Tour of Fujiyoshida

Our scheduled bike tour became a car tour because of drizzling rain. Our Guide, Aaron, is an American married to a Japanese woman. They run Fuji Bike Tours and they are about to build an Art / Craft shop in the district.
First Aaron took us to the Shinto Shrine to Mount Fuji. We are becoming very proficient at Shinto Cleansing and we will be returning to Australia as pure, unadulterated souls! To cleanse one self you go through a ritual of washing both hands and then your face (it's quite complicated and I, Kerrie, will need to demonstrate in person!) Don't ask Roger, he refuses to participate! To pray, first you throw some money into a tray to alert the Gods you are present, then you bow twice, clap twice and then pray. You then bow once again.
This Shrine to Mount Fuji is particularly picturesque with a mountain in the background and lots of cypress trees.
Aaron took us all around the Fujiyoshida district which has a population of 60,000 people. Sadly, 30% of the houses are abandoned because young people who have inherited the properties don't want to live in the country and don't want to pay the costs associated with owning the property, so they just walk away.
We visited a village called Oshino where there are houses with thatched roofs that need repairing. There are only 45 people in Japan who can replace thatched roofs apparently.
Aaron took us to the village of Nenba which was rebuilt in the early 2000's following a landslide where 92 people lost their lives. The village is now a tourist attraction with lots of artisan shops.
We enjoyed a curry lunch before being dropped off at our accommodation mid afternoon. Once again we created a dinner thanks to 7 Eleven!
Hopefully tomorrow we will be able to ride around the picturesque lakes.
(We received some photos from our Small Group Tokyo Bike Tour so I'll add some to the photo collection.)
PS The weather is cool and we are now wearing, for the first time, the jackets we've been dragging around Japan!Read more