At the recommendation of friends, we decided to spend a few days at Kawaguchiko, a scenic town about 2 hours drive from Tokyo.
On hindsight it was indeed a good idea to escape the sensory overload that is Tokyo, and leave behind its hustle and bustle for part of our trip.
We took a 2 hour highway bus trip (travelling like locals! Much cheaper than driving, given the expensive tolls for private cars) and really enjoyed our time at this picturesque town, where most tourists travel to for a glimpse of Mt Fuji.
Once we arrived, it soon became clear that a hop-on-hop-off bus tour was the best way to see the five lakes – the 3 day passes that covered 3 bus lines were pretty good value for money!
The Red Line is the shortest, covering only half of one lake, but it passes by the most number of tourist attractions to stop at.
The Green Line is longer and covers two lakes and a heritage village. We took the Green Line twice over two days and really enjoyed the scenery.
The Blue Line is the longest, bringing visitors past the tiniest but prettiest third lake, and to to the tip of the fourth lake. There is a fifth lake to the right of the map, but none of the lines go there.
Our main aim wasn’t really to sight Mt Fuji, since we know how elusive it is, being shrouded by clouds for most of the year. But when we arrived, the weather was really sunny, so that gave us a bit of hope!
I only realised after reaching Kawaguchiko that its Fuji-Q Highlands’ roller-coasters were world famous! It did cross my mind to go in for a few rides, but eventually dropped it since no one else in the family likes roller-coasters. The rides are really quite jaw-dropping, and we heard screams from afar as we walked by.
A highlight on the Red Line is the Natural Living Centre. It is famous for its blooms and we were there when lavendar was in season.
The centre borders the lake.
The collage below juxtaposes what we could have seen, against what we saw that day. Haha.
Here are the kids enjoying the famous blueberry ice-cream there.
After the bus ride, we stopped for lunch at a hot dog stand playing loud Beatles music.
Thereafter, the girls had the best time throwing rocks into the lake and coming up with their own little games. They didn’t want to leave this spot! We were happy to sit at a bench and let them enjoy themselves for as long as they liked. Part of the joys of being on a free and easy trip.
There are also temples to visit and/or bat caves and wind caves to trek through if that’s your thing.
So did we see Mt Fuji?
Well the answer is that we saw a bit of Mt Fuji, which is more than what some of my friends said they did after going to visit that area twice. So we are thankful.
So this was what we could have seen (just a month before!), vs the view we actually got, from our hotel room.
Here’s the time lapse.
Some folks use the town as a base from which to hike up Mt Fuji too.
All in all, we had a great time spending 3 days and 2 nights there, though some would say a day trip suffices. Guess it depends on whether you just want to take it slow there.
Till the next time, Kawaguchiko and your pretty drain covers!
Facebook Comments