I was committed to doing some sunrise photography on our 19th day, so we were awake and getting ready at 4am. We had decided to revisit one of our spots from the previous day, Tenka Chaya, as it has such a beautiful view. We managed to get there by 5:30, as it is a 30 … Continue reading Japan 2019 Day 19: climbing Mount Kurodake for stunning views of Mount Fuji
When the alarm went off at 4am we were once again treated to a view of fluffy clouds and nothing else. Not to be deterred we suited up and headed back up the mountain to Hahanoshirotaki carpark, to get to the torii gate on the edge of the mountain face. As we drove through Kawaguchiko … Continue reading Japan 2019 Day 17: Stunning views of Mount Fuji & climbing Mount Mitsutoge
No trip to Japan would be complete without going to see Mount Fuji and no trip of mine to Japan would be complete without staying in the area for at least week! Mimicing our 2017 trip we had booked to stay 8 nights in Kawaguchiko to do some hiking, photography, and have a slower pace … Continue reading Japan 2019 Day 15: Driving to Kawaguchiko to see Mount Fuji
We started the day with a bit of a lie in and weren't on the road until 7am. We were heading up into the mountains to explore Goshiki-numa (Five coloured marshes), a collection of strange coloured ponds in the mountains north of Aizuwakamatsu, in Bandai-Asahi National Park. It was quite a fun drive going up … Continue reading Japan 2019 Day 9: Goshiki-numa and Aizu’s history
After a freezing and almost completely sleepless night courtesy of Towadako Hostel we headed out to the lake side for sunrise. Our first stop after parking up was Towadako shrine, which is accessed by a short hike through the forest (beware of bears!). The shrine was really beautiful, nothing but trees surrounding the shrine buildings. … Continue reading Japan 2019 Day 4: Aomori road trip part 2
Another early start (a theme on this trip again) saw us back on the Tohoku shinkansen heading from Sendai up to Shin-Aomori station in Aomori prefecture, the most northern prefecture in Honshu. As soon as we got off the shinkansen at Shin-Aomori station we walked across the road and picked up our first rental car … Continue reading Japan 2019 Day 3: Exploring Aomori by car
Mount Fuji is one of the most recognisable icons of Japan and over the centuries has influenced Japan's art, culture and religion. Listed as one of Japans world heritage sites, Mount Fuji is one of Japans holiest mountains, visited by hundreds of thousands of people each year. Not only is Mount Fuji so famous but … Continue reading Fujigoko: Mount Fuji’s Five Lakes
Day 12 was going to be another fun packed day of adventuring around the fuji five lakes area. On this morning we decided to pick another spot for sunrise and got up very early to drive over to the other side of Ohashi bridge, to a little spot of rocky shore line. Unfortunately no red … Continue reading Japan 2017: Day 12 – Kawaguchi-ko pt 3; Yamanaka-ko, Gotemba, shrines and mountains
So, our first morning in Kawaguchi-ko. Knowing that Mt Fuji is more often seen early in the morning and late at night we set our alarms from 4am, an hour and a bit before sunrise. With our fuji view room we were able to brew some tea and set up the DSLR to take a … Continue reading Japan 2017: Day 11 – Kawaguchi-ko pt 2; Fuji Five Lakes
Today was the day to leave Kyoto, after five nights of travelling far and wide each day we headed towards Hachioji, a small area on the Western edge of Tokyo. The only claim to fame for Hachioji is the nearby Mt Takao, a popular hiking spot with a view of Mt Fuji on a clear … Continue reading Japan 2017: Day 9 – Hachioji & Mt Takao
My Nihon 