The alarm went off at 3am, it was still pitch black outside, and time to get ready for a really important day, when we finally try to reach the summit of Mount Fuji. We had chosen the Subashiri trail for our ascent, which is one of the least popular trails with only 8% of climbers … Continue reading Japan 2023 Summer Day 11: Climbing Mount Fuji via the Subashiri trail
We woke to a cloudy sky, the webcams showed that even at altitue Fuji was hiding and so we had a slower morning than usual. For a few moments Fuji did appear in a gap in the clouds, but before we could get out of the house, she was gone again. With the weather saying … Continue reading Japan 2023 Summer Day 10: Seeing Mount Fuji & a bear scare
Statistically, the chances of seeing Mount Fuji in August are quite low compared to the rest of the year, but not nothing, and so with hope we were out of the house and driving up a mountain before 5:30am. Often the clouds can be more low-lying so from a higher altitude you get a clear … Continue reading Japan 2023 Summer Day 9: A Canoe trip on Kawaguchiko with Mount Fuji
Kawaguchiko is my favourite place in the world, and so staying for another week in summer after a week in winter is a treat. One thing about summer is that the chances of seeing Mount Fuji are much lower, but still 40% chance in the morning, and so we woke up early just in case … Continue reading Japan 2023 Summer Day 8: Kawaguchiko in summer, shy Mount Fuji
It was an absolutely sweltering morning in Kanazawa, even though we were packed and out of the house by 7am, the humidity was intense. Our plan for the day was to get to our rental house in Kawaguchiko, some 200 miles away, with plenty of stops along the way. We couldn't leave Kanazawa without visitng … Continue reading Japan 2023 Summer Day 7: Kenroku-en, Ainokura & Gokoyama
We were out of our lovely townhouse before 7am so we could get to Higashi Chaya and experience the old town without any other tourists around. Even though it was so early the day was already incredibly humid, the Sea of Japan coast is hot!!! It didn't take too long to get to the tea … Continue reading Japan 2023 Summer Day 6: Fantastic Fukui
We wanted to be out of Hakuba nice and early, as we had a 130 mile drive to Kanazawa to make that day. We were out and about by 7am, and before leaving Hakuba, made one last attempt to see the alps and drove up to 天神坂 a viewpoint over some rice fields. Sadly the … Continue reading Japan 2023 Summer Day 5: Road-tripping through Niigata to Kanazawa
We woke up to another cloudy day sadly, we never got to see the peaks of the Alps from Kamikochi Valley, which was a real shame. What made up for it was the most delicious breakfast I have ever had. The chef was again amazing and made me a fully gluten, egg, and milk-free meal. … Continue reading Japan 2023 Summer Day 4: Cloudy Hakuba
We had an early start for our epic day of adventure and we were checked out of our hotel and on the road by 6:30am. We stocked up on snacks and drinks and headed towards Kamikochi. Like many popular hiking areas in Japan, you aren't able to drive to the location itself but need to … Continue reading Japan 2023 Summer Day 3: Exploring Kamikochi
We woke up to a relatively clear day, even with the threat of the typhoon moving towards the mainland. We were staying in Ota-ku, only a short drive from Haneda airport, and had until 9am until we were going to collect our hire car for the trip. From our lovely air-conditioned hotel room, we didn't … Continue reading Japan 2023 Summer Day 2: Driving from Tokyo to Matsumoto in a typhoon
My Nihon 