25 March 2026

I got up early just after 6am and wandered out to the lakefront hoping to get a photo of the mountain but no joy.
After breakfast it was onto the bus. We were meant to be going up to the 5th station on the mountain which is as far as you can go by road but because of snow we can only go as far as the 4th station. We bought tee shirts and gloves yesterday to provide an extra layer of warmth. Regretting not bringing our puffer jackets.
It was quite a long ride up to the 4th station and there was not much to see when we got there but just as the bus was parking it started snowing so that was pretty cool in all respects. The temperature was in the low single figures but not too bad. From Mt Fuji we headed off towards Takayama through an area of cherry orchards which were in flower so that augers well for when we get to Osaka and Kyoto.
We stopped for lunch at Lake Suwa.
After lunch we had to leave the expressway for some reason and travel for a couple of hours through an incredible gorge filled with countless hydro dams that were built after WW2 to power the rebuilding of Japan. The road all tunnels and viaduct and we were back up at the snow line. Progress was slow and we eventually arrived at Takayama about 5pm. A long day.
Our hotel for the next 2 nights is beautiful with a huge room and is in the process of being rebranded as a Hilton. While many of the group went into town for dinner or to the flash restaurants in the hotel we opted for the bar which advertised snack food. We ended up with a huge bowl of Ramon noodles 2 glasses of sake each and then I did a whiskey tasting with a cheese board. Turned out to be a great night.Read more