I've got to say, we were very lucky with the weather. We had just a couple of rainy days (in more than two weeks), and nice weather when it really counted. Such as our last full day in Japan, when we really needed it to be clear and sunny, for Mount Fuji to be visible. And that's what we got!
We started by walking to the ropeway station from our hotel and taking the ropeway up...
... and there it was!!!!!! Unbelievable...
This view is from the top station of the ropeway, but there are also several observation platforms, each one providing a slightly different view..
Apparently Mt. Kachi Kachi (Click-Clack Mountain), where the ropeway is located, is somehow connected to a fairy tale involving an old man, an old woman - his wife, a racoon (the villain), and a rabbit (the main positive hero). We got the short version on the way up, and I found it pretty gruesome, but if you are interested, you can find more information here. The bottom line, the rabbit is the good guy, and so there is a Usagi Shrine near the top station of the ropeway, with two rabbits. The one on the left, standing upright, is Fujimi rabbit. Visitors rub its legs in the belief that doing so will heal their legs and help with walking/hiking. The one on the right, curled up with its face covered, is Yumemi rabbit. Stroking this statue is thought to bestow wisdom upon the visitor.
After going to all the possible observation platforms (and me touching the foot of the standing rabbit), we took the ropeway back down and drove to Oshino hakkai, a small village with several ponds and views of Mount Fuji. It turned out to be a very crowded touristy place.
We had lunch there, and then I had coffee at a different place, on a tatami with a view of Mount Fuji through the window.
Then we drove to Sora no iro, an observation platform on a mountain slope across from Mount Fuji. The views from there were absolutely breathtaking! It was very peaceful and uncrowded, too, probably because to get there, one has to drive 4 km along a very narrow winding road (which Alex did successfully but I would never dare).
Finally, we returned to an observation point right on our lake. Here is a photo with the bridge that we see from our hotel window...
... and a short video spanning all the way from our hotel on the left to Mount Fuji on the right.
Overall, I took possibly several hundred photos of Mount Fuji, but exercised restraint here and posted just a few of the best ones.
> Day 18
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