A nice coach bus ride got us to Lake Kawaguchi in two hours. Just before we arrived, we caught a glimpse of Mt. Fuji with it’s cone peeking above the clouds. Lucky us because an hour later, the clouds had completely covered it.
Our hotel is a traditional Japanese Ryokan, where the beds and chairs are flat to the floor. Too early to check in on arrival, we dropped off our bags and our guide took us on a cable car excursion up into the hills overlooking the lake. When visible, this is the spot to see Mt. Fuji in all its glory. However, not today but we did enjoy spectacular views of Lake Kawaguchi and learned the foke lore story of the rabbit and the raccoon. Very popular with Japanese children. There is a shrine up there to rabbits.
Down again, we did some souvenir shopping along main street until it was time to check into the hotel. And what a beautiful hotel! The prize feature are the onsens… pure mountain water hot springs, separate ones for men and women. The rule is to bathe naked. Ryan and I tried it out before dinner. So hot, so relaxing, so therapeutic.
Dinner was a group buffet in the banquet hall. Such a spread of food! All you can eat and drink. I tried everything and washed it all down with sake. I may have perhaps had a bit too much sake but it was fantastic and great fun to socialize with the group. We even sang Happy Birthday to Yogi and a couple of other group members.
After supper, a couple of our group members (Alan and Adrienne from New Zealand) took a walk along the lake. The clouds had lifted and they got a photo of Mt. Fuji in the twilight. They shared it with us and I have included it in the gallery. It is a stunning shot.
The next morning, I went to the onsen again and I had it all to myself. Good therapy for the muscles. Breakfast was a full spread buffet and then we packed up to check out and make our way to the bullet train for the commute to Kyoto.
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One reply on “Lake Kawaguchi and Mt. Fuji”
Wow, wh