Mt. Fuji Sunrise

 We had a 4 a.m. call to board our bus for a sunrise shot on the lake.  Sunrise is 4:38 here which is why the early morning departure was necessary.  We set up on the lakes edge and waited.  Without clouds, the sunrise wasn't very spectacular.  


We returned to the hotel for breakfast before heading out for more photos.  Our first stop was Honcho Street in Fujiyoshida for a photo of the mountain at the end of the street.  We then walked to Shinkurayama Sengen Park where we were able to climb to a pagoda with Mt. Fuji in the background.  This was a popular spot despite the climb with lots of people gathered at the top for photos.



Next we visited the Fujiyoshida Sengen Shrine with it's towering cedar tree path leading to the shrine area with some buildings dating back to 1615.  There was apparently some of the best coffee of the trip in a little trailer parked at the shrine.  This was our first stop that didn't involve a view of Mt. Fuji which actually was a little refreshing.







For lunch we went to a udon noodle restaurant.  Not a fancy venue, we chose our dish and ordered via a vending type machine where we were issued a ticket number.  Someone in the kitchen then started making our orders which were delivered in somewhat of a random order.  The noodles were delicious and a nice change from our convenience store lunches.

We returned to the hotel for our third critique.  Afterwards we dined in the hotel on  a western style menu.

Tomorrow: Back to Tokyo

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