Like Driving in a Typhoon

After a morning dip in the onsen, we were escorted to breakfast in our private dining room. We listened to the same playlist from dinner last night which made us chuckle - it included “Amazing Grace” and “Time to Say Goodbye” by Sarah Brightman which my mom was once obsessed with. The dining at the ryokan is amazing, but their playlist should definitely be longer.

Our beautiful breakfast below, again not in a collage and in order to appreciate the presentation and details:







This soft boiled egg was wonderful:





This yogurt was probably the best I’ve ever had!



Also, my mom managed to take a photo of our awesome server and it gives you a feel for the room:



After enjoying coffees in the lounge, we shuttled back and forth in packing up the car and I tried to get CarPlay to work but failed. Here is a photo of the entrance and carp that my maternal grandfather loved, according to my mom:





Then we were off to Nagoya and Nara heading southwest. I used the car GPS as it was more in tuned to local alerts such as construction and detailed lane changes, and the Google Maps for flexibility as I struggled to punch in names and addresses in the car GPS. This combination was helpful as I would prefer the roadway signs to be larger. Thank goodness Justin reads Japanese and I was comfortable driving on the left side - this would be a lot otherwise. My mom took a photo during the morning:



Through mountain tunnels with openings that looked like curated gardens and cruising on elevated highways, I found the Japanese to be orderly drivers - not a lot of speeding or swipes and very calm. It rained moderately and we noticed so much fog hanging around the mountains - you could now understand why so many Japanese drawings depicted mountains and fog. We also passed many cherry trees and my mom did her best to capture them:



After about 3.5 hours, we arrived in Nagoya. It’s the 4th largest city and known for being the headquarters of Toyota and Brother Industries to name a few. I had picked Nagoya as an intermediate stop and an option of seeing Nagoya Castle which is a reconstruction after being destroyed during World War II.

But as we left a little later than planned, it’s not one of the top castles to see in Japan, and walking the grounds in the rain was not ideal, we decided not to enter. From the parking area, you could only see a little peek of the castle which has a few nicknames such as Golden Castle and Meijō. I did take a photo of the peak bloom of these cherry blossoms along the outer castle walls:



We popped into a cute restaurant for some coffee and tea, and red bean and mochi snack. Nagoya Castle made for an excellent rest stop!



Our original plan was to visit Nara Park for the Great Buddha and sacred deer, but at this point, the rain started to really come down. Also Justin was not feeling well, so we decided to head straight to the hotel. In the 2 hour drive to Nara, the rain came down so hard, the windshield wipers were on the fastest setting. I was amazed by the rain and Justin reminded me about the typhoon weather here as he took this photo:



Eventually the rain let up and at a service area, I took a photo of some cherry blossoms and the fog that we saw all day:



After circling off the elevated highway, we arrived at Fairfield by Marriott Nara Tenri Yamanobenomichi which is south of Nara. I had planned to come here after the park, and on our way south to Mount Koya. It’s a bit in the burbs, but the hotel is immaculate as it just opened 2 years ago. A sakura lined road in Tenri:



Dinner choices were a bit limited to chains as restaurants appear to close early here, so my mom and I walked to Marukatsu next door which is a low key katsu restaurant. My mom ordered a pork and shrimp set and I had chicken. A collage below of our respective sets:



We were surprised how well the katsu was fried and prepared and combined, only cost ~$18. As the young server explained using English note cards that we can have refills of rice and cabbage, she also advised it was “cash only”. I only had ¥1,000 (~$6) and she said there was no ATM onsite and closing in 30 minutes. She offered for us to come back in the morning and pay, but I decided to ring Justin who came over with his last ¥2,000. I thought maybe I missed the “cash only” sign and without Justin, we did fumble through the ordering with pointing and pictures. But the waitress kept apologizing to us there was no sign. I did notice a QR code for Alipay and Justin and I agreed they needed an option for Chinese tourists.

Justin also remarked that it was helpful he didn’t have an appetite as we didn’t have enough cash. With our coins, I’m sure we could have come up with the amount for a 3rd small set, but I guess we’ve become too reliant on our Pasmo / Suica cards! As Justin noted, we are clearly not in Tokyo anymore as the servers didn’t speak any English, cash only, and trusted us to pay tomorrow…

In order to save time later in the week, my mom and I headed to a gas station. Thank goodness for Google translate with a camera option, so I could decipher the instructions without my brother. We also stopped by the local 7 Eleven for cash and Choco Monako Jumbo that was in an algorithmic Instagram post. It was deliciously light and so popular that apparently, 1 is sold every 0.17 seconds!



Then we headed back to the hotel. Also, today is the 3rd anniversary of our dad’s passing. It’s nice that we’re spending so much time together and as my mom said, it’s nice that all of us will be together the first time we’re in Korea after his passing. We are definitely getting in a lot of quality time - over 5 hours in the car alone today!

Fuji Five Lakes

Our first view of Mount Fuji was from the highway, but this was one of the first photos with its iconic snow capped peak and the basis of today’s agenda:



For breakfast, we went around the corner of our hotel for Komoro soba which is a chain. They were celebrating shrimp week, so we enjoyed shrimp as well!



While my mom waited at the hotel after breakfast, Justin and I walked 15 minutes to Toyota Rental Car which is the Hertz partner. On the way, we saw parades of “salary men” and “office ladies” in their black suits and white shirt uniforms headed to their corporate jobs. It was mesmerizing as they lined up waiting for the crossing signals and walked en masse:



We found Toyota and after the explicit instructions, we hopped into a Prius which is only a few years old but had no USB port or CarPlay. We made due and I was grateful for the practice in South Africa of driving on the left side of the road as I navigated to the hotel and then tried to get on the highway.

With the bright sun and the confusing turns in Tokyo city, Google maps had to keep recalculating and poor Justin had to hold the phone near my face until I felt comfortable there weren’t quick turns. It felt a little like downtown Boston with tunnels and confusing turnoffs. Eventually we persevered out of Tokyo, but we were slowed about 40 minutes due to the congestion which I think was ultimately due to the glare.

From Toyota, we rented an ETC card that pops into a slot in the car and is effectively our EZ-Pass. There were several toll roads on our way to Fuji Five Lakes which has views of the famous mountain and onsens. In 2017, I had done a day trip in nearby southern Hakone (http://leadingalifeofcyn.blogspot.com/2017/12/trains-trains-and-trains.html) and decided for this trip, we should do something similar but different.

Fuji Five Lakes is the name of the area located at the base of Mount Fuji, a volcano that last erupted in 1708 and is about 60 miles west of Tokyo. The five lakes formed by previous eruptions are Lake Kawaguchi, Lake Motosu, Lake Sai, Lake Shōji, and Lake Yamanaka. Most visitors stay at Kawaguchiko as it’s the largest.

Mount Fuji is the holiest of three mountains in Japan and the tallest at over 12,389 feet. We arrived at Oishi Park which was flooded with day trippers and tourists. There were long queues for frozen yogurt and lots of buses. We managed to take a few shots and enjoyed some snacks from our nephew:





On the way back into the town area, we tried to stop in Nagasaki Park, another popular viewing area, but it was way too narrow and had limited parking. I think it’s more suitable for the bicyclists who were enjoying the paths along the lake. We did manage to join in on the fun on these photos with the one blossomed cherry tree nearby:











We then headed to Momiji Corridor which is a path with tree blossoms or maple leaves, but it was pretty barren. So we didn’t stop and headed to the Mount Fuji Panoramic Ropeway which is a cable car on Mount Tenjo. When I suggested it, my mom asked if they take Suica which made me laugh and of course they did. The area in general gave me Niagara Falls vibes with throngs of tourists and old resorts lining the lake.

After being bowed to by the cable car attendant and sent off on a 3 minute ride, we were at the observation deck with a view of the town, lake, and the mountain:







Apparently there’s a story about a raccoon and rabbit that’s famous here as well as ringing the bell brings you good luck!





We descended and headed to the hotel as they accept guests at 3 pm. We struggled a little with both the car GPS and Google maps for the 5 minute ride. I eventually concluded that the address is the back of the hotel as I navigated narrow passages and passed rundown hotels. Apparently, most guests take advantage of the train shuttle van as they arrive from Tokyo and elsewhere to visit. But we eventually found the entrance and parking lot of Fuji Onsenji Yumedono which is a luxurious ryokan. I had decided I wanted this experience as I had learned about it in 2017, but the ~$600 per person per night charge was out of my price range or too difficult to book on short notice as there are not many rooms in traditional Japanese inns.

I reserved a family suite with traditional Japanese futons, our own garden, and hot spring onsen! This is probably what I’m looking forward to the most of the trip a I knew my feet and back would appreciate the Japanese tradition of onsens. Some photos:







They provided us with traditional Japanese pajamas and socks, and Yukatas which are unlined cotton summer kimonos, worn casually and means "bathing cloth". My mom decided she’d try hers as we checked out the lounge where you can relax and enjoy beverages:



We’re in the Yukari suite which means purple:



I enjoyed our private onsen immediately after showering which is the etiquette while my family napped. We were escorted to our private dinner room and rocked our Yukatas:







For beverages, we ordered plum wine and green tea. Coincidentally, the tea pot was rabbit-themed which is our dad’s Chinese zodiac sign:



For the traditional Japanese meal or washoku, they are prepared kaiseki style with detailed arrangements of multiple courses and “Kaiseki Ryori” is more haute cuisine. I usually collage photos for meals, but due to the extraordinary presentation and unique serving dishes, I didn’t want to minimize the photos…

The appetizer:



Sea bream soup with turnip:



Sashimi with Mount Fuji on the banana leaf:



Grilled char with miso in a magnolia leaf:



Steamed egg with shark fin and soft-shelled turtle:





Beef and vegetables on a hot stone with various dipping sauces:



Rice with bamboo shoots and a clam soup with some pickled vegetables:



Our dessert included fruit and mochi rice cake with syrup - here you can see the banana leaf cut out Lake Kawaguchi:



After dinner, I napped before dipping into the onsen with my mom which is about 104 degrees! It felt amazingly luxurious and glad this is part of the vacation!