Castle climbing and magnificent Mt Fuji

What a marvellous day!
This morning, we toured historic Matsumoto Castle and the charming old town area surrounding the castle. Matsumoto Castle, with its wide moat, is also known as ‘Crow Castle’ due to its dramatic black exterior. Not as big as Himeji Castle and while there is not a great deal to see inside these castles, the challenge it to climb to the top (because it's there! ). The steps in this Castle were steeper than Himeji and in some cases the treads were 45cm high (normal steps are 20-25cm). This, combined with the million school kids on excursion (ok, slight exaggeration - hundreds), really took me out of my comfort zone and I was glad when we arrived back to safety on the ground.

We left Matsumoto for the three-hour journey to Mount Fuji, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As we arrived closer, our beautiful sunny day began to cloud over and we were worried we wouldn't see the peak. Making our way up to Mount Fuji 5th Station, about halfway up the mountain, at an elevation of 2,300 metres the clouds seemed to get thicker... we would be lucky to see anything. We arrived and almost miraculously the sun broke through and there she was...Spectacular!

We stayed in a hotel in the Lake Kawaguchiko area, one of the Fuji Five Lakes; Every room faced over the lake with Mt Fuji as the backdrop. Can't wait to see the morning view.Read more