Fuji-san 5th Station

So we went to Fuji-san's 5th station on the weekend. We didn't go to climb to the peak, just to do some sightseeing at the 5th station, where most climbers start their ascent towards Japan's highest mountain. I must say that it was largely disappointing. It took almost 3.5 hours by bus to get there due to all the traffic accidents that we encountered enroute. Once we got there, we had less than 2 hours before our return highway express bus back to Shinjuku station. The whole time we were there except for the last 12 minutes, the skies were so foggy, you could barely see 50 m ahead or behind you. The views were not great.

To make matters worse, the food was more disappointing than the views. The restaurant / lodge/ rest stop pictured above had pretty plain tasting gyuudon --- and I like those beef bowls with rice. One of my friends couldn't finish eating the bowl and decided to buy some BBQ beef from one of the street vendor stalls outside. To her disappointment, the beef from outside was worse than the beef in the gyuudon. And we didn't think it could be possible!

Because we lacked time, we decided not to do any of the short hikes to possible other sites for photo opportunities. We were recommended a site which was 40 minutes away, but after we had finished lunch, there wasn't sufficient time to go on that and make it back in time for our return bus home. So we walked the perimeter of 5th station.

I must say that 5th station was rather disappointing ... it seemed rather kitschy, with more souvenir shops and stuff than tourists willing to buy them. When we arrived, we all shivered. It was about 16 to 18 deg C, which is actually nice for us Canadians, but having been subject to the hot and humid Japan summer, it seemed almost too chilly for shorts. I showed up in shorts and a tank top. There were people there with sweaters and windbreakers, scarves and hats. Everyone had long pants. We got a few stares. I guess when you exhale and you can see your breath, it's not a good sign. I guess it was a good thing that we weren't climbing to the peak that day, because it only gets colder as you get higher.

We stopped off at the shrine and the temple and their lookout points at the 5th station. Mostly we did it out of wanting to do something with our time and to get our money's worth out of the trip. I think having gone to Kamakura and Yamadera temple in Yamagata Ken, that these two places of worship just weren't going to compare. Also, seeing as how we didn't know to what deity or for what purpose we were praying, the visits seemed that much more hallow. The structures were interesting to see, but the lack of other tourists there just made them seem that much more desperate. Above was the sparsely populated wishing wall for paper tied wishes. I think that no more than 20 wishes were tied to it that day.

All the horses at 5th station seemed to be unoccupied that day. No one wanted to ride one or take a photo with one. It just didn't seem like a nice horse-riding day. Poor horses.

Below are some photos of the fog. The last photo is the start of the fog actually lifting. Can't say that the views improved much with the little fog that lifted, but I'm sure had we stayed another 3 or 4 hours, we would have had some good night views of Fuji.

ACCESS: Keio highway express bus from Shinjuku station, JR west exit to Fuji 5th station. Call in advance to reserve your ticket. Booking by phone only, payment to be made on day you pick up the ticket.

Walking to Yoyogi Park

Last weekend, I was in Shibuya. We walked through Omotesando street and Harajuku to get to Yoyogi Park the long way. At one point, we climbed up to a pedestrian overpass to get to the other side of the street. This was the view looking northward. This is one of my favourite streets to walk on. You can't see the eclectic mix of small up-and-coming shops, high end brands, and down-right-tourist-trap stores from this photo, but basically this street will give you a mixed bag of clientele and personalities. I love walking on this street. When it's not so hot and humid, I'll have to head back there and take my time with the smaller nooks and crannies that I have yet to explore.

Takao-san, July 5

The thing about Mount Takao for Tokyoites is that it is extremely convenient and easy to get to. And it has all the features for a fun-filled half day hike if you like being surrounded by nature, having great mountaintop views, having the option of riding up/down a ski-lift or cable car, visiting a Temple or Shrine, or going to an animal zoo filled with monkeys. The best part is that there are 7 different walking/hiking paths as the first photo shows. The range of guest walking/hiking expectations vary and you can see families with small kids making the hike up as well as some older ojiisan/obaasan couples. You see a lot more couples or adult friends making their way up.

This convenient/bilingual sign is found, literally at the front of the exit gates to Takaosanguchi station, so you can't miss it. It's about 20 feet tall or so and is brightly coloured.
The map shows 7 different paths that you can take to get to the summit. Path 1 is probably the most common, as it is the nice, mostly paved path to the top of the mountain. As you near the summit, there is less and less pavement, but the path is mostly smooth. Paths 6 and 7 offer scenic hikes through cedar forests, a laked area, and some 'slippery' valley and rock areas. We chose path 1 since it was half paved, and I figured the one most likely to be the most gentle to my walking sandals. We'll have to come another time to try out paths 5, 6, 7, but for those routes I will bring my hiking shoes as most of the path is dirt road and in spots, it's described as 'rustic'. I always become a little wary when I see the word 'rustic'. Below is the entrance to the path 1.

About 5 minutes into the hike, we found some wild strawberries. They were difficult to spot as they very tiny, about the size of my thumbnail. But they were there under some taller grasses and large leafs. We didn't taste them, but it made me want to be on the look out for more at a better angle for photos. Because we kept looking down for other hidden forest and mountain flora, we ended up finding some not so hidden fauna instead. The caterpillar below was on the ground when we found him. I didn't place him for ease of photo taking, but the little guy most likely chewed off the end of his leaf stem and came crashing down. In the photo below, he is traversing from one end of the stem to the other. Upon taking the closest photo I could with the limited capability of my lens, my husband promptly placed the caterpillar on a large frond in the bushes beside the pathway. Since it was a nice Saturday afternoon, with little likelihood of rain, it would seem that there would be dozens of hikers coming after us. I was very concerned that he might get squashed on the heavily used pathway. Even though caterpillar squashings are probably a common occurrence in nature, I hated the thought of poor Blue Patches getting ... well squashed. So we put it out of harm's way as best we could. However, having once put himself in that predicament through his own eating habits, I suspected that our efforts to save poor Blue Patches might have been in vain.
The first 1.3 km up is the steepest portion of the hike. I had to stop and stretch out my back leg muscles a few times. I was glad I did, as later that week, my husband complained of some sore leg muscles while mine felt normal. As you approach the 2.5 km threshold, the path becomes a little flatter and you see the end points of the chair lift and a little further down, the cable car.

Enroute to the top, you also pass the Saru Zoo (monkey zoo), a temple and a shrine, as well as numerous refreshment stands. We stopped at none of these as we had a bottle of water that we purchased from the vending machines just outside the train station. I was so glad that we had them because the start of July is near the start of 'mushiatsui' season. It's hot and humid everyday. That day, the temperature was only 26 C but probably felt like about 30 C. I think we emptied out our bottles just past the temple with about 15 minutes to go to reach the top. Walking through this tourist heavy section of the mountain was actually nice. The terrain was mostly flat, lots of roadside vendors in case you wanted to get that authentic mountain omiyage, and lots of tall trees providing shade. Also, enroute to the temple, there were lots of stairs, latterns, and interesting photo opportunities. Below is one of the walls of Japanese writing done on thin strips of wood. As you can see the wall continues onward, following the curve of the road. I didn't stop to try to decipher the writing as there were just too many kanji characters that I could not read, but I found the wall to be so interesting. Another day when I don't have my husband in tow, I will examine that wall of writing more closely. I took about 5 different shots at various angles and was most satisfied with this one.

When we reached the summit, there were shops, restaurants and an information & activity centre. We visited none of these places, although I did contemplate buying a bamboo carved walking stick for the hike down. They are about 500 to 700 yen depending on the height, or style. I did see a few more expensive ones, but the simple bamboo one with curving handle looked more like an authentic mountain walking stick to me. In the end, I didn't buy one since I knew that we were going to take one of the rides back down to the ground (only the last third of the hike). They were plenty of people also having a picnic at the top. Although there were plenty of public seating areas, these were all taken and most people brought their blanket or tarp to sit on while they enjoyed the cooler mountain air and the views. On this day, the sky was overcast, so the views weren't spectacular from the top of the mountain. And, no, you really couldn't see Fujisan today as I could hear many disappointed Japanese people chatting amongst themselves and agreeing how it was such a shame. Zannen ne? I took a few photos from the top but wasn't really happy with the dull skies. So here is one from a lookout point between the shrine and the temple that I was happier with. Skies are still overcast, but I like the framework better.
In total it took us about 1 hour 45 minutes to reach the summit. The signboard in front of the train station says route 1 takes about 1 hour 20 minutes, so it's not a bad time, all photos considered. At the summit we spent only a short while, not more than 15 minutes. The restaurants were all packed and we didn't bring a picnic lunch. This then formed the basis of the reason we wanted to take the cable car down to the bottom; our energy was waning. We hadn't had lunch yet and the hiking was actually quite tiring. On the return trip down, the first ride you pass is the cable car, with signs indicating in English that the chair lift is another 3-5 minutes along the path. Being as tired and as a hungry as we were, we thought, 'okay, we're here now, let's do the cable car.' But as it turns out, the cable car only leaves once every 15 minutes and looks to hold about 40 or so people. The current one was full. There was already a lone lineup for the next cable car ride down. So we decided to take our chances with the chair lift as there is one that leaves every 30 seconds. We headed to the chairlift ride and purchased our tickets from a vending machine for about 470 yen per person. It was only after I had purchased the single-use chairlift tickets and after we had entered the lineup that I then only noticed that the chairlifts did not have the safety bar keeping you in the chair. This safety bar has been present in all other chairlifts I have ever ridden on --- in North America and in Europe. I'm afraid of heights, so this no safety bar thing kind of scared me. As we waited our turn in the lineup, the initial chairlifts coming into the station were empty, but then we saw an older ojiisan/obaasan couple hop off, followed shortly by a pair of gaijin youths. I figured if they managed to stay on the chair without the safety bar, then we could survive too. A few minutes later, we were sitting in the chairlift and on our way down. Initially, the slope is gentle and the ground is only about 6-8 feet below your feet. So we laughed over our initial fears. However, later, there are portions of the lift, that rise way above the ground. In these parts, they have placed a mesh cast with wooden boards, so it would seem that the ground is still only 6-8 feet below your feet. Unfortunately, unless you are blind or extremely near -sighted and without your glasses, you can actually peer through the mesh and see the bottom ... which is way, way, way more than a mere 6-8 feet below your feet. At this point, I decided it was best not to look down when we were over these green mesh sections. Since there were no windows to reflect the light, I really wanted to take some photos. Had there been a safety bar, I would have taken tonnes more. As it was, there was a metal bar behind our necks and heads and I wrapped one arm around that while I fiddled with the camera settings in preparation for taking some photos. To take photos of the scenic mountain side view, I had to twist and contort into some very uncomfortable positions. These chairlifts are made of solid plastic mold and there is no give, forcing me to relent to a briefer picture-taking period than I would have liked. Also, the slightest movement on the lifts, rocks the chair. And these seemingly tiny movements are actually quite amplified when you are the other person sitting still in the chair. To make my partner complaints stop, I had to stop taking photos. There are giant signs all the way down telling you not to rock the chairlift. I took some poor shots initially, as the chairlift speed is surprisingly faster than I had thought. But once I compensated for that, I was happy enough to come up with this shot, which occurred over a particularly steep portion of the ride.
Before reaching the bottom, there is a booth setup with a large camera and a photographer, who asks if you want a photo. We decided to go for it since there was no other way we would get a photo with the two us on the lift. It cost about 600 yen and it's a bit kitschy but it was a nice enough photo of us. Once you reach the bottom and you exit the ride, you can see the booth where you pick up your souvenir photo of yourselves. Around the corner from that is a pedestrian tourist street with many shops selling omiyage, and a few restaurants. I decided to buy some Mount Takao maple okashi (maple flavoured cookies made with the maple trees of Mt. Takao). I think it was about 400 yen. Next time, I'll skip it. I can taste the hint of maple, but it tastes nothing like the memory I have of the delicious maple syrup or maple sugar products from my native Eastern Ontario maple farms or from the Quebec maple farms either. There is also a hint of some kind of medicine-like taste. Like something you get from the dentist. Anyway, I've had them by themselves and later with tea and another time with coffee. Nothing seems to go well with these biscuits. In case you're wondering what sweets not to buy, they look like white sugar glazed fortune cookies that came out warped.

We finished the day at the Italian restaurant attached to the station. They had cheeseless pizza for me and pasta for my husband. The pear tart was to die for. My husband skipped the gelato although it did look scrumptious. We both had the drink bar, despite the restaurant serving alcoholic beverages. The drink bar option allowed us to have a drink with the meal, and a coffee and tea with the pear tart. Lunch for the two of us came to about 4000 yen. Which is pretty decent for the quality of food and the touristy area. The inside of the restaurant actually felt quite spacious.

I loved this short half day hiking trip. We will definitely be back to try another hiking trail. If you're interested in going, I have put some access information below. There are more ways to get there, so you may want to check online if you live west or north of the Tokyo 23 ku area.

ACCESS: Transfer at Shinjuku.
Option 1: You can take the Chuo line and switch at Takao station to the Takao local line to arrive at TAKAOSANGUCHI which takes you right to the foot of the mountain. Costs about 770 yen without the portion price to get to Shinjuku.
Option 2: Take the KEIO line. The special express line comes every 10 minutes and will get you there about 25 minutes faster, so it's worth waiting for. This frequency only occurs on the weekend. During the week, the special express runs less frequently. Costs is about 330 yen minus the portion cost to get to Shinjuku. This method also seems to be the fastest way to get to Takaosanguchi. If you are lucky, you won't have to change trains at Takao station.

Seeing Fuji-san

On a really clear day, you can see Mt. Fuji (or Fujisan as it is known to locals) from Tokyo. This actually occurs less often than you would think. Only about a dozen times a year or so. It is so infrequent an occurrence that when it does happen, the television and radio news programs report it. They will place a break in their regular programming to report it as "breaking news".


Last weekend, I went to Hakone. I was so excited. Everyone kept telling me that the views of Fujisan from Hakone were spectacular. Splendid in fact. To make a long story short, it was supposed to be an absolutely dreadful, dreary, rainy day on Sunday. However, instead of rain, we got clouds - and tonnes of it. It was cloudy, overcast and humid, humid, humid. Did I mention humid? To add to my disappointment, Fujisan was completely covered the whole time we were in the best recommended Fujisan photo spots. The only glimpse of Fuji I got was on the bus ride home. And even then it was lacklustre. Since the clouds had only just begun to clear up, only the left, three quarters of the famous mountain peaked out from behind the cloud cover. In my desire to take a photo, I briefly in one insane second, thought I could take a photo... but it really wouldn't be worth it. I was inside a bus, the dark was setting in, and there were any number of heads, hats, and bus curtains in the way of obtaining that perfect shot. And who posts photos of half of Fujisan?


In my melancholy, I recalled that I had already seen Fuji back in February of this year. I was listening to Japanese news to get my ears accustomed to the Japanese cadence, intonation, and speech pattern. Suddenly a sentence popped out at me: "Kyou wa, Fujisan o Tokyo de miemasu." Translation, "Today, you can see Mt. Fuji from Tokyo." And then to reinforce my self revelation, the camera then turned to a breathtakingly clear, unobstructed view of Fujisan. The news report when on to say that this was only the 2nd time this year that this happened and that the current forecasts looked as if there might be one more day later this week when the skies would be so clear that Fujisan would be visible from Tokyo.


Once I heard this, I grabbed by good camera (as opposed to my less powerful camera) and ran out the door. I headed to Shinjuku and to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Towers. I'll write more about Shinjuku in another post because there's so much to say about it, but for now, all you need to know is that the Shinjuku towers have two observation floors on the 44th floor. One is in the South Tower and the other in the North Tower - both towers have free admission. The North Tower is open later into the night and is usually the busier of the two. I think this stems from the fact that you are slightly physically closer to Fujisan when it is visible, so the thinking is that you would get a nicer photo. Although, when pointing your camera to a point approaching infinity... Shinjuku is also only about 10 minutes away by JR Yamanote line.


Upon arriving in Shinjuku, I noticed that the lineups for both North and South Towers were longer than usual for a weekday. I guess word got out that Fujisan was visible today. Everyone else in line was a Japanese tourist. I guess if I could translate the forecast from today's news shows, the locals could do it too. I decided to join the South Tower lineup since it was much, much shorter. It was only a scant 2 minute wait. Upstairs on the observation floor, it was the most crowded that I had ever seen it, for a weekday or weekend and this was my 3rd visit to this particular tower. If you're wondering, "Why so often?" - it's because the government buildings also house the Tokyo Information Centre (or one of the TICs in Tokyo - I believe there is one at Narita airport). My sprint across town was well worth it. I managed to get a great shot of Fujisan. I took about 50 shots, deleted about 25, and was happy to get this one completely unobstructed photo of Fujisan.





For all the hype of the Fujisan sightings, from Tokyo, the view of Japan's tallest and most famous mountain, is really little more than the size of my thumb with the naked eye. This photo used half the zoom on my lens. Had I been lucky enough to get a clear view of Fujisan from Hakone area's Lake Ashi, it would have filled have the photo area, without a zoom. However the buzz of seeing Fujisan is contagious. To the Japanese, it is a huge event. As a foreigner, I count myself lucky.

There will definitely be other visits to Hakone.