March | 2017 | Deborah's Travel Blog

Wow, wow, wow, we got lucky and saw the snow-capped peak of Japan’s famous icon two days in a row!

: Mt Fuji

: On the way to the lake in Fujikawaguchiko

: Lots of mirrors on Japanese roads

: Many sculptured trees

: View from boat ride

: Rain on one side, sun on the other

: We considered a paddle boat, but took a motorized ride instead

: Temple spotted on side street

: Mask at temple

: Weathered statue

: Many vending machines offer choice of cold or hot tea

: An interesting collection of shapes

: Tree trained to grow over entrance

: Early morning from our window

: View from opposite side of lake

: Side street

: Blossom sighting

: Remembering the dead

: At Kaizoji Temple

: Gate to Oishi Sengen Shrine

: One of shrine guardians

: On display in back of shrine

: Indigo handicrafts

March 28 – Mt. Fuji Boat Ride

We lugged our luggage to the Shinjuku Station, the busiest train station in the world, squeezed onto a rush hour train to the Tokyo Station, eighth busiest, where a very helpful man used a map app to escort us to the Tekko Building where we caught a non-stop bus to Fujikawaguchiko at the base of Mt. Fuji. (The non-stop buses from Shinjuku were sold out as we found out the prior afternoon). It was sunny when we started our two-hour ride, but rain/snow was forecast for the afternoon. As the sky darkened and a few drops hit the windshield, we worried that we wouldn’t be able to see the mountain. As we approached

It was sunny when we started our two-hour ride, but rain/snow was forecast for the afternoon. As the sky darkened and a few drops hit the windshield, we worried that we wouldn’t be able to see the mountain. As we approached our destination, we spotted its base shrouded on top. And then suddenly the clouds cleared. We beamed and grabbed our cameras.

After stowing our luggage at the bus station and locating our lodging (too early for check-in), we walked down to the lake and took a boat ride beyond the wires and buildings which blocked our view. Rain hit our backsides as we admired the peak bathed in sunshine. I was glad to be wearing my new warm clothes. High fives, followed by a delicious tempura dinner, with several unidentifiable vegetables, and an Asahi beer. 🙂

March 29 – Mt. Fuji Bus Tour

A thin futon on a hard wooden platform does not make for comfortable sleeping. That was soon forgotten when I slid open the opaque window and was thrilled to see sun once again striking the famous volcanic peak. I ignored the blast of snow-chilled air and started snapping. We grazed for breakfast, put our luggage back in the bus station lockers, and boarded a hop-on-hop-off bus (the Red Line) along the lake. We only hopped off at the end of the line, a gorgeous spot which will clearly be even more scenic in a few weeks when the buds on the fruit trees open. After absorbing the view, we enjoyed a blueberry swirl ice cream cone, despite the cold, temped by the large statue of one in from of the visitor center. We then took a short walk to a temple and a shrine, and returned to our starting point, getting off early to walk up from the lake and stop for lunch (beef bowl) along the way. I napped a bit on our way back to Tokyo.

I’m in Japan with Nancy, using up the travel credit we received after our ship broke down in the Galapagos a few years ago. Our tour will take us from Tokyo to Kyoto. We’ve added a few extra days, starting in Tokyo, the world’s largest city, twice as populous as NYC. Rivers of people fill the veins of this mega-metropolis – sidewalks, trains, subways, and buses. Only childrens voices are heard on the trains, faces buried in cell phones, many with masks. Walk on the left and keep moving or get shoved. Beauty and ugliness, and let’s not forget cute. Delicate cherry blossoms against soulless buildings. Elevators silent and smooth. Surprise temples and shrines dwarfed by tall buildings, expanding endlessly in all directions. Bold, bright, flashing neon, the parks a treasured respite. Enough people speak English for us to get by, most friendly and helpful.

: View from 45th floor of Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building; we headed up right after arriving.

: Cocoon Tower, which houses several educational institutions

: Shinjuku District, early Sunday morning

: Taiso-ji Temple

: Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

: Nancy

: It rained all day

: Though not yet numerous, there was a great variety of blossoms

: This women was having her picture taken. We also saw a bride whose gown got quite muddy.

: Feels like what I imagine the plains of Africa look like

: Staying warm and dry with three layers on the bottom, five on top

: View from 7th floor of Edo-Tokyo Museum, where we had lunch

: On display in cafe

: A fearsome looking fellow

: Think how long it took her to get dressed

: Ryogoku subway station

: A replica?

: Tsukiji Fish Market

: He sliced very quickly

: There were many types of crab, and other sea creatures. (Given the quantity, I’m surprised the oceans aren’t already depleted)>

: A square watermelon!

: Lotus root

: White strawberries; I hear they taste like a red strawberry mixed with pineapple

: Display in one of the Tsukiji markets

: Wires, wires, everywhere, plus a surprise now and then

: Back in the Shinjuku district

: How may I help you?

: I did mention cute, didn’t I?

: Near our Airbnb

: And then the sun came out 🙂

: Can you tell where we’re going? Neither can I.

: Train platform during morning commute

: Near Shinjuku Station, our hub

: By night

: By day, the twin towers are the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

: Near Tokyo station

March 24-25, 2017 – Getting There

The Lyft ride arrived so quickly after my 4:00 a.m. request that we got to the airport a half hour before the ticket counter opened. Other than a couple short naps on the plane, we remained awake for just over 24 hours before getting to bed in our Tokyo airbnb. Fortunately, I was more comfortable in a middle seat on Singapore Airlines than on the domestic and discount airlines I’ve traveled with recently.

When we arrived, we took a train to the Shinjuku station and walked to our lodging using a series of pictures provided by our host. This is my first trip to a country that labels everything in characters (kanji) that have no meaning to me. After dropping our luggage off in our tiny efficiency apartment, we walked about a mile to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, slowly due to Nancy’s recent leg injury, and waited in line for an elevator ride up to the free observation deck. A nice view, in spite of the overcast. On our way, in the overheated airport and train, I worried that I had packed too many warm clothes, but as the sun dropped behind the tall buildings, I worried the opposite. We topped off our day with a yummy thin-crust pizza and Asahi beer.

March 26 (Sunday) – A Pleasant Drizzly Day

Up a bit early due to jetlag, I took a stroll through the quiet, wet street of the Shinjuku district where we are staying. Breakfast consisted of a delicious donut-like pastry filled with bean paste, yogurt, and powdered green tea (matcha). Nancy and I then spent a couple hours strolling through lovely Shinjuku park, very close to our lodging. The cherry blossoms are just starting, a bit later than usual due to the unseasonably cold weather. Next, we took a train across town to the Edo-Tokyo museum, dedicated to the history of Tokyo during the Edo period with a life-size replica of Nihonbashi bridge, a kabuki theater, and scale models of towns, plus more recent history through the 1964 Olympics. A nice place to visit on a rain day.

March 27 – An Unpleasant Cold Day

We took a train to the Ryogoku station to visit the Tsukiji Fish Market, not a good choice for a cold, rainy, windy day. Though fascinating, we were thoroughly miserable after a couple hours, mostly outdoors, umbrellas bumping against each other. The best part was eating a delicious strawberry coated with bean paste and a rice flour layer (mochi). We skipped the other sights we had planned and returned to our room for a short rest before venturing out again, after the rain stopped. It took us a couple hours to score bus tickets to our next destination; we had to take a train across town to another station to get them. We then went on a shopping binge. I bought warm clothes and Nancy unsuccessfully tried to find a rice cooker for her husband, Steve; they don’t sell the correct voltage.