At the Feet of Fuji

September 19

On Saturday, our journey continued. After breakfast, we picked up our rental car at the train station: a Toyota Yaris. After the paperwork, we hit the roads of Japan.

Of course, driving on the left side is a bit unfamiliar at first, but you get the hang of it eventually. Additionally, the speed limit on country roads is 60 km/h, which makes adjusting much easier. So we picked up our luggage from the hotel and drove for about two hours to our next accommodation.

I thought I was doing quite well. However, Isis's smartwatch had a different perspective and sent several warnings about an increased heart rate...

But we arrived safely in a town with the melodious name of Fujikawaguchiko. It is located right by a lake at the foot of Japan's most famous mountain and is particularly known for the stunning views of Fuji.

However, on this day, the mountain was completely obscured. Like, really not visible at all. Without Google Maps, you wouldn't even be able to tell in which direction it was located.

Since we were a bit early for check-in, we first went to Oishi Park on the other side of the lake. From here, you could probably take the absolutely best pictures of Fuji—if only it would show itself. We looked at some flowers and bought a fridge magnet that conveniently shows the view we could have actually had...

Since we still couldn't check into the hotel, we then headed to the Music Forest Museum, which also lay right by the lake.

That was really something. I had imagined it would be a kind of park with beautiful trees, lights, and music. Instead, it turned out to be more like a mini European theme park. I have absolutely no idea what that had to do with a “Music Forest,” but there were plenty of automatic music boxes and self-playing pianos.

Additionally, you could rent extravagant dresses and have photos taken in the garden. We opted not to do this—at least not initially.

Afterward, we attended a presentation that first provided exciting facts about the Titanic. Then a Japanese opera singer sang to the music of the mechanical arcade machines. My personal highlight of the day was his duet with an air organ to My Heart Will Go On.

Absolutely crazy—but in a good way.

After that, we could finally check into the hotel. We had a traditional Japanese room again, which was really quite stylish. After freshening up, we headed to the hotel's restaurant for Kaiseki. This is a menu made up of numerous small, harmoniously arranged dishes, usually prepared with regional and seasonal ingredients.

It would really be too much to even list all the delicious treats we enjoyed. But it was genuinely exquisite.

Afterward, we went to the hotel's onsen, where we soaked for a good while.

And then it was finally time for bed.