Every time we have had visitors in the past I have always asked if there was something they wanted to see or do while on their visit. My parents were no exception. They did not immediately answer, but after a few days they decided that they would like to see Mt Fuji. I explained that now was rainy season in Japan, and that it was no problem to go, but that we may not be able to see anything. They agreed to take the risk, so on Friday we headed back to Gotenba to stay at the hotel/cottage in the mountain side. During the drive the rain and wind gradually picked up to the point that the car was blowing around on the road. We arrived at the hotel and checked in to get the cabin keys. When I was parking the car I saw the biggest frog I have seen in my life. It was sitting in the middle of the road to the cabin. I had to get out of the car to move it before I could park. You can see it in the picture below..
All night the wind and rain was furious. I actually had trouble sleeping because it was so loud. It was similar to when we have had typhoons hit our home in Tochigi. In the morning we got up and looked out the windows to see if we could see Fuji or not. It was so foggy that we couldn't see anything farther than a few hundred feet.
Since we couldn't see anything I decided we should drive to Owakudani first. That is the place with the black eggs that are supposed to extend your life. I figured that may give a little time for the fog to burn off and then maybe we would have a shot at seeing Fuji. The drive there was a bit challenging as it was difficult to see the road. We walked the trail to the black eggs. It was not scenic at all as we couldn't really see anything. It was not raining, but there was so much moisture in the air that we all got wet.
I was able to grab a picture of one of the workers dipping the eggs in the boiling goo to cook them.
Kate peeling her egg, and Erin having a fun time in the outdoors.
Grandma and grandpa peeling their eggs to eat them.
The cables for the ropeway that brings fresh eggs up and sends cooked eggs down disappeared into the fog. I said it reminded me of a Steven King movie. I could imagine the cables creaking as the basket slowly approached its destination and finally arriving out of the fog carrying some kind of horrific payload.
I had planned a couple of other stops in this area, but each one involved seeing mount fuji. Example: A five story pagoda..... with Mt Fuji in the background, or a Tori gate..... with Mt Fuji in the background. You get the point. Since we could not see our hands in front of our face, let alone Fuji, I decided we should drive to Gogome (5th station of Fuji) and see if we could get above the clouds to see something. As we drove toward Fuji the clouds got a little thinner and we could see a hint of brightness from the sun. All of the sudden the clouds shifted a little and we could catch a glimpse of Fuji.
As we got closer to the North side of Fuji the clouds cleared even more and we could actually see the entire mountain. The clouds were covering the south side, but the north side was completely clear.
We could see the mountain the entire drive up to the 5th station. That is the highest you can go by car up the mountain. At the fifth station we decided we should all eat the Fuji Melon pastries and with 7 people that was almost an entire tray.
We spent a few hours at the top looking at the shops and hanging out. It was dinner time and everyone was hungry. I decided to take everyone to a restaurant that Maeshima san took me to when we did the Fuji bike race a few weeks back. As we drove away from Fuji the clouds moved back in and it didn't take long for them to block the view again. We didn't see it the rest of the day, or the next day as we packed up and headed home.
The restaurant is at the base of the mountain. This area (Yamanashi) is known for a type of noodle called Houtou. The noodles are so thick they almost remind me of dumplings and this restaurant was very good the last time I ate here. The other interesting point is that the restaurant is one huge room with many tables filling the space. You are seated upon availability and so it is possible to be seated with strangers if there is room at their table. In our case we filled a table on our own and so we were seated by ourselves.
These tables had a cut out in the floor for your feet, so everyone was happy they could stretch their legs.
On the menu there were a variety of options to eat including: bear, turtle, duck, etc.. The bear was about $40 a bowl and so I decided not to try it. Instead I went with the cheaper spicy pork.
We were only able to stay in the cabin one night as it was booked the second so we stayed in the hotel area the second night. A first sighting for me was the toilet with the artificial flush sound to cover any unwanted noises. Kate said they are common in women's rest rooms, but I have never seen it before. The button has a musical note, but when you push it it makes a fake toilet flush sound. It had volume control as well as a flashing light that warned it was about to stop.
That night Kate, Grandma, and myself went to the Onsen (hot spring). We have taken others to the foot Onsen, but Grandma was our first guest to try the full Onsen experience. I think she was able to enjoy the experience and I give her credit for being willing to give it a try.
In the morning the kids went swimming in the pool while the adults gave the massage chairs a work out. We didn't leave them unattended, we took shifts watching them.
I think everyone but Erin enjoyed the chairs, and most everyone did two 15 min shifts on them.
On the way home I decided to take the family to the Ushiku daibutsu. It is the tallest statue in the world and I thought they would enjoy it.
We were able to talk the grandparents into a photo board picture in front of the statue. Mom even tried to match that hand gesture of the statue.
Since we had been here before we did not pay the extra to go inside. When grandma and grandpa went in we explored the gardens outside. we found a shallow pond filled with koi that would beach themselves to beg for food.
We also went back to the petting zoo to feed the variety of animals. Kate fed this rabbit a carrot.
Two minutes later it was in a food coma and laid there like it was dead. We looked back a few minutes later and it looked a little more alive, so I imaging it was just tired.
Of course we also stopped to feed the squirrels as well.
On the way home I stopped in front of the farmhouse we took a picture from in the fall to get another picture. I still like this view with the Buddha in the background.
The grandparents have already headed back to the US. From now we have a few weeks to spend with Erin before she returns as well.
Have a good week.
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