Archive for the ‘Kawaguchiko’ Tag
Sunday, June 4: After stashing my bag in a coin locker at the train station, I take the Green Line of the Sightseeing bus to Fuji Omuro Sengen-jinja Shrine on the south shore of Lake Kawaguchi. On the bus I chat with a honeymooning couple from the States. Distracted by this pleasant exchange, I miss the stop for the shrine. Another couple from Australia, listening in on our conversation, misses their stop as well. At the next stop, I ask the driver about Fuji Omuro, and he waves for us to get off and go back in the opposite direction. We’re lucky that as soon as we hop off the bus, another Sightseeing Bus pulls up heading in the opposite direction. We all three hop on that bus and ride it back to Fuji Omuro, arriving at 12:30.
torii gate at Fuji Omuro Sengen Shrine
Fuji Omuro Sengen-jinja Shrine has over 1300 years of history. It is the oldest shrine in the Mt. Fuji area. It was Fujiwara Yoshitada who dedicated the shrine, originally built on the second station of Mt. Fuji, in 699; for its eternal preservation, it was moved to its current location in 1974.
small shrine at Fuji Omuro Sengen-jinja
cow sculpture
Later, as musubi no kami (deity of childbearing, easy delivery of a baby, match-making, and happy marriage), it was worshipped and courteously protected by the clans of Takeda, Oyamada, and Tokugawa. On the spacious grounds, the main sanctuary (national important cultural property) has its backside facing Mt. Fuji, and the satomiya sanctuary (city’s important cultural property) has its backside facing Lake Kawaguchi.
Fuji Omuro Sengen Shrine
characters at the shrine
temizuya (手水舎), a Shinto water ablution pavilion
dragon water spout at the temizuya
Fuji Omuro Sengen-jinja Shrine
Fuji Omuro Sengen-jinja Shrine
I love the ema here, painted with a snow-covered Mt. Fuji and cherry blossoms.
ema at Fuji Omuro Sengen-jinja Shrine
Wandering around the grounds, I find an exit that looks out over a small cove.
out the far side of the shrine
Lake Kawaguchiko on the far side of Fuji Omuro Sengen-jinja Shrine
Fuji Omuro Sengen-jinja Shrine
another entrance to Fuji Omuro Sengen-jinja Shrine
The modern part of the shrine, probably where the monks live and worship, is colorful and beautifully manicured.
Fuji Omuro Sengen-jinja Shrine
Fuji Omuro Sengen-jinja Shrine
cemetery at Fuji Omuro Sengen-jinja Shrine
cemetery at Fuji Omuro Sengen-jinja Shrine
Fuji Omuro Sengen-jinja Shrine
bell tower at Fuji Omuro Sengen-jinja Shrine
Fuji Omuro Sengen-jinja Shrine
Fuji Omuro Sengen-jinja Shrine
Fuji Omuro Sengen-jinja Shrine
After wandering around every corner of the shrine compound, I head back to the bus stop. According to the posted timetable, I just missed the bus to the train station. The next one isn’t for a half hour. It’s quite warm and there is no bench, so the half-hour drags on for what seems an eternity. While waiting, I wander around the adjacent area and capture a photo of Mt. Fuji at the end of a rural lane.
view of Mt. Fuji from the bus stop
Back at the station, I inquire about my options for returning home. I can either take a 2-hour bus to Machida for a pretty cheap price, or I can take the reserved seat express train to Hachioji. The cost is considerably more expensive for the express train, but for some reason, I always prefer the train to a bus, maybe because a bus has to contend with possible traffic jams. So I dish out 1,670 yen (~ $15) for the train ticket, leaving the station at 2:19 p.m. I’m told the 1,670 yen price is on top of the regular fare to get to Hachioji, but I figure that can’t be much. I scan the ticket and my Suica card at the same time to enter the station. The train is lovely, as express trains always are, and the trip is hassle free.
my ticket home
When I arrive at Hachioji, I have to transfer to the Yokohama Line to get back to my stop at Fuchinobe. I do so, and at Fuchinobe I put the ticket and my Suica through the entry gate only to have a loud beep go off. The flashing red light shows I don’t have enough fare on my Suica! I put 3,000 yen on my Suica before I left on Saturday, so I should have nearly 2,000 yen left on it. It can’t have cost me 2,000 yen in addition to the 1,670 I paid for that express ticket. I believe a mistake has been made and try to get to the bottom of it with the non-English speaking ticket taker. Things are tense for a while until someone shows up who can speak a bit of English. He tells me that yes, in fact, that express ticket was in addition to the normal 2,000 yen fare from Kawaguchi Station to Fuchinobe! That express train really did cost me then, a total of $33. I could have taken the bus for about a quarter of that price. If I had understood that cost before I left, I would have certainly opted for the bus.
I’m finding that it is quite expensive to travel in Japan. I wonder if my one week trip from August 1-8 will cost me whatever salary I’ve managed to save during my semester in Japan?
Total steps today: 16,360 (6.93 miles). 🙂
Sunday, June 4: As has been typical during my time in Japan, I wake up with the sun at 4:30 a.m. in my hotel in Kawaguchiko. Since Japan doesn’t observe Daylight Savings Time, the sunrise here is normally at around 4:30 a.m. and sunset is around 7:00 p.m. I prefer Virginia’s Daylight Savings Time, during which the sun rises at 5:45 and sets at 8:40 p.m. What good is all that extra summertime light if it’s so early in the morning that you’re not even awake to enjoy it?
Lying on my futon, wide awake at this ungodly hour, I remember that I can see Mt. Fuji out my hotel window, so I hop up for a sunrise view.
Sunrise view of Mt. Fuji from my hotel room
Sunrise view of Mt. Fuji from my hotel room
Sunrise view of Mt. Fuji from my hotel room
I finally get tired of hopping out of bed for views in the changing light. I guess I fall back to sleep briefly, because my next view is at 5:55 a.m. Much more reasonable. These sunrise views of Mt. Fuji are the only ones I get where the crown is not obscured by clouds.
Sunrise view of Mt. Fuji from my hotel room
After my 6 a.m. viewing, I can’t go back to sleep, so I put the hotel robe on to go down to the onsen. There are no meals served at my hotel, so the sooner I get bathed and dressed, the sooner I can go in search of coffee and breakfast.
By about 8 a.m., following a leisurely soak in the onsen, and after getting dressed, I ponder whether I should check out or keep my room while I go out for breakfast. I don’t know where I’ll end up going for breakfast, and it might be a pain to have to make it back to the hotel by the 10:00 check-out time. Finally, I decide I’ll just check out, leaving my bag at the hotel desk. I head out toward the lake to explore. Baffled, I find, just as I found when looking for a dinner restaurant last night, that no cafes are open until 9:00. I have nowhere to go! I stop back by the hotel, since it’s not far from the lake, and ask if I can have my room back. At least I could lie around until 9:00. But the lady tells me they’ve already started cleaning it, so I can’t have it back. I complain that I can’t find any breakfast or coffee, and she points me in the direction of the Family Mart, where I have a cup of coffee and a doughnut with pink icing while sitting at the perimeter counter.
After leaving Family Mart, I head straight for Kawaguchiko Ohashi bridge, which I walked over yesterday; I’m still hoping to get that upside-down view of Fuji. At this point, I’ve been up for hours and it’s only 8:30 a.m.!
early morning walk across the Kawaguchiko Ohashi bridge
I still can’t find the sacred mountain reflected in the lake, no matter how much I want to see it.
early morning walk across the Kawaguchiko Ohashi bridge
This time, I’m heading to the northwest side of the lake. I want to visit the Itchiku Kubota Art Museum and an onsen near the museum that has an outdoor bath. I don’t know why I can never resist soaking in a hot bath in an outdoor setting.
early morning walk across the Kawaguchiko Ohashi bridge – view west
The weather today is fabulous, just like it was yesterday. I lucked out this weekend. It’s in the low 70s with a nice breeze and low humidity. In my book, that’s the perfect weather, although the high 60s is even better. 🙂
early morning walk across the Kawaguchiko Ohashi bridge – view west
western part of Kawaguchiko
After crossing the bridge, I follow the brick walkway to the west, where I find this painted manhole cover featuring Mt. Fuji.
manhole covers at Kawaguchiko
The views from the northwest shore are beautiful this morning, although much of Fuji’s top is hugged by clouds.
walk along the shore of Kawaguchiko
path along the shore
Mt. Fuji through the weeping willows
Italian cypress trees along Kawaguchiko
I find a tiny shrine tucked into the trees along the path.
ema at a small shrine
small shrine at Kawaguchiko
view of Fuji from the northwest shore
view of Fuji from the northwest shore
By 9:30, after quite a long walk, I come to the Itchiku Kubota Art Museum. This museum features huge kimono with intricate scenes created with labor-intensive silk dyeing.
According to the museum’s website, Itchiku Kubota (1917-2003) is considered the most important Japanese textile artist of the 20th century. He revived the lost art of Tsujigahana silk dyeing, used to decorate elaborate kimono during the Muromachi Period (1333-1573).
According to japan-guide.com, in his early twenties, the artist was so inspired by a Tsujigahana textile fragment exhibited at the Tokyo National Museum, that he devoted the rest of his life to recreating and mastering the labor-intensive silk dyeing technique.
Itchiku Kubota Art Museum
The Gaudi inspired museum is a natural shrine to the artist’s work.
Itchiku Kubota Art Museum
The Kubota Collection consists of 104 artistic kimono including kimono from the Mount Fuji series, some individual pieces and Kubota’s lifetime project “The Symphony of Light.” A masterpiece left incomplete at the time of his death, this series consisted of 36 kimono (he had intended to make 80). Each work is designed to be an atmospherical painting of a certain season, element or setting, but is also part of a more important landscape which is magically unveiled once the kimono are placed next to each other (Collection Highlights). This project of scene-painted kimono reminds me very much of the silk screen paintings I saw in the Nezu Museum.
As is typical in Japanese museums, I’m not allowed to take photos. Sadly, the gift shop doesn’t even carry any postcards of these wonderful kimono. Visiting the website seems the best option to experience these masterpieces. 🙂 You can also see some photos here: is japan cool? Itchiku Kubota Art Museum.
Itchiku Kubota Art Museum
There is also a beautiful garden attached to the museum, with free-floating doorways offering glimpses of shaded leafy pathways.
gate at the Itchiku Kubota Art Museum
thatched wall at the Itchiku Kubota Art Museum
Itchiku Kubota’s former workshop is now a tea room where one can sit and enjoy views of the waterfall, pond and tropical foliage.
entrance to Japanese teahouse “Itchiku-an”
Japanese teahouse “Itchiku-an”
garden view from the Japanese teahouse “Itchiku-an”
garden view from the Japanese teahouse “Itchiku-an”
garden view from the Japanese teahouse “Itchiku-an”
Architectural features are scattered throughout the garden of the Itchiku Kubota Art Museum.
pavilion and garden at Itchiku Kubota Art Museum
garden at Itchiku Kubota Art Museum
garden at Itchiku Kubota Art Museum
garden at Itchiku Kubota Art Museum
gate without walls Itchiku Kubota Art Museum
garden at Itchiku Kubota Art Museum
garden at Itchiku Kubota Art Museum
Itchiku Kubota Art Museum
Itchiku Kubota Art Museum
Itchiku Kubota Art Museum
After leaving the museum, I trudge up a steep hill to Tensui Kawaguchiko. Although I already had an indoor onsen experience at my hotel this morning, I’m enticed by the outdoor bath. Though I enjoy it, I’m a little too antsy to stay long. About half the pools are warm and the other half are cool, and there are ants swarming all over the rocks. I don’t stay long enough to get my money’s worth out of it.
Tensui Kawaguchiko
Tensui Kawaguchiko
Tensui Kawaguchiko
I catch the Sightseeing Bus back to the Kawaguchiko Hall of Herb & Fragrance, where I enjoy a lavender and vanilla soft ice cream cone.
lavender & vanilla ice cream at the Kawaguchiko Herb Hall
I feel tired from all my walking yesterday and this morning, so I think I might just go back to the train station. After all, how many views can one see of Mt. Fuji?
pretty hotel at Kawaguchiko
I return to my hotel, pick up my bag, and ask the owner if I can get a ride to the train station. Before I leave the area, I plan to catch a bus from the station to Fujiyoshida Sengen Shrine, a shrine dedicated to Princess Konohanasakuya, the Shinto deity associated with Mt. Fuji. When I inquire about this bus, I found I have just missed it, and the next one won’t be for another hour.
I tell the woman at the ticket counter that I might as well just get my ticket to return home. After all, I don’t want to wait around at the station for an hour. She tells me there are a number of Sengen shrines around Fuji and I can easily visit another one, Fuji Omuro Sengen-jinja, on the Sightseeing Bus. I was just on the Sightseeing Bus from the museum, and I could have just stayed on it to the shrine. I’ve wasted all this time going to the station and now have to backtrack to the southwestern side of Lake Kawaguchi. I debate as to whether I should go to all this effort and in the end I decide it’s probably too early to return home when there is more I can see here. As it’s probably unlikely I will ever return here, I might as well make the effort. I put my bag in a coin locker, and hop back on the sightseeing bus for Fuji Omuro Sengen Shrine.
Saturday, June 3: After returning to Kawaguchiko Station from Fujiyoshida, I inquire about the Sightseeing Bus. There are three lines, the Red Line, which goes around Kawaguchiko; the Green Line, which goes to Lake Saiko; and the Blue Line to Lake Shojiko. I can buy a combination Red and Green Line ticket for 1,300 yen, or a ticket for all three lines for 1,500 yen. I buy the 1,300 ticket for the Red and Green Lines because I don’t see how I’ll have time to travel around on all three lines as it’s already late Saturday afternoon and I have to return home on Sunday afternoon. I should have done my research better, however, because there are no views of Fuji from Lake Saiko on the Green Line, while there are supposedly wonderful views from Lake Shojiko.
No matter. It turns out I will not get my money’s worth out of the ticket I buy, as I barely use the bus. I use it from the station to get to the Mt. Kachi Kachi Ropeway, and after that, I don’t use it for the rest of the day.
When I arrive at the Mt. Kachi Kachi Ropeway 1t 4:15, there is no queue; I walk right up to the cable car and get in. It’s packed, but at least the ride is short. As we go up, I get a fabulous view of Lake Kawaguchi.
Kawaguchiko from the Mt. Kachi Kachi Ropeway
The bridge over the middle of the lake, the Kawaguchiko Ohashi bridge, is called by some the “upside-down bridge,” because on a clear day when the lake is smooth, one can see an upside down reflection of Mt. Fuji. I won’t be lucky enough to have either one of those conditions when I walk over the bridge later this afternoon.
Kawaguchiko from the Mt. Kachi Kachi Ropeway
At the top of Mt. Kachi Kachi, I have another view of Mt. Fuji, but it pales in comparison to the view I had at Chureito Pagoda earlier today.
Mt. Fuji from Mt. Kachi Kachi viewpoint
view from Mt. Kachi Kachi viewpoint
view of Mt. Fuji from Mt. Kachi Kachi viewpoint
Right before I get back on the cable car, I enjoy a very brief glimpse of the lake before I’m hurried along by the ropeway operator.
Kawaguchi-ko from Mt. Kachi Kachi
Mt. Kachi Kachi ropeway
The Ropeway is a short diversion; I have bigger plans. I want to walk across the upside-down bridge to see if I can get the upside-down view of Fuji. I walk from the Ropeway along the south side of the lake until I come to the touristy Kawaguchiko Herb Hall, an herb-themed tourist spot located near the Kwaguchikohan-Oike Park. The Hall offers craft classes with dried flowers and, at the Perfume-House annex, a chance to create scented aromas. Herb goods are also on sale (Official Travel Guide Yamanashi: Kawaguchiko Herb Hall).
I was told by a Japanese friend that in the Hall, I could taste lavender soft ice cream. I feel like I should try it out, but as I had that huge lunch of Houtou earlier, and I plan to have dinner at an Indian restaurant I saw while on the Sightseeing Bus, I decide to forego it. Maybe I can try it tomorrow.
Kawaguchiko Herb Hall
My plan at this point is simply to walk across the bridge to check out the view. I begin my walk at Kwaguchikohan-Oike Park.
Kawaguchiko
paddle boats at Kawaguchiko
Kawaguchiko
Before long, I’m on the bridge and the wind is blowing like crazy. I feel like it could pick me up and toss me into the lake. The surface of the lake is full of wrinkles from the wind, and Fuji is half enveloped in clouds. There is no upside-down view today.
Kawaguchiko and Mt. Fuji
Kawaguchiko and Mt. Fuji
Kawaguchiko
Kawaguchiko
Kawaguchiko
Kawaguchiko from the Kawaguchiko Ohashi bridge
I keep walking further and further across the bridge, hoping for that elusive view. Before I know it, I’m on the other side of the lake.
Kawaguchiko and Mt. Fuji from the Kawaguchiko Ohashi bridge
Kawaguchiko and Mt. Fuji from the Kawaguchiko Ohashi bridge
Now that I’ve walked this far, rather than backtracking across the bridge, I might as well continue all the way around the lake. As I walk along the north shore, I can see Mt. Fuji the whole way.
the Kawaguchiko Ohashi bridge
view of Mt. Fuji from the northern shore of Kawaguchiko
the north shore of Kawaguchiko
view of Mt. Fuji from the north shore of Kawaguchiko
Mt. Fuji from the north shore of Kawaguchiko
Mt. Fuji from the north shore of Kawaguchiko
Mt. Fuji from the north shore of Kawaguchiko
Mt. Fuji and paddle boats
As I approach the east side of the lake, Mt. Fuji is eclipsed by Mt. Kachi Kachi. The walk is longer than it looked when I first got on the bridge, but I have no choice now but to keep going.
continuing around the lake and last view of Fuji
looking to the north at Kawaguchiko
lush beauty
After my hour and 15 minute walk around the lake, where I search unsuccessfully for a place to eat dinner, I head back to my hotel. All I find around the entire lake are hotels; I can’t believe there are no restaurants. There is the Indian restaurant I had seen earlier, but when I pop in there, I ask if they serve beer and they say no. I thank them and walk back out; after all, what’s a holiday without beer?
Outside my hotel, before going in, I see a fabulous view of Mt. Fuji. The clouds have lifted slightly and I can see the snow-capped crown. Granted, there is a commercial area between the hotel and the mountain, but it doesn’t detract too much from the view.
view of Mt. Fuji from outside my hotel
At my hotel, which serves no food, I ask the proprietors where I can eat. The young man tells me there is a ramen place about a 20-minute walk up the road! A twenty-minute walk?? This after I not only walked up to the Chureito Pagoda but also walked around the east end of Kawaguchiko!
I’m too exhausted to walk 20 minutes. I try to explain that I just walked around the lake and I am tired, hoping he will offer to drive me to a restaurant. Instead, he motions for me to wait and he disappears to the parking lot. I think, Great! He’s going to drive me. Instead he brings me a bicycle. He says it is his bicycle and he proudly hands it over. I take it, relieved I don’t have to walk another 40 minutes to and from the restaurant.
my hotel: Taiheikan
When I get on the bicycle, my happiness about my newfound transportation quickly evaporates. Like most Asian bicycles I’ve encountered, the seat is way too low and I can’t seem to adjust it. I start pedaling, but it is hard on my knees with that low seat. Besides, the road is a steady uphill. I end up getting off the bicycle and walking to the restaurant, pushing the bicycle the whole way. 🙂
As I go up the road, I pass another branch of the Indian restaurant, but I figure they will not serve beer either, since the sister branch didn’t. I arrive at the ramen restaurant, where the menu is all in Japanese and no one in the restaurant speaks any English. Nor does the waiter seem to want to help me figure things out; after all, I’m the only foreigner in the place. I end up ordering a small order of fries and a beer, thinking that after I enjoy my beer, I’ll return to the Indian restaurant for dinner.
Leaving the ramen restaurant, I now have a long downhill ahead of me. I get on the bicycle, and coast down the road at high-speed, without having to use those pedals even once!
At the “Alladin Indo Resturent,” as soon as I look at the menu, I see they serve beer! Great. I could have just come here in the first place. Since I ended up having two beers at the ramen restaurant, I don’t order one here. However, I do enjoy a great Indian meal of vegetable curry with naan.
dinner at “Alladin Indo Resturent”
“Alladin Indo Resturent”
Back in my cozy Japanese room, I decide to go downstairs and check out the hotel onsen. The hotel provides a nice robe and towel, which I put on.
my Japanese-style room at Taiheikan
me preparing to go to the onsen at Taiheikan
In my robe, and with my towel, I go down to the onsen, which is nicer than the one at my hotel in Hakone. I soak in the hot bath for a good long while, enjoying having it all to myself. Back in my room, I feel wonderfully relaxed. It’s a good thing I’m tired because the wi-fi in the room doesn’t work at all, even though the hotel’s Agoda listing promised “free wi-fi.” Still, it is a much nicer hotel than the one I had in Hakone, and for the same price.
Between the two beers, the Indian curry and naan, my exhaustion from a day of travel, climbing and walking, and the hot soak, I feel very relaxed indeed.
Total steps today: 19,490 (8.26 miles). 🙂
catbird in japan 