To get outside of big Japanese cities and back to nature we headed to Kawaguchiko. The town of Kawaguchicko sits in the five lakes district of Japan at the base Mt. Fuji.
The view of Mt. Fuji from the bus
Kawaguchiko is a a very small town and our room was a Japanese style room, commonly found in traditional Ryokan Inns. The floor was covered in tatami mats with rice paper walls. We ate our ramen noodles in the middle of our room and then went in search of our bed rolls.
Once the table was moved out of the way, we rolled out our beds to convert the room from a sitting room to a sleeping room.
After our beds were made Zach and I did a little dance, the Panda Dance.
The next morning we woke up early and walked to the tiny train station to catch a ride to the base of Mt. Mitsutoge. The plan was to have a leisurely 4.5 hour hike up and down the mountain. Little did we know we were embarking on a 7 hour hike that would find us scrambling up and down not just one mountain but three mountains.
When the train pulled into the station we all laughed to discover that we were taking the Thomas the Tank Engine train.
I found a zip line on our way to start the hike.
Beware of falling rocks
This guy was hanging out next to the trail. Check out the size of this Toad in comparison to an iPhone.
Starting the hike
Some of the treacherous steps we took to the top
The Mt. Mitsutoge Trail is a pilgrimage trail that dates back several hundred years. Towards the top of the mountain there are 88 buddhas facing Mt. Fuji.
I found a stream of melted snow and we all filled our water bottles.
The water was delicious!
Snow! Shelly seized the opportunity and hit me in the back with a snowball.
Shelly and her trusty walking stick that is almost as tall as she is.
At the top of the mountain!
View from the top
We were really excited when we made it to the top and expected the worst of the hike to be over. Unfortunately, the trail became more treacherous and we ended up having to ascend and descend two more mountains in order to get down to Kawaguchiko. Shelly had to crawl under this tree that fell on the trail.
Shelly trying to avoid the muddy trail.
Steps up to the next mountain
Kawaguchiko Lake
We were exhausted once we completed the 7 hour hike, but we had no time to rest. We ran back to our hostel to grab our bags and rushed to the train station to catch a bus to Tokyo. By the time we finally made it to our hotel in Tokyo, we felt a true sense of accomplishment as well fell into a deep sleep.
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