March: Fuji-san! Kinda.
In March we went on a Mt. Fuji tour that took us to five stops and promised picturesque views.
Well...
Our tour started at 0600 in the A.M. and would take three hours to our first toured stop.
But everyone needs a little Starbucks if you're gonna start that friggen' early. It was almost Sakura season so everything was cherry flavoured, including my Sakura Frappuccino. :D
The wallpaper had our date on it. Kinda creepy.
Just so you know, that's how you use a Western style toilet.
Our first stop was the Mt Fuji Visitor Center. As you can see the weather is beautiful!
They had like rocks and stuff.
My thoughts exactly, Terry.
Our next stop was Sengen shrine, and "Asama" Shinto shrine, officially named "Fujisan Hongū Sengen Taisha". Sengen shrine is the starting point of the Mt Fuji pilgrimage, that is, the starting point of the climb up Mt. Fuji. The main Kami/God of the shrine is Konohanasakuya-hime, princess and daughter to Ōyamatsu-no-mikoto (an important God who ruled the sea, mountains and war).
It has one of the largest torii gates in Japan and the entire top of Mt Fuji is part of the shrine grounds.
The picture above is the pathway leading up to the shrine and start to the climb of Mt. Fuji.
The day was abysmal and we didn't get to see Fuji-san but it made for amazing pictures of shrines.
So here's a boat-load more:
Pretty, ne?
A couple of the smaller shrines on the grounds.
This is the actual inside of the main shrine and where the Kami resides.
The miko and male shrine attendants. The guy above was all laughs and totally embarrassed before the picture but as soon as the camera came up he was totally serious. Ha ha.
This is one of the three sacred trees, or Goshinboku, left on the grounds. They measure more than 75 ft. around, and are more than a 1,000 years old.
More pretty picture spam~~ (and yeah, that's snow on the ground by Terry, it was COLD!!!)
Our next stop was Lake Kawaguchi, one of the five lakes that surround Fuji-san. It's the most popular of the lakes, tourist wise anyway.
We were 'spose to have a beautiful view of Fuji-san while we ate lunch.
As you can see, it was nothing something alright.
But we did get to eat some yummy tonkatsu and katsudon (my favourite Japanese pork dish)! I think I got a spoon because they weren't sure about Americans and chopsticks...
I took this crappy picture because the tour bus next to us rocked! It was full of gray-haired ladies on a tour just like us. But instead they were all drinking beer and chu-his in the bus! I was super jealous! Lol.
The next stop was Oshino Hakkai~! This is an area of eight spring ponds flowing directly from Mt. Fuji --"Springs of the Gods". It takes 80 years for the melted snow on Mt. Fuji to become the spring water in the ponds.
It was really pretty even in the horrible weather. Of course the water was crystal clear.
No Fuji-san in sight, though.
Ice cream break. Every worth while tourist spot in Japan has their own ice cream, usually made there with distinct flavours.
Lots of items for sale, including pickles --another frequent item sold at tourist destinations. But here they had a spot where you could bottle up your own water from the spring to take home. Oishii~
A couple of small shrines we encountered on the walk back to the bus. One of the things I love about Japan, random shrines. As an American I still don't fully understand them and their placements, sizes, etc.
Our offcial last stop was Gotemba Heiwa Koen, the Fuji Peace Park.
The park features Japanese gardens, Buddhist and Shinto elements. Really, really beautiful but we were just about miserable by that time because of the cold and wet weather --and no Fuji-san!
Leading up to the temple there are many guardian statues donated from other Buddhist countries.
Terry got to ring the big bell, tee-hee.
Last but not least, nummy food from the Japanese rest stop... which are far superior than any old truck stop you'll find in the States!
Can you get this at a Flying J? Didn't think so. :P
Panda hot buns and school kids. So cute. Better than the truckers at Flying J, lemme tell ya'.
My stash of goods from the day, including a box of Tokyo Bananas (imagine a banana flavoured Twinkie with a banana in the middle).
We didn't get to see Mt. Fuji, and were totally miserable from the weather, but we still felt like we got a good experience out of the trip. We're planning to take it again so we can actually see Fuji-san! Ha ha.