The highlight of the week was a day trip to Mt Fuji. We won't talk about the traffic. Suffice it to say that most of Tokyo must have been on the same road as us. Mt Fuji is about (!) two hours south west of Tokyo. The approach is magnificent and literally takes your breath away. The picture above was taken from the car as we got closer to the mountain. We were able to drive to the 5th station, which is over 7,500 feet up the mountain (total height:12, 288 feet) and walk around in the still snow-covered area. Mt Fuji is still an active volcano, but last erupted in 1707 and is regarded as having a low risk of eruption. The mountain is said to be very "shy" and is frequently wreathed in clouds and not visible from below. We were so lucky to be there on a clear day with wonderful views.
As you can see from the photograph of Tony, even halfway up the mountain, the day was clear and bright. Mt Fuji is the subject of countless paintings and woodblock prints. It is supposed to have mystical elements and the 5th stage is the division between earthly and heavenly realms. It can take 10 hours to climb to the summit from the 5th station and is only undertaken in the summer months. We decided to enjoy our halfway-up spot and leave it at that!
The area around the mountain has some lovely lakes and is going to be somewhere we would love to revisit for a long weekend. Even the four hour homeward drive did not dampen our enjoyment of the day.
