It was a cloudy start to the day when we woke up at 5am, but were hopeful that if we gained altitude we would be able to see views of Fuji with a sea of clouds covering Kawaguchiko. We drove up to Tenka Chaya, one of my favourite spots in the mountains with views of the lake and Fuji. Unfortunately, the clouds were not low-lying, and Fuji was completely gone! Interestingly the tunnel by the look out opposite Tenka Chaya is closed in the winter, I find it intriguing which roads stay open and which don’t, especially as there is no snow on the roads in this area.

We gave up after about half an hour in the knowledge that Fuji wasn’t going to clear up any time soon. On our way down we stopped for snacks at Lawson and then settled down in our shipping container and watched some TV. We decided to spend the cloudy morning shopping and wandering around the lake. Without the foliage, some of Kawaguchiko looked a bit creepy haha, especially with abandoned cars and swan boats lurking in the grass.

After lunch we tried a drive around the lake, as Fuji was peaking slightly, so we headed to another favourite, Oishi Park on the northern shore of Kawaguchiko. As is common, even in February, Fuji stayed mostly hidden so we had a look around the shops. After visiting the new shops around Oishi Park we headed to the shopping “district” and hit up some drug stores and Don Quijote looking for my favourite UV cream, which was not in stock anywhere!

After a disappointing day of no Fuji and no UV creams we had exciting evening plans, the winter Kawaguchiko fireworks. The fireworks happen each Saturday and Sunday evening through February, and winter fireworks are a firm favourite now. We walked a couple of miles around the lake to get a good viewing spot, and Fuji came out to enjoy the fireworks too.

The fireworks went on for 20 minutes, and were amazing, with standard types of fireworks, as well as emoji fireworks as well. It was a hectic walk back to our accommodation due to the busy streets, but we were home at 9pm and soon ready for bed to try for Fuji again the next day.