Nakasendo 2024

Tokyo to Mt Fuji

First thing this morning, Lesley went for a walk, James and Julie went shoe shopping, and I lazed around.

Lesley and I had an early lunch at Tokyo Station. Even though it was only 11 am, the queues for many of the little restaurants were substantial. At one of the ramen noodle shops, the wait was 45 minutes. ( The queuing line was marked with the 45 minute sign!).

Here’s Lesley and I hoeing into our ramen noodle soup…

Neither of us could finish our bowls, and we wondered how the Japanese avoid obesity if they eat like that every day.

At Tokyo station, there is a lovely sitting area, almost like a refuge, so we sat there for a while until it was time to catch our train.

The four of us then caught the Shinkansen train to Mt Fuji, where we were met by the driver Rio, from our glamping lodge. He kindly stopped along the way so we could visit a very large Japanese supermarket. Fascinating. So many strange looking things along the aisles, including a huge variety of fish.

We bought a few critical supplies (beer, plum wine, chips, dried octopus) and managed to use the self check-out (with some minor help from our driver).

Finally we reached our glamping accommodation, Mt Fuji Satoyama vacation. It was pouring with rain so Mt Fuji wasn’t visible but the accommodation is lovely, as is our host Chieko. There is a tent with our beds, and a beautiful eco-lodge with a lounge and dining room and our bathroom facilities.

We walked to dinner at a local restaurant just down the road, and had a lovely meal.

As the rain ended we could start to see Mt Fuji emerge