Japan, Day 5: Mt Fuji

Why had we come all the way to Kawaguchiko, you may ask. Why, it is to see Mount Fuji! I had heard that this town would provide one of the best views of Japan's most famous mountain. An almost perfectly shaped dormant volcanic mountain.

Already from the balcony of the apartment, we could see Mount Fuji but trees were blocking most of our view. A much better sight would be afforded down in the street, so we believed. So we rushed down to the ground floor. Nope, the view was still obliterated by trees. Then we walked out to the road and lo! There before us was the magnificent snow-capped mountain. I haven't seen my son and daughter so excited before on their travels with us.

This was the same picture that i had posted up on facebook last October but here, the mountain looks much more impressive. In the background is the Kawaguchiko train and bus station.

 
The other place that had interested me while deciding on visiting this town was the nearby lake Kawaguchi. It's possible to walk there but the other option is to rent a bicycle. Cycling there was easy. From the town to the lake, it was a very gradual gradient. In no time at all we reached the lake. It was now time to marvel at the sights there. We were lucky that Kawaguchiko was at a higher altitude as compared to Tokyo. It being cooler, autumn had brought about an earlier display of glorious colours. We lingered for a while before cycling back to the bicycle rental shop. And now came the hard part of challenging gravity as we cycled back to the town. Before long, I gave up and resorted to pushing the bike along. Oh well, so much for my fitness.