This was to be our longest and final trip on the Shinkansen trains in Japan, a 2 and a half hour journey from Kyoto to Tokyo. These trains had been worth the trip to Japan alone. Backpackers sitting alongside suited and booted businessmen, great views flashing past the window and nice, simple journeys. On this particular stretch of the line, providing the weather is good and you are sat on the left side of the train as you approach Tokyo, you may be able to glimpse Mt.Fuji in all its glory. Unfortunately for us, despite being sat on the correct side, the weather foiled our didn't dampen our spirits though as we would have another opportunity on our day trip there. We pulled into Tokyo station at about half past 2 and braced ourselves for the stress of Tokyo public transport with backpacks on. We only had to go about 6 stops and make 2 changes but we were expecting crowds like we've never encountered. Our first leg was Tokyo to Akihabara on the Yamanote Line, which was sort of the Tokyo circle line. The station was pretty busy but the train was almost empty when we got on, so there was plenty of room to stand. When we got to Akihabara we had to make a change to the Tsukuba Express line, which is a privately owned line, which meant having to buy a ticket (the previous one had been covered by our pass). Again, the change was pretty smooth and after descending stairs for what seemed an enternity we had our ticket and were on the platform. Waiting for our train. Again, this one was fairly quiet, with room for us to loiter by the doors. 2 stops later we were heading up more ludicrous amounts of escalators to break the surface in Asakusa, an Area of Tokyo. Our hostel was just a 2 minute stroll round the corner from the station exit. As much as the journey from Tokyo Station was easy and fairly stress free, we were both a little bit disappointed we weren't being forced on the trains by station attendants and being unable to move a muscle between stations. We checked in and I was looking forward to collecting a small parcel from home with some medicinal refills that we couldn't obtain on the road. Unfortunately, despite having been sent 2 weeks beforehand it hadn't arrived, so it was quite a disappointment. Another huge disappointment about the hostel was the complete lack of wifi in the rooms, with the door open, you could just pick up a slither but the second it closed, there was nothing. The receptionist said it was due to the thickness of the walls, so it could have been because the building was probably built to withstand earthquakes. Our goal for the day was to head to the nearest supermarket and do a big shop and stock up as we were in Tokyo for 9 days. We picked a trolley and started our browsing. Reduced meat, beer, cereal, fresh local leeks, fruit and dinner ingrediants made the trolley. We meant to get a photo with a nice full trolley but completely forgot. It was also quite refreshing after high prices everywhere we'd been in Japan, to find somewhere that was actually quite reasonable. After freezing our meat for future use we had some Pork Steaks, potatoes and veg for dinner. We had our fingers firmly crossed for good weather the day after for our visit to Fuji.
Wednesday.
The only thing more complicated than a Japanese train station is getting to the Mt.Fuji area by train from Tokyo. Japan has amazing and quick connections all over the country but that hasn't quite reached Mt.Fuji. Our day started at 5am. As it would takes us 3+ hours to get there and make 5 train changes, we needed to squeeze some brekkie in beforehand. Our first couple of changes were straightforward, just the opposite of what we'd done the day before, in order to get to Tokyo Station. From there we were in with the commuters rattling through the suburbs to Mitaka Station, where we changed to a slightly speedier service that took us to Otsuki. Here we made our last change to the Fujikyu Line, which took us past Mt.Fuji and to its final destination of Fujikawaguchiko. There were numerous places we could have gone in order to get a view of the mountain but Fujikawaguchiko seemed like the best bet. Not too close so you can't see the whole thing but not too far that it's just a tiny speck in the distance. There's was also much more to the town that just Mt.Fuji and so, as it was quite a cloudy morning, we decided to head down to the shores of Lake Kawaguchiko in the hope that the cloud would burn off and disappear in the mean time. It was already well past midday by the time we reached the lake and so we sat down on a bench on a small island and ate our packed lunch we'd prepared for ourselves. The lunch wasn't spectacular but the views we had while eating it were, the trees on the shore were turning orange and red as Autumn was slowly creeping in and the mountains veiled in clouds were rather beautiful. Our little outcrop was quite a precarious and rocky area and I had the inevitable accident as we made our way gingerly back to the mainland. My leg disappeared down a hole in a rock and unfortunately, Charlotte was too busy laughing to take a photo. Luckily it was my pride that was wounded more than my leg.
We started to walk round the lake in the hope that we might catch a glimpse of Mt.Fuji from a different angle. It was a good rather uneventful shoreline, leaving the town behind rather quickly. When we stopped to look at a map just outside the reassuringly name "Evacuation Area", we were slightly disappointed to see how little of the lake shore we'd covered and realised we'd never be able to do it in a day and then make it back to Tokyo. We explored the evacuation area as much out of interest as to get our bearings incase of an emergency (Fuji hasn't erupted in over 300 years!). Turning back on ourselves not wanting to far away from town. Along the way we passed a couple of worryingly huge spiders that we hadn't expected in a place like Japan. We had to check each other as we'd already ploughed headlong through more than one cobweb each. We left the pathway and joined the main road which goes directly towards Mt.Fuji but the beast was still shrouded in the cloud. When we'd arrived we'd noticed a cable car to the top of a mountain set to one side of the lake, we'd been reluctant to go at the time because of the weather but as the day was getting on we thought we'd best give it a whirl, as it would be our best opportunity to get a view. So up we went, closer to the clouds more in hope than expectation. It was still cloudy and after a brief moment of hope that the sun was coming out and that the clouds were breaking, our view became no clearer. We stuck with our task and sat at the various viewing platforms for well over an hour but got no alternative to clouds, clouds and more clouds. We descended, reluctantly and were thoroughly disappointed with our day. We know we can't help the rather but after all the effort we put in to get there, we couldn't help but be a little bit downhearted. We started on our complicated trek back towards Tokyo, almost relieved to see that it was still getting cloudier (and darker).
Thursday
We were slightly down after yesterday's disappointment, so didn't have the will to do anything significant. Instead we had a bit of a lie in then head d to the area of Tokyo called Akihabara. The area is considered to be the centre of the Japanese comic book scene called "Manga" and also a shopping area for Video Games and comics. Not that we were here to buy anything like that. We just fancied a look around. It didn't help that it was Charlotte's turn to be ill. This made our day quite short, all we did was wander up the main road of what is called Akihabara Electric Town and then find a place for lunch near to Ueno Station. We attempted to walk back to our hostel rather than use public transport but the area was quite confusing and with all the tall buildings and clouds it was hard to figure out directions. So, when we stumbled across an underground station we took the opportunity and headed home. 3 days in and there was still no parcel.
James and Charlotte
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