Yesterday was one of our most laid back days. It was beautiful and sunny, if a bit chilly (It IS December!). We cooked a wonderful omelet with lots of veggies, cheese, etc. for breakfast in this huge kitchen and then headed off on bikes around the lake. It looks like a big boating area, although we only saw a couple of swan peddle boats and a couple of jet skiers actually out yesterday (it was a Monday - I think this is a weekend place and people went back to work). There were lots of boats still in the water and we passed a couple of water sports equipment stores around the lake. The map says the circular route is over 20 km. It was very deceptive on the map and we kept thinking we were further along than we were. But it was a very nice ride, with many spots where there was an off-road trail right down by the water. In one place it was a conservation area where banks of various flowers and herbs were planted - fields of lavendar, of course, not in bloom now! But I bet it's gorgeous when it is.
One stop we did make was at Kawaguchi Sengen Jinja Shrine - a very old Shinto shrine (of course we did the cleansing ritual and then the two bows, two claps, make a wish and one final bow!) We had a bit of trouble finding it but stopped and ask this woman farmer working. She babbled in Japanese and pointed and Betty seemed to understand her. Sure enough, we found it following her pointing!
The two neatest things there was, first, no one else was there. A couple was just leaving so we had this ancient place to ourselves to look around. Also I had read the gigantic cypress trees lining the entrance were over 1,000 years old.
They were pretty amazing (I've never seen the redwoods in Ca). I thought this was the shrine where in ancient times the pilgrimages to the top of Mt. Fuji would begin. We followed what seemed like a trail for awhile but then it kind of ended, and there was a main road crossing so we weren't sure and turned back. I had read that pilgrims went to this shrine, climbed this smaller mountain for a view of Fuji and then continued along a ridge to finish the actual Mt. Fuji climb. Turns out when we studied the map, there are actually a couple of other places marked "Sengen Jingo Shrine" so not sure where it started. Now I think pilgrims just drive or ride up to the 5th Station where we'd been the day before with the Izumis and start from there. Last year Betty read over 300,000 people climbed Mt. Fuji!! Pretty impressive. Turns out we were lucky as people here at the hostel who just arrived wanted to take the local tour bus up and our day was the last day until March. So they weren't able to go up that far. We got some great pictures from up there.
We also got MANY various views as we circled the lake of Mt. Fuji from all angles.
We finally ended back at the hostel to relax for the afternoon. We actually watched a movie - Letter from Iwo Jima, which I'd never seen. It would have been fun to see the American side - Flags of our Fathers - movie back to back but it wasn't here. Then, since we couldn't agree on what food to eat for dinner, we went to the grocery store and each got our own thing to bring back and eat here. We sat around the kotatsu, a low table with a quilt under it that you plug in, put your feet under the table and it's toasty warm. Apparently this is what some Japanese have in their home in the winter. We had seen many hostelers sitting around it while we've been here but last night was our turn. I finished my book I'd been reading about Nagasaki, the Dutch traders there on Nijima island, around 1800 when they were the only foreigners allowed to trade with the Japanese. Really good story! Gotta find another book for the long plane ride home. I can leave one and take one from the shelf here. Love those hostels!!
The young woman at the desk here was able to change our bus tickets for today so we can leave earlier to spend more time at Kamakura, since we have only one night there. We go back to Shinjuku station in Tokyo and then hop a commuter line south through Yokohama to K. which is on the water. I had inadvertently send home with Joyce in my suitcase from China my youth hostel card - which they require at the next hostel - haven't needed it at all in Japan. But it's an extra 1000 yen if I don't have it. She was able to scan it at the library and e-mail it to me. It came in really clear. Hopefully they will accept it. It's worth printing it out here and showing it to them. It has my name and expiration date very clearly printed.
Off we go for our almost last new spot in Japan before heading home. Only the fish market and the shrine near our hostel, plus shop for final souvenirs (don't know where we are going to put them!) before our flight on Thursday.
Sayonara!
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