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| Yes, we slept on double foutons. Warm, but perhaps a lot firmer than we are used to. |
Just maybe the sun would come out today after all, and maybe we get good a glimpse of Mt. Fuji.
I love the mornings when we are not on an organized tour..no timetable except our own. We got up, opened the rice paper doors to the outside and soaked in all the shades of green of a late summer, early fall day while we ate our breakfast,
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| View out our window |
Our plan for the day was really simple, to visit Lake Ashi and see if we could glimpse Mt Fuji. We only had to drive about 15 minutes to the Onshi-Hakone Park in Kanagawa Prefecture. From our research, this would be the best place to see Mount Fuji. The park is the restored sight of the Hakone Sekisho checkpoint (immigration control) from Kyoto to Tokyo, and the Imperial Summer Palace.
The Sekisho check point started in the early 700's, but became coordinated and systematic in the 1600's and lasted until 1869.
Much like the TSA, men and women passed through the security gates on their way into Tokyo. Their identities were scrutinized, hats off, coats examined for weapons and other contraband. The checkpoint was manned by foot soldiers and administrative staff who lived in the buildings.
On the way out of Tokyo, then Edo, women were highly scrutinized. The Shoguns typically held the wives of their noblemen hostage while the nobles an their retinue were in town to make sure that they did not overthrow the Shoguns and did their bidding without question.
We walk through the museum and the outdoor check point exhibit, frequently looking towards the cloud shrouded mountains across Lake Ashi for any sign of Mt. Fuji.
We see tourist boats and fishing boats, and lots of clouds. We aren't even sure we are looking in the right direction. It could be straight ahead, to the left, to the right. Or perhaps it is just a myth.
This park also is the site of the imperial summer palace built in western colonial style in the late 1800's.
The view from the palace of Mt Fuji, if one can see Mt. Fuji, is supposed to be the best on the lake. We climb the hill through the Avenue of Cedars, first planted in 1619.
the sun pokes out occasionally, but still no sign of Fuji.
Inside the imperial palace today, there is a tea room with a balcony.
We climb the stairs, and step out on the balcony where we still cannot see the mountain, and then as if by magic, the clouds begin to evaporate from the top of the mountain. Wow!
Mt. Fuji as we saw it today is not the iconic snow-capped Fuji we've seen on post cards. It is fall after a warm summer. The snow is gone, but the volcano is still there, sometimes peaking out from behind the clouds or showing more of its glory as the clouds mist away and then in again. We feel lucky to have seen it.
We eat our picnic lunch and leave the park and drive along the lake.
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| Hakone Shrine |
Mt Ashi is about the same latitude aa Portland, Oregon. It is misty, wet, lush, and green. The vegetation and trees seem to reach out and grab at us as we drive along the road.
What we thought would be scenic wasn't. Too many trees and relatively no pull out vistas. By this time it is nearly 4:00, we stop to replenish our groceries and pickup something for dinner and head back to our retreat house, but not before we stop by to look at the neighborhood golf course...not public, but a private club with two 18 hole courses. Green fees for 18 holes are $241.00 per person. Oh well, we were too tired to play 18 anyway. Fun to look at.
Because we are in a geothermal, volcanic area, their are many hot springs available, one directly across from the golf course.
We head home for noodle soup, wontons, salad, and wine. Tomorrow we drive to the five lakes area on the western side of Mt. Fuji, and if we are lucky we may see more of the mountain.
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