[The following post is from the archives of my In Search Of Incredible blog, originally published on 21 February 2016]
11 October 2015, Sunday
Day 2 of the trip, and we would be spending half the day in Lake Kawaguchi before heading back to Tokyo. For breakfast, we munched on pastries that we bought from the supermarket last night. K’s House has a big pantry where you can do your own cooking, and it is well equipped with microwave oven and toaster and all the necessary utensils too. The common area is also very spacious and comfortable, and I like the homely feel of it.
After breakfast, we decided to proceed with our plan of cycling despite the light drizzle. We each rented a bicycle from K’s House, costing 750 yen (S$9) for five hours for each bike. It was not a mountain bike or a road bike, but one of those typical “uncle” bicycles that are commonly ridden all over Japan. As K’s House only had one poncho to spare, we borrowed it and bought another disposable poncho.
Our original plan was to complete one round around Lake Kawaguchi. The entire circumference is about 19.95km. On paper, it sounded achievable. When we set off, it was about 10am. As our bus back to Tokyo would depart at 3:40pm, we would have about five hours to cycle. Meaning, we would have to cover 4km in an hour.
However, we did not take into account the rain and the many detours we would make while cycling. In any case, it was meant to be a leisure cycling trip at our own pace and we did not want to rush or be constrained by time.
We cycled in a clockwise direction around Lake Kawaguchi. As it was drizzling, the road was wet so we could not cycle very fast. There also wasn’t any proper cycling path so we had to cycle on the road shoulder most of the time. Despite the less than favourable conditions, I assure you that it is safe to cycle and Japanese motorists are friendly enough not to pressure you or drive too close to you.
About 25 minutes after setting off, we came across a quaint little temple and we felt compelled to stop by for a look. From the signboard erected in front of the shrine, we learned that on 26 June 2013, Fujisan (Mt. Fuji) was inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage List and a total of 25 component parts such as shrines, lakes, springs, waterfalls and pine tree groves, those of which are located at the foot of Fujisan and closely connected in terms of religious worship and works of art, were inscribed to the list. This Shinto shrine is called Fuji Omuro Sengen-jinja Shrine and it is the 2nd station of the Yoshida Ascending Route, and an important stop in Fujisan worship.
The compound isn’t very big and it consisted only of a few buildings, but we didn’t enter them. It was surrounded by lush greenery and tall trees, providing a very peaceful setting. We roamed freely and snapped some photos and left after about 20 minutes.
We continued cycling along the shore, stopping whenever something caught our eyes – be it nice scenery or a house with a nice vegetable patch. Here are some pics from our random stopovers:
At about 11:40am, we popped into a nondescript restaurant to grab some lunch. As it was a Sunday, most of the restaurants were closed and there weren’t many options. We weren’t even sure that the restaurant was open because there was no one inside at first glance. As we stood outside the door, we called out to make our presence known, and an old lady appeared from the kitchen. She greeted us cheerfully and welcomed us inside.
We removed our wet ponchos and placed them at the entrance, then removed our shoes and went to a low table and sat on the tatami floor. It was a traditional place and the décor was simple but elegant. The menu was all in Japanese and the lady did not speak any English, but we somehow managed to place our orders as my friend could speak a smattering of Japanese and had learned a bit of the language years ago.
I ordered a tempura udon and it turned out to be really good. I don’t normally like to eat udon (I prefer ramen) but the restaurant served only udon so I didn’t have a choice. But I enjoyed the udon very much. Perhaps it was due to the setting that added to the enjoyment of the meal.
We pulled out our map and asked the lady where we were exactly, and she pointed to a spot about one-third of the way. By the time we finished our lunch, it was about 12:05pm. So we only had about two hours left to cycle and there was still two-thirds of the distance to go. We surmised that it would be too rushed to go further onwards, so we decided to backtrack instead. After paying for our meal (500 yen each), we mounted our bikes once more and cycled back.
One hour later, we had reached the starting point of the Kachi Kachi Ropeway. It is a cable car ride that ascends 400m to the peak of Mt. Tenjo, where there is an observation deck and you can get a great view of Mt. Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi. We paid 720 yen each for a 2-way ticket. If you are in the mood to trek up or trek down Mt. Tenjo, there is an option for a one-way ride costing 410 yen.
The ropeway ride took less than 10 minutes as it glided up smoothly and bobbed gently in the breeze. Thankfully, it had stopped drizzling by now. When we stepped out of the cabin at the peak, we were greeted by Mt. Fuji in all its glory. It was a slightly unfamiliar sight, as only a small portion of the dome was covered with snow. We would later learn from the news that it was Mt. Fuji’s first coat of snow of the winter. It was indeed true, because when we had arrived the day before, the dome of Mt. Fuji was totally bare.
The peak of Mt. Fuji was also crowned by a peculiar ring of dark clouds, shaped like a doughnut. My friend, who was a geography student, explained that it was a phenomenon called a lenticular cloud. However, as the rest of the sky was overcast, the lenticular cloud could not be seen clearly, but it was still quite a special sight.
The Kachi Kachi ropeway is named after a folk story called “Kachi Kachi Yama”, in which a rabbit gets revenge on a thieving Japanese raccoon by setting him on fire and drowning him in a river. Certainly not a very child-friendly story, but as with everything Japanese, the rabbit and raccoon characters are depicted in a cute and adorable manner.
We spent about 25 minutes at the peak before taking the ropeway back down. Just beside the ropeway station, there was a cheesecake café and it looked interesting so we went in to have a look. There were cheesecakes and pastries of every kind and as the smell wafted through the shop and reached our nostrils, our stomachs growled in unison and we decided that there was always room for dessert. We ordered a cheesecake each, and there was a complimentary cup of hot coffee with each serving. Nice!
After that, we visited a souvenir shop to buy some fridge magnets and snacks before heading back to K’s House. We said goodbye to the hostel for the last time and made our way back to the bus terminal to catch our 3:40pm bus back to Shinjuku.
We reached Shinjuku at about 6pm. From there, we took a free shuttle bus to our hotel, Shinjuku New City Hotel, located at 4-31-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, which is on the quieter side of Shinjuku, near the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. The room was slightly bigger than expected but the bed was small and the bathroom even tinier, like an airplane toilet. The room cost about S$135 per night, which is considered quite reasonable for Tokyo.
After unloading our bags, we took the shuttle bus back to the Shinjuku train station, and we went searching for dinner. I was craving for some Japanese curry rice. We found one fast food style chain and placed our orders via the self-service ticket vending machine located outside the store. We then entered the store and handed the tickets to the staff, and they prepared our food.
It is quite common to see such ticket machines outside ramen stalls as well. I feel it is a good system because it cuts down on manpower (no extra personnel needed to take orders) and it also reduces the opportunity for theft by the staff. More importantly, it improves food hygiene because the staff do not handle money and just concentrate on preparing the food.
After dinner, we spent the next 1.5 hours roaming around and getting a feel of Shinjuku. We didn’t do much shopping yet as most of the shops closed at 9pm. We then retreated back to our hotel to rest and it’s the end of day 2. It was a good day and I enjoyed cycling around Lake Kawaguchi very much, even though we didn’t get to complete one round. Can try that again next time, when it is not so rushed.