Mount Fuji

We wrapped up Tokyo the morn of the 29th with a rather thrilling experience of the Tokyo subway system during rush hour (let's just say that falling down was not possible, and breathing difficult...), a pleasant jaunt through Ueno-koen (park) and a brief visit to a shrine there.  Then we packed up our stuff, hopped on a train to the bus station where we boarded for a 3 hour trip to the Mount Fuji area.  Fuji is a big tourist spot for the Japanese and gaijin (foreigners) alike and has numerous hotels and resorts and a big amusement park to boot.  The main attraction to the area is, however, the volcano itself.  One either climbs it, ideally such that sunrise can be enjoyed from the crater, or wanders around the trails lower down the mountain.  And then one heads for the thermal (common) baths...

Upon arriving, we made our way to our hotel, Ryokan Ashiwada, which sits on the shore of one of the 5 lakes just north of Mount Fuji, which is a classic, cone shaped volcano that has been inactive for the last 300 years or so.  That first night, we limited our adventures to the thermal baths.  While a bit reticent to partake of thisJapanese custom, Juliana managed to cajole me into going.  Mind you, guys and gals go their own way in the baths, so I don't know why she was keen on my going.  Anyhow, garbed in little more than a small white washcloth I did enjoy a good soak in the company of a number of Japanese.  Aside from the occasional visual insult (those little white towels don't quite do the job), it was quite nice, actually.

While our intentions were to make a full ascent of the mountain starting at the 5th station (about a 1300m climb)the next day, which would have taken about 8 hours round trip, we were there in the low season and buses from the surrounding area where we were staying to the station were too infrequent to go to the crater (a warning to those who might visit Fuji in the fall--plan on staying a night in a hut on the mountain or on starting your hike at mid-night or earlier to be able to catch a bus back into town).  So we have to go back...  either way, we made a good attempt and ascended to about the 8th station--i.e. 2 hours up, 1:20 down.  A good hike, marred only by the fact that we had a cloudy day, killing any good visibility of the surrounding areas from the mountain, and that there are large steel barriers all along the path to control wanton erosion and landslides.  I am certain that up at the very top of the mountain things are different, and the hike would have been a bit more rewarding.  It was good exercise, at the least.  Most of the walk is above tree-line and in general over volcanic gravel and old lava flows.  Not a lot of vegentation, but some low lying forbs and bushes do make it a fair way up the mountain.

For some pics, see Fuji (Kawaguchi-ko) and Fuji-continuacion.