Monday March 21, 2016
Today was a travel day from Tokyo to Hakone to try to see Mt. Fuji. The weather was overcast and drizzly so we didn’t have much hope of seeing the mountain.
On the way to Hakone, we stopped at a huge rest stop along the highway:
The bus drove us to the Mt. Fuji information center but it was raining and visibility was poor. The original plan was to climb up to the fifth station by bus. We saw a video of the mountain instead.
We stopped for lunch at a Japanese family-owned French restaurant:
We stopped at a sake brewery to learn how sake is made. The owner of the company was the 21st generation of sake brewers in his family. He gave us a guided tour of the facility.
As we approached Hakone, the weather looked like it was clearing:
We kept searching the sky for the mountain, not really sure what we would see. Our only views of Mount Fuji had been in photos and paintings. Then we saw it! The clouds moved quickly and for a few minutes parted to reveal the majestic mountain. It was huge; dominating the sky beyond the foothills!
The group checked into the Palace Hotel Hakone and we relaxed until dinner. We had been instructed to dress in ‘yukatas’ for dinner and ate in a traditional Japanese dining room in the hotel.
