Tokyo to Kawaguchico (Mount Fuji)

Today we embarked on the final leg of our time in Japan - Kawaguchico, the township at the base of Mt Fuji.
But first, the journey to get here ... maybe get yourselves a coffee (or something a bit more nerve soothing first)!
We knew that today was going to possibly be not only the last, but the biggest challenge of our trip ... and we were not wrong!!
We left our Hotel with an extra 1.25 hrs up our sleeves, just in case things went haywire getting to our ultimate destination - our bus to Kawaguchico from Shinjuku Tokyo Railway Station.
All went swimmingly until we disembarked from the train at Shinjuku Station (the busiest station in the world). We were underground, of course, and had no GPS to direct us to the correct exit to the bus station. Let's paint the Shinjuku Station picture here - there are many levels underground and the corridors go in all directions for hundreds of metres. What we found was that the signage for an exit was OK for a while, but then there was nothing. We think that they probably think that if they get you on a certain path you can figure out the rest yourselves! Wrong!
Long story short, we were like rabbits in a burrow, scurrying from one exit to another! Eventually we surfaced (dragging a case with wheels with a back pack and shoulder bag) and followed Google Maps to the Bus Station, but even that was difficult!
On the bus we climbed and almost collapsed into our seats with exhaustion at 1125 hrs!
Our rental house on Kawaguchico is maybe 500 metres from the bus station. It is a house with 4 bedrooms. No living area, unless you want to sit on your legs on a tatami mat!
We walked maybe 1.5 km to a supermarket, however, everything is labelled in Japanese. I was looking at buying something to nibble and was about to drop a packet of yummy looking things into our shopping basket when I realized it was dog treats! Roger said, after what he's eaten in the last month in Japan, he would probably have happily munched on the dog food! We ended up buying a salad and some hot food from the 7 Eleven Convenience Store for our dinner. That's a story in itself! We bought a white wine from Chile for $6 and a red from France for $10 so happily ate our meal and drank our wine at the house rather than eating out.
We were booked to do 2 days of guided bike riding tomorrow and the next day, but the forecast is for rain. The tour operator is going to take us on a 6 hour guided tour by car instead. The next day should be good for cycling. Our day ended so happily with a surprise call from Sue & Duncan!En savoir plus