Focus Japan :: 21/11/09

After breakfast, we then left Hamamatsu and travelled by bus to our next destination - Mount Fuji.

.the Okura Act City Hamamatsu hotel.

Mount Fuji or Fujisan is 3776 meters high, Japan's highest mountain. It is now a dormant volcano, where it last erupted during 1708. Mount Fuji can be viewed from Tokyo as well. However, you would have to consider lucky if you are able to view the peak of Mount Fuji, because sometimes it would be blocked by clouds resulting in poor visibility of the mountain.

.We reached a rest-stop after about a journey of 1 and a half-hours.

.You can view the beautiful white snowy Mount Fuji from here.

.my family. (:

.I just think it looks unbelievable and very beautiful. lol.

Located near Mount Fuji is the Hakone Peace Park Garden (Hakone is a forest-reserve park) full with shrines, temples and sculptures. You can view Mount Fuji from here as well.

.the walkway up to the temple.

.the Peace Bell.

.the Buddha temple.

.somehow i think we should have sat on the upper steps to get a clearer view of the temple. lol.

.autumn trees and leaves.

.the mysterious Mount Fuji.

.Along the way to the restaurant for lunch, there were many of these dried grasses.

.This is what we had for lunch!. ~yummy.

.This is one of the 5 lakes of Mount Fuji, i forgot it's name already. lol.

.The koi fishes in the lake are huge though.

After completing lunch, we went up again to have a nearer look at Mount Fuji, a place known as the 5th station. People would usually start hiking and climbing up Mount Fuji from the 5th stations (there are a total of four 5th stations) when Mount Fuji is opened for hiking during July and August.

.this place is the Fuji-Yoshida's Sengen Shrine. It is the main shrine on the north side of Mount Fuji.

.It snowed the day before and it was very very cold. lol.

.a close-up look of the peak of Mount Fuji.

.he looks like a gangster. HAHAHA! just wanted to get a picture of the frozen snow.

.this is the trail for hiking. but it is closed now.

.the shops and buildings at the 5th Station.

After enjoying the cool, breezy air (where you could even see your breaths), we checked in into the Fuji Mihana Hotel.

.my brother's really black face because he (me as well) was so reluctant to wear that weird yukata.

XD

.my parents. (:

We were all wearing the yukata for dinner. It's a buffet dinner actually, with Hokkaido's famous hairy crab (with very very long legs) and sashimi, and sushi etc. etc.

A yukata is somehow like a sleeping robe. but you can walk around with it, because there's an outer jacket. Basically, if you're interested in going for a dip in the hot spring, (it is called Onsen in Japanese) you wear the yukata with nothing inside (not even undergarments) because you must be fully nude.

Roughly the steps to try out the Onsen are,

1. Of course a small towel is provided to bring into the steamy room, guys can easily cover their little one (if you are shy) while girls would have quite a hard time figuring out which to hide. LOL! Don't worry, men and women are separated into different rooms.

2. You have to bathe in front of everybody. Yes, that is the rule, you need to let people see that you have cleaned yourself before dipping into the Onsen. It is just so weird letting other people see you bathe. LOL!

3. After washing your body, you may now dip into the Onsen, but you must not contaminate the hot spring water with the small towel, either just put it on the floor beside you, or you can just put it on your head.

4. You might wonder, how long should you be in the water? 5 to 10 minutes is enough! because you might faint or will faint after soaking for about 30 minutes or more than that. Don't be greedy. Hahahaha!

5. After enjoying yourself, just get up and dry yourself and wear the yukata again, and you're done! (:

So, did i try it out?

NO.

LOL.

.me and my brother were pitting our amateur photography skills with each other. this is his picture.

.this is mine. it does seem that the cake is floating. LOL.

.this is his. he decided to add that grape on top of the cake. LOL.

.i have to say, my brother looks pretty tough. LOL!

.Found a cute Japanese doll at the restaurant.

.group picture.

.This is a canned corn soup drink. with corns and the soup. very unique. Available from the vending machines. and it's still hot and warm oh!.

Next stop Tokyo!