Almost like she was apologising, when we woke up Mount Fuji was completely visible! This is so unlikely in the summer, but I was so hopeful we'd get at least one morning when the waether was clear. I got ready in absolute record time and was out of the house on the way to Oishi … Continue reading Japan 2023 Summer Day 13: Breath-taking Mount Fuji
I left the last post on a bit of a cliff hanger about this night being a bit of a nightmare, and it truly was. Chojo Fujikan is the weirdest, dirtiest place I have ever stayed. After we checked in we were shown to our futon for the night, and were able to take off … Continue reading Japan 2023 Summer day 12: Descending Mount Fuji on the Subashiri trail with altitude sickness
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
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
It was possibly the coldest morning of our whole trip, at -10°C and our little car was completely frozen up. The doors wouldn't open, and the windows were covered in thick frost. The previous cars we rented in Hokkaido and Tohoku came with snow and ice tools, but the Tokyo office provided no such thing. … Continue reading Japan 2023 Winter day 12: Shirakawago & Hida Folk Village
We had one day in Tokyo on this trip in order to recover between the northern and central legs of our trip. My aim for this day was to meet a new friend and to see plum blossom. We had a slow morning, which was the first for our trip, and met my lovely friend … Continue reading Japan 2023 Winter Day 9: A rainy Tokyo day
We awoke to a clear and sunny day in Sapporo and a beautiful view of snow-covered streets from our hotel window. We were staying at the Daiwa Roynet Sapporo-Susukino hotel, as I had booked everything prior to Japan announcing their re-opening I was able to get a really good deal - two nights for less … Continue reading Japan 2023 Winter DAY 2: Sapporo Snow Festival
Our trip on the shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto began with a sighting of some sumo wrestlers! Dressed is airy summer yukata they waited for a train on the other side of our platform! As always when travelling between Tokyo and Kyoto make sure to sit in seats D & E to try and get … Continue reading Japan 2010: Day 8 Kyoto- Kinkakuji and Gion
History of Asama Jinja Mount Fuji has been worshipped in Japan for hundreds of years, initially by the Ainu, then Shinto, and finally Buddhism. Fuji is worshipped as a Goddess, giving fertile soils and clear water. To keep her happy eight Shinto shrines were erected around the base of Mount Fuji, with numerous smaller shrines … Continue reading Tenku no torii; Mount Fuji and the torii in the sky
My Nihon 