Japan Days 23-25: Mount Fuji

With a long travel day ahead of us, we left our ryokan at 6 am. We were enveloped in mountains just peering out above the early morning mist. The road winded through them then shot straight ahead via long tunnels that included off-shoot roads and entry points. We took a morning stretch at a random playground in an industrial park, then were back on the road again.

It happened quite suddenly. We rounded a bend, the trees fell away, and there it was, looming before us like the floating head in the Wizard of Oz. Fuji. There was a collective sigh between us as we realized this wouldn't turn into another Mount Cook debacle. The accommodation we were headed towards boasted Fuji views from a private balcony, and we were really hoping for a couple of days of relaxation enjoying this view.

But we had to get there first. Our next stop coincided nicely with our need to get Baby out of the car seat and our desire to see Fuji at its best: with copious cherry trees framing its figure. We'd been following the blossom forecast and it appeared that we may have timed it perfectly for full bloom for the weeping cherry trees at Saiko No Sato.

We stopped on our way in at a delicious burger joint and were excited to see a weeping cherry tree outside with gorgeous blossoms on it. When we finally found our way up the road to the open-air museum, we could not be happier. We feel the pictures pretty much speak for themselves here.



We continued onwards, having to get to the exact opposite side of the imposing mountain. In the process of stocking up on groceries in a nearby town, we lost one of our Bunny rattles, Baby's greatest inanimate comfort, and were relieved to be able to pull another swiftly from our packs and Baby was none the wiser.

At last we turned up the narrow crumbling street and drove to the very end and through the gates of our villa for the next few days. This wonderful rental allowed us to relax and make sure that we were rested for the upcoming transpacific flight home. We've seen a lot this trip: hoofed it around cities, basked in blossoms galore, slurped up soba, caught glimpses of Geisha, but there is something to be said for a little bit of family time rolling balls around and appreciating the change we've seen in our daughter over the last four weeks. We couldn't be happier!

The actual view from our private balcony!