On the journey up north, we passed by Lake Hamana, which is considered to be home of the best quality unagi in Japan. The water in this lake is brackish, which is ideal for the cultivation of unagi eels.
We caught our first glimpse of Mount Fuji as our tour guide made the announcement that the mountain could be seen fom the right side of the bus. Mount Fuji looked so grand in the distance - a solitary mountain with gradual slopes in a bluish hue, capped with snow on its peak.
Our first stop at Shizuoka prefecture was the Shiraito Falls, southwest of Mount Fuji. The parking bay was a perfect place for picture-taking, with the great mountain looming in the distance. A short walk down some slopes and stairs took us to the lovely Shiraito Falls. The Shiraito Falls is unlike the great waterfalls of the Americas - thousands of gallons of water thundering over a cliff; instead it flows and trickles through fissures in the rock, looking like smooth strands of silk. The streams of water fall into a clear, blue lagoon, which then spills over some boulders surrounding the lagoon, forming a river. The water was clear enough to spot some fish darting beneath the rippled surface. The fish that inhabit this area looked like some species of tiny trout.
On our walk uphill back to the parking bay, we stopped by at some souvenir stalls selling lots of strange knick-knacks and snacks such as marimo moss balls in jars, wasabi flavoured Kit Kat, wasabi ice cream and fresh wasabi plants.
Next, we headed to Lake Kawaguchi for lunch at a restaurant overlooking the lake with views of Mount Fuji in the background. Mount Fuji is surrounded by 5 lakes, with Lake Kawaguchi being the most popular.
We had some pork shabu shabu, served alongside some preserved fish, pickles and tempura. The fish are indigenous to the lake so it was a great oppurtunity to sample the local cuisine. The preserved fish - however ugly it looked, actually tasted really good. It was sweet with no fishiness about it, and even the head and bones were edible (although I chose not to eat the head).
After a hearty meal, we headed straight up to Mount Fuji. We were extremely fortunate that afternoon as the Mount Fuji Fifth Station was finally opened for the season. The fifth station is the highest point accessible by vehicles and is usually the base point for hikers to ascend the peak on foot. As we drove up winding paths up the mountain, the landscape changed to one with barren trees and a white frosted ground heavy with snow.
The fifth station was rather crowded with tourists from all over the world. I could hear Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indonesian and German being spoken. It was cold but bearable since there was very little wind that afternoon and the weather was fine. I chose a cleaner, less-trampled spot to play in the snow with my brother. My ears and nose felt numb from the cold after being exposed to the elements for an hour without any protection. It's a miracle they did not fall off!
After an exciting afternoon on top of Mount Fuji, we finally had to leave the mountain to make it on time for our Hokkaido taraba crab dinner at a Ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) complete with an onsen (Japanese hot spring). I was "thawing" myself on the bus on the journey down to a quaint small town of Isawa in Yamanashi. After a quick rest and some freshening up, we changed into our yukata and wooden sandals to go down to the restaurant below for dinner. Not being used to wearing such long flowing garb with wooden sandals, my left sandal went flying a good 5 feet in front of me when I took a stride!
The highlight of the dinner was crabs and it was an an all-you-can-eat buffet dinner. Apart from the crabs, the buffet also had all sorts of Japanese food such as pork curry, sushi, sahimi, and soba, just to name a few. I pigged out on Japanese pork curry and some sushi since I am allergic to crustaceans.
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