On our 6th day in Kawaguchi-ko we were up at 4am again and decided to walk around Kawaugchi-ko and try some of the local attractions. We first returned to the northern shore to see how the blossom was getting on. Luckily they were at full bloom against the blue sky, perfect for photography!

It was a really beautiful morning, we hadn’t had such a clear blue sky the whole week and it really brings out the colours of the blossom and makes Fuji stand out so much. As we didn’t have the car anymore, and definitely didn’t want to take the bus, we decided to buy the Ropeway and Sightseeing boat combo ticket, which came out as 1,300Y each. We had a second breakfast at about 8:30 and waited for the boat to open for the day. We got on the first run, 9am, and there were only five other people on the boat with us. I’d really recommend going so early, you have all the space to get the best views.

The boat takes a route through the middle of Kawaguchi-ko, under the Ohashi bridge and then does a U-turn before reaching the small island which is at the Western end of Kawaguchi-ko. After driving and walking over the bridge all week it was interesting to see a different angle. 

When we got back to dock a whole tour bus full of people were waiting to get on! Really pleased we managed to have such a small group to take the boat with, it would have been a very different experience had we been stuck in our seats.

For the second part of our ticket we got a round trip ride on the Kachi Kachi ropeway which ascends up to Mt Tenjo at 1,075m. The trip up is quite sweet, there is a pre-recorded message about the mountain played in Japanese, Chinese and English. The views are great so try to get to the front of the queue to look over the lake from above.

Unfortunately the ropeway area at the top is being refurbished and so everything was shut down, no food, no toilets and no souvenirs. I have been up here on two of my previous trips so it was a shame, but we had come for the view anyway. We had come up here earlier in the week to go to Mt Tenjo and the blossom wasn’t yet in full bloom. Thanks to the warm weather over the previous days they were in spectacular form. 

Instead of taking the ropeway down we decided to hike down the same path we had used when running in the park a few nights previously. There were some lovely view points along the way, and we saw a snake and a lizard too!

For one of our final nights in Japan we decided to treat ourselves and had booked one night in the rather fancy Fuji View Hotel. After our hike we prepped some dinner (meals there are pricey haha) and got the complimentary bus up to the hotel. After staying in relatively cheap accommodation across Japan we felt like we had got the biggest upgrade, the room was larger than a UK hotel!

And the view was worth every penny!

As we had such a magnificent view we remained in the room for sunset. Sadly the clouds rolled in and rather than the reds and oranges we wanted, it just got dark. However the lit blossoms still made a beautiful view. 

After sunset we walked around the gardens, across the golf courts and through the sakura blossom which were wonderfully lit from below.

Japan 2017: Day 16; Kawaguchi-ko part 7; a cloudy day