JVlog #20: Mount Fuji & Lake Kawaguchiko Day 1 Part 1 - The Kachi Kachi Ropeway

Good Day Everyone,

Before leaving Japan, hubby and I were very keen to go see Mount Fuji closer up and today I’m bringing you the first part of our two day trip to Mount Fuji and the Fuji Five Lakes. There are many organised tours and day trips to the area surrounding Mount Fuji, and if you are pushed for time then these are definitely a good option, especially if you don’t speak Japanese. However, we opted not to go down this route because, firstly the organised tours typically depart from Tokyo (and we were living in Yokohama), secondly as we weren’t pushed for time we wanted the freedom to go where we wanted (rather than where the tour took us) and do what we fancied rather than adhering to a schedule, and finally the organised tours were working out to be more expensive compared to doing it ourselves. We opted to go on our trip mid-week in order to avoid the weekend rush.

Mount Fuji from the Kachi Kachi Ropeway observation deck

Mount Fuji is surrounded by five lakes to its northern side and after a lot of online research we decided to head to Lake Kawaguchiko, the second largest of the five lakes as this is the most developed, and recommended as being most suitable for non-Japanese speaking tourists. Hubby had managed to find a travel agency near Yokohama station that offered a coach service directly to Lake Kawaguchiko, taking about 2.5hrs. Although Kawaguchiko has a train station, there are no direct services from Yokohama.

I woke up super excited on the day we were leaving because not only was the trip a welcomed break from all the packing but it was also a dream coming true, to go see Mount Fuji. We had an early start that day as the coach departed from Yokohama at 7.30am but hubby and I both manage to snooze on the journey since it took an hour longer than expected due to heavy traffic. 

Kawaguchiko Station with Mount Fuji behind it

As you can see in the video below, it was absolutely amazing to get off the coach at Kawaguchiko station only to see Mount Fuji behind the station. We headed to our hotel which was directly across the road from the station to drop off our overnight bag, and then we went straight to tourist information. Luckily, the staff at tourist information spoke good English and provided us with maps in English and directions to our first attraction, Lake Kawaguchiko. The lake is just a short 15min walk from the station. At the lake there are paddle boats for hire and boat trips that take you around the lake. You can’t see Mount Fuji from Lake Kawaguchiko unless you go further out into the lake on one of the boats. The lake is surrounded by beautiful mountains, some with snow-capped peaks in the distance. There are a few cafes, restaurants, tourist shops and convenience stores on the main road leading to and around the lake.

After admiring the lake we walked towards Mount Tenjo to get the Kachi Kachi Ropeway, a cable car ride, up the mountain. A return journey costs ¥720 per person but there is also a hiking trail back down the mountain which takes about 30mins. The ropeway is open from 9am-5.20pm and the journey up takes just 3mins. The Kachi Kachi Ropeway is decorated with large rabbit and raccoon cartoon characters as Mount Tenjo is the setting of a folk story in which a rabbit gets revenge on a thieving raccoon by setting him on fire and drowning him in a river… not the most pleasant of stories but at least the cartoons are cute ;o). 

Lake Kawaguchiko

At the top of the ropeway, which ascends 400 meters, is an observation deck sitting more than 1,000 meters above sea level with the most breath taking views of Mount Fuji, Lake Kawaguchiko and the Fuji-Q Highland amusement park with its Guinness World Record breaking roller coasters. Whilst I love the excitement of amusement parks and crazy rides, neither hubby or I actually tend to go on them due to our joint problems which is why we prioritised other sights over Fuji-Q. However, if its something that you enjoy then I'd highly recommend a visit. You can pay an entrance fee and then pay per ride or alternatively you can get an all inclusive ticket which gives you access to all of the rides - great for thrill seekers!

Fuji-Q Highland Amusement Park

There is a small shop at the observation deck where I indulged in an ice lolly made with water from Mount Fuji to cool down as it was quite a hot and humid day, before we made our way back down the mountain to go eat our lunch by the lake. We still had a while before we could check into our hotel room so we headed back towards Kawaguchiko station and passed some time in a little coffee shop, whilst sheltering from the afternoon sun.

Most hotels around the Fuji Five Lakes area offer a whole Japanese experience where your breakfast and a traditional evening meal is included, and you sleep on a Japanese style bed. Hubby and I did not want this as we’re not fans of Japanese food and have a number of dietary restrictions. Plus as we were only there for one night we literally just needed a place to sleep and so opted for a room only hotel stay. Whilst our room was very basic and worn, it was clean and conveniently located across the road from the station, plus for ¥9,500 it was pretty cheap, although that was reflected in the quality of the mattress! Given that we were only in Kawaguchiko for one night we didn’t want to splash out on a fancy hotel when we’d be spending most of our time outside, doing the sights. After a brief rest we headed back out to visit one of the most famous pagodas in Japan, The Chureito Pagoda. To be continued....

I hope you enjoyed part one of our trip. Part two shall be coming soon :o).

Love Sheen xxx

Moving On

Good Day Everyone,

I hope you’re all keeping well. It certainly has been a while since I sat down to write a blog post! Life has been all sorts of craziness these past couple of months but things have finally settled down, albeit only for a short while ;o).

As you may know, our Japan adventure came to an end in May. Japan was always going to be a short term thing, and I know some people may question whether it was actually worth it for just nine months. Moving to a new country requires a significant investment of time, energy and money but for us it was totally worth it. Japan is sooo unique and different to anywhere else in the world that we just couldn’t pass it up when the opportunity arose. Having visited Japan a few months prior to moving there, I can tell you that living in a country is a completely different experience to visiting the country as a tourist.

Mount Fuji

Once we found out that our Japan adventure was coming to an end, there was one trip that we just had to make, and that was to go see Mount Fuji. This famous sacred mountain is visible from Yokohama, where we lived, on a clear day but we just had to go see it closer up. Fuji-San (as it’s known locally) is surrounded by five lakes to its northern side, and so hubby and I planned a two day trip to the Fuji Five Lakes. This is what will be coming up in subsequent blog posts and on my YouTube channel.

Our last sunrise from our Yokohama apartment

We spent most of May in a bit of a whirlwind. We had days where we were drowning in bubble wrap as we started to pack up our belongings into shipping boxes, and days where we were rushing around taking in some last minute sights. I tried to capture as much as I could on my vlogging camera so that I could continue making videos about Japan once we returned to the UK. My arthritis riddled body can capture footage more easily than it can edit it into vlogs so please bear with me.

We also had the challenge of selling all of our furniture that we’d only recently bought. We soon learnt that Japan does not have a big second hand market and recycling furniture is a very costly affair. If we hadn’t managed to sell our furniture, we’d have had to pay a lot of money to have it collected by a recycling firm. This explains why expats often give their furniture away for free on the local Craigslist. Luckily for us, we managed to sell everything, albeit at a fraction of the price we paid, with just a week to go!

This meant that we then had to spend our last week staying in various hotels. We spent three nights in Tokyo and used it as an opportunity to visit a few of the sights (I’m sure there will be a blog post &/or vlog coming soon). The rest of the week was spent in Yokohama liaising with the local authorities and utility companies to wrap things up before we left.

On our way back to the UK, we stopped off in Singapore for six days to de-stress as the last couple of weeks in Japan were pretty taxing, and to catch up with friends. It was sooo good to be in a country where we could speak the language and get vegetarian and halal food ;o). I did do a bit of vlogging whilst in Singapore and will post that on my YouTube channel soon.

Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore

The iconic Singapore Merlion

We adjusted to being back in Singapore so easily that it was a bit like coming home, although I had forgotten just how hot and humid Singapore was! The heat definitely got to me, as did the stress of the move and consequently I spent a couple of days on bed rest as my body started to react to the past few weeks. The six days went by way too quickly and before we knew it we were on another plane making our way back to the UK.

Cora the Caravan - our current home

We’ve not been back a month yet and already Japan and Singapore feel like distant memories, more so for me, as hubby has had a trip back to Singapore for work purposes. It feels strange to be back in the UK after four years of living in Asia. And what feels even stranger is living in a caravan…that’s right, hubby and I are currently living in a caravan. Not something I ever imagined doing but then again, I never imagined living in Japan either ;o).

Love Sheen xxx

JVlog #19: Tokyo Bay Cruise & A Japanese Garden

Good Day Everyone,

Hubby had a follow up appointment recently with the specialist about his back, near Tokyo Tower and so we decided to make a day of it. It was nice to admire Tokyo Tower again but this time against the backdrop of a bight blue sky. We also took this as an opportunity to head back to Le Pain for some delicious breakfast.

Tokyo Bay with Tokyo SkyTree in the distance

Since it was a beautiful blue sky day we decided to walk towards Tokyo Bay to see if we could get on a cruise. Along the way we came across a glasses cleaning machine placed outside an opticians that passersby could use for free, and hubby did... twice ;o). Very cool, don't you think? You can see more in the video below.

As we wandered towards the bay we came across the Kyu Shiba Rikyu Garden near Hamamatsucho Station. Given that it was such a warm sunny day we paid the ¥150 (each) to enjoy this classic Japanese landscape garden.

The garden consists of a pond with turtles and koi carp fish, little man made hills, beautiful bamboo fencing and red maple trees.This little oasis is surrounded by tall office buildings in the middle of Tokyo, and there were several office workers having their lunch in the garden whilst enjoying the glorious weather.    

Hubby and I love Japanese gardens. They are very tranquil places even when surrounded by the craziness of a 24hr city like Tokyo. We especially love the use of bamboo, which is an incredibly versatile and beautiful material, and water for it's calming effect. There was also a couple in traditional Japanese dress having their wedding photos taken which was really interesting to see :o).

As we left the garden, we took the escalators across the road to watch the Shinkansen (bullet) trains go by. Hubby and I never tire of watching these beauties that epitomise Japanese engineering. The bullet trains have a rather majestic aura, with their long sleek noses and even longer bodies.

We then followed the main road down to the bay which brought us to New Pier Takeshiba. From there we followed the monorail line, pass The Intercontinental Tokyo Bay hotel, to Hinode Pier. At the Hinode Terminal there was a counter for cruise company, Symphony Cruise, and so we inquired about availability for that afternoon.

Whilst none of the employees spoke enough English for us to communicate with them, the cruise company did have leaflets with both English and Japanese information about the different cruise options, routes, prices and times. With a bit of pointing and hand gesturing we are able to convey what we wanted :o). We opted for the afternoon cruise which was 50mins and cost ¥1,500 (each). 

Rainbow Bridge

Daikanransha ferris wheel at Odaiba in the distance

The iconic Fuji TV building at Odaiba

The cruise was a lovely way to give our feet some rest and enjoy the sights of Tokyo. I'd definitely recommend it if you're ever in Tokyo as it's a great way to see some iconic structures. We could see both Tokyo Tower and Tokyo SkyTree, as well as iconic landmarks at Odaiba island. As it was quite a clear day we could even see planes coming into land, just above the water line in the distance, at Haneda airport.

The Tokyo Towers - Mid Tower & Sea Tower

A plane coming into land at Haneda Airport in the distance

Symphony Cruise also do a lunch, sunset and dinner cruise with a choice of French, Italian or Japanese cuisine. These cruises are longer (2-2.5hrs) and the cruise route goes further out than the afternoon cruise that we did. Prices range from ¥5,000 - ¥20,000. The Symphony Cruise website is in both Japanese and English and here is the link, in case you're interested :o).

I hope you enjoyed this blog post and video of our day out in Tokyo. I'm sorry that I'm a bit slow in getting my blog posts and videos up at the moment but things are pretty hectic with our move. Hopefully, when things settle down in a few weeks, I can get in to a routine again.

Love Sheen xxx