Trip to Mt. Fuji

 This morning after breakfast we sent our bags on a separate transport while we traveled to Mt. Fuji on a Shinkansen.  The trip took a little over two hours.  We transferred to  our bus for the next few days and drove to the Mt. Fuji area.  Unfortunately it was shrouded in clouds so we decided to visit a tea plantation..  The tea was growing in perfectly strait rows covering rolling hillsides.  The tea is harvested several times a year, but the bushes can continue to produce for many years before having to be replanted.  It was very quiet and peaceful.  The fog rolled in with the breeze and gave it an other worldly look.

The wind started picking up which meant we had a chance that the clouds would blow off Mt. Fuji.  We continued on the bus to a better vantage point.  We were lucky that it cleared so we could get shots from several different locations including Lake Kawaguchiko and Lake Saiko  Some people visit and never get to see it because of the clouds.

We checked into our hotel that set atop a tree covered hill with views of the lake below.  Unfortunately it was not angled so the rooms had a direct view of Fuji. Dinner was a western style meal in a room in the hotel.  With an early morning call ahead of us, we ate and immediately retired to bed.

Tomorrow: Sunrise on the Mountain