and cold weather we've been having I thought I would post some items that were making me sad...

Before leaving Osaka, I found out from my friend, Kiyomi that at the end of May, Au Grenier D'Or in Kyoto is closing its doors...I'm sad because over the years we've been there several times...the first time, once with friends and once with Tamakikat.

Another sad thing is remember the goldfish phone booth in Nara?

Well, there is apparently an artist that says "his" version is copyrighted so this particular version that was put up by art students was violating "his" copyright.

He said that if they changed the artist's name to his then he would "forgive" them...I think it is a case of "sour grapes" because of all the attention this version is receiving on Instagram.

Anyway, if you go to K Coffee the phone booth is no longer there...boo!

The Big Island (Hawaii) lava eruption.

The Kīlauea volcano has been erupting since I can remember, but all those displaced families, so sad...I hope they will be able to safely return to their homes and rebuild their lives soon.

And the last thing I'm sad about at the moment...is that I recently found out a 6-story building is coming up in front of where we live... I am crossing my fingers that it doesn't block our view.

I know I don't usually post on sad or negative topics, but is there anything you are sad about at the moment?

this morning

How are you all doing?

Hope you didn't forget about us.

I have a detailed post about the move but need to edit it a little more, but wanted to share with you the view we discovered from our lanai this morning...

Mount Fuji!

The past two weeks, the air was super hazy plus we also had some heavy rains yesterday, so we've never noticed her.

Looking forward to being greeted by her and will update you all soon.

mount fuji (day 2)

Day 2 started "super" early, like before sunrise...

we wanted to catch "beni-fuji", this is when the rising sun casts a light pink (beni) color onto Mount Fuji.

It apparently happens 10 minutes or so before the sun rises.

Once the sun rises the lighting changes, so you only have a few minutes to snap some pictures.

Here's the photo I had posted on Instagram.

After sunrise, we had some breakfast, checked out and were ready for our tour...

Oshino-Hakkai, is an area made up of 8 fresh water ponds that receives its water from Mount Fuji.

Many of the buildings in this area have thatched roof tops.

We paid 300 yen admission per person to get into this museum area, it is perfect for taking some photos and definitely worth it.

Then we were off to Lake Kawaguchi.

We stopped at Oishi Park. They have a little shop as well as great views.

The view of Mount Fuji from the Music Box Museum wasn't too spectacular, but this is where we got to see an amazing "sand art" show, I found a video of a similar performance, here.

This is where we also had lunch.

A nice hot bowl of houtou, a regional dish of Yamanashi prefecture. The original version is flat noodles (like fettuccine) cooked with vegetables in a soup of miso.

The version I got for lunch was a pumpkin potage. Satoshi had a tan-tan men version...both were different but hit the spot on such a cool day.

I have been seeing Cremia on various social media sites and even though it was too cold for soft serve, Satoshi and I shared this one (Can you see Mount Fuji in the background?!).

This soft serve uses 25% cream and has 12.5% milk fat...super rich!

Love the langue de chat cone!(literally tongue of cat, similar to YokuMoku cookies)

After lunch, we drove along the lake to Lake Sai and Lake Shoji (part of the 5 lakes of Mount Fuji).

We also stopped at Lake Motosu. This is the same lake that is apparently printed on the backside of the 1000 yen bill.

Then it was back on the bus as we continued to make our way around Mount Fuji...

A view from the Asagirikogen Rest Area.

And then we hiked down (there were steps all the way down) to see Shiraito Falls.

The water is apparently from Mount Fuji.

To actually see Mount Fuji with the falls, hike up 90 more meters (295 feet) to the lookout point.

Satoshi got this shot.

And then it was a bento for dinner on the train ride back to Osaka.

Super short trip and we were blessed with good weather.

I'm glad we were able to do this again and this time around we were thankful that we got to see Mount Fuji.

Hope you enjoyed this trip as much as we did.

mount fuji (day 1)

Our tour started at 7:00, we all met at the Shin-Osaka station (where the Shinkansen (bullet train) runs).

The tour guide mentioned that there were 43 of us, almost making a full bus load (which I think is 50), I think this tour was popular because there was a holiday the next day.

For two days, we would all seek out Mount Fuji...

From Osaka we travelled to Shizuoka, which took about 3 hours because we took the slowest Shinkansen (Kodama).

Our first stop was Nihondaira, a plateau from which you can see Mount Fuji, the Pacific Ocean as well as another sightseeing spot, Miho no Matsubara, an 8 kilometer (4.9 mile) stretch of beach that is lined with pine trees.

It was a spectacular view.

Lunch was at Umi, a small sushi shop inside the S-pulse Dream Plaza, a tiny shopping mall, located at the Shimizu Port.

I had the local fish sushi (the sushi chef rattled off the names of the different fish, but it was too quick for me to understand)...still, this was delicious and just the right amount for me...1600 yen (tax not included).

Satoshi had the edo-mae sushi 1800 yen (tax not included).

After lunch, we walked over to the ferry terminal to take in a view of Mount Fuji.

Our next stop was Miho no Matsubara located on the coast of the Miho Peninsula, which is part of Suruga Bay.

If this beach area looks familiar to some, it is apparently where the opening of Abarenbo Shogun was filmed.

Not only was the view of Mount Fuji beautiful, these pine trees on the walk to the beach were too.

I have to tell you that not all 16 spots were those we were able to stop at and get off the bus to take a picture, some spots were seen as we passed by.

Our last stop of the day was at Lake Yamanaka.

By then, the sun was starting to set (that is Mount Fuji in the glare).

I had posted this picture of the sunset on Instagram, as seen from our hotel's garden.

It was a great day, the weather super sunny, and we got our fill of Mount Fuji, for the first day...

we're back

Just wanted to tell you that "revenge" was a success...

We were blessed with great weather (Thanks Grandma, Mom & FIL and everyone that was rooting for us!).

Have lots of photos to go through.

But will try to post something tomorrow.

This photo is what the locals call "beni-fuji" just a tad before sunrise when there is a light pink (beni) coloring on Mount Fuji.

It was fahreezing -6C(21F) but so worth waiting to see it happen.

Talk to you again soon.

Oyasuminasai (Good night!)

revenge

Last year, we went on a tour to see Mount Fuji from 16 different locations, which I kind of wrote about here.

The Japanese like to use the word "revenge" to mean that they will "try something again".

I think the word "revenge" is very negative, don't you?!

So, we're trying this tour again...cross your fingers that we'll be able to see more of Mount Fuji this time around.

we're back

from a short trip...

We went on a tour to see Mount Fuji.

The tour takes you to see Mount Fuji from 16 different spots.

Unfortunately, the weather was bad...

there was clouds and snow...lots of snow.

The best shot I got of Mount Fuji was this one.

Mount Fuji as seen from Otome-toge near Gotemba.

We're gonna try this tour again, not sure when though.

Weather is so unpredictable...have a nice week!

tokyo-hakone

Sunday, we woke up to rain...drizzly, cold rain.

We took the Romancecar from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto and then transferred to the Hakone Tozan Train.

The tozan train is a switch-back type, it takes awhile to get from Hakone Yumoto to Gora. (Tozan means to "climb the mountain", by the way, Gezan means to "come down the mountain")

The hydrangeas were just starting to bloom along the route.

From Gora, we again transferred to the Hakone Tozan Cablecar to get to Sounzan.

This cablecar was kinda like those finicular types which ascend/descend at an angle.

At Sounzan, we again transferred to the Hakone Ropeway which would take us to Togendai-ko.

It is along this route that we saw this...

Talk about scary! Gondolas coming out of the fog from the opposite direction...

At Togendai-ko, we again transferred to the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise....

Obviously with all that fog, there was nothing to see, so we kept ourselves entertained chatting and playing with the trompe l'oeil(trick art) that they had on board.

Since the fog was unpredictable the cruise schedule was iffy, so we nixed exploring the other two ports and returned back to Togendai-ko and had lunch at their View Restaurant.

This is what the view should have looked like.

After lunch the rain stopped but there was some fog lingering.

We headed back up to Owakudani. There are many sulfur pits here and I think the water that comes from their drilling is what the onsen (hot springs) in the area use.

You can buy 5 black eggs if you wish, it is basically a hard boiled egg that turns black when boiled in the sulfuric waters.

If you eat one, it is said to add 7 years to your life. The bummer part though is that you need to buy 5, too bad we weren't travelling with a larger group.

Instead we shared black soft serve. Vanilla soft serve made black with some edible bamboo charcoal.

We then headed back down to Ubako to check-in at the Green Plaza Hakone.

Our room was located in a prime part of the hotel and we were "supposed" to be able to see Mt Fuji from it.

But of course, it was clouded over.

A bit discouraged, we decided to take a bath in their rotenburo (open air bath) and then go to dinner.

(click on their website and you'll see what the view is supposed to be like from the open air bath).

Oh, a nice perk in the women's open air bath is the tiny cups of sake to drink while in the bath while viewing Mt Fuji. It isn't served on the men's side...as Satoshi said, "probably because the guys would go crazy with free sake..."

Dinner was a fabulous array of things.

I was intrigued with their toothpick holder. When you slide open the lid, the container of toothpicks pops up.

The woodwork on the holder is called Yosegizaiku, a type of parquetry in this area, you can read more about it if you are interested, here.

After dinner, we checked on Mt Fuji once again...she finally decided to show herself, even if it was after the sun had set...it was better late than never...

Green Plaza Hakone
1244-2 Sengokuhara Hakone-machi
Ashigarashimo-gun Kanagawa-ken
Reservation Center: Tel.81-03-5272-3111