On Friday, we decided to spend our day as American tourists in Japan. We boarded a motor coach at 7:45 a.m. for a guided tour of Mt. Fuji, and the surrounding area. Our guide, Take (sounds like sake, the Japanese rice wine), kept us entertained while giving us lots of information about Japan, Tokyo and Mt. Fuji during the 2 hour bus ride. (For instance, did you know that 10% of Japan’s population lives in Tokyo?) When he ran out of fun statistical stuff, he turned to more entertaining things. Here is a pic of Sydney’s name written out in Japanese 2 ways. The writing to the left is the less formal, and the right is more formal. The weather this morning was cool and rainy during the bus ride, so we were worried that we wouldn’t be able to see much of Mt. Fuji (Japan’s largest mountain; and active, though dormant volcano). Needless to say, we were thrilled when the sun came out, and the skies cleared – practically the very moment we pulled up to the 5th station of the mountain! Every summer, there is a 1/2 marathon from the base of the mountain to the summit. Last year’s winner was an American, and he ran the distance (entirely uphill, at altitude) in only 2 1/2 hours! After leaving the 5th station, we were taken to a nearby restaurant for an authentic Japanese sushi lunch. We were each given a beautiful little bento box with sashimi, seaweed salad, and other elegant morsels. Yum! Sydney is getting REALLY good at eating with chopsticks. After lunch, we were on to the town of Hakone, where we took a short boat ride around Lake Ashi, which was formed by the caldera of the nearby volcano. It’s spring, and here in Japan, the cherry trees are in full bloom. This tree is 200 years old! After our long day, we were more than ready to get back to our hotel. A quick 40 minute ride on the bullet train (travelling at 160 mph) had us back in Tokyo lickety-split!
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Lisa LynchLisa is a world traveling mom that took the ultimate adventure Archives
December 2012
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