Warning- expect a million pictures because I can’t choose!

Catching a glimpse of the beautiful Mt Fuji on my journey between Kyoto and Tokyo whetted my appetite and I wanted more. And as the area is a colder climate area, the blossoms bloom later… so there was a good chance I could see Mt Fuji again (the weather report looked good) and possibly see full gorgeous bloom cherry blossoms… what this trip was all about.

I’m not normally one to do tours as I find them restricting. I like to do what I like to do. But I looked into doing this myself on the bullet train but it all seemed too hard. I’m really tired after walking 100km in the last 6 days so a tour actually seemed like a good option. So I booked. Very last minute.

Mt Fuji, called Fuji-San by the Japanese, is the iconic painting-like snow capped highest mountain in Japan… or more accurately volcano. An active one… although it hasn’t erupted in several hundred years. And it’s considered to be a sacred place. And it’s beautiful!

So that meant another early morning on the subway before our tour spirited us away from the tourist bustle of urban areas to tranquil countryside with magnificent mountainous views… and before I knew it we were arriving at our first stop- Arakurayama Sengen Park. If I wanted a gorgeous spot to admire Mount Fuji, then Chureito Pagoda sounded perfect… and there is a big chance that you’ve seen this location pop up on Instagram or somewhere else before.

The iconic Chureito Pagoda is a five storied pagoda on the mountainside overlooking Fujiyoshida City and Mount Fuji as the perfect backdrop. The pagoda is part of the Arakura Sengen Shrine and was built as a peace memorial in 1963 nearly 400 steps up the mountain from the shrine’s main buildings. Now, I didn’t even notice the steps as I was so excited by the blossoms… literally hundreds of trees!

And when you get to the top… the most spectacular and iconic views. Even more breathtaking in real life than in the pictures.

We move onto another one of the most majestic views in Japan. Lake Kawaguchiko is the most accessible of the five lakes and the scenery is particularly breathtaking as cherry blossom trees virtually surround the lake with their soft white and pink hues. One big perfect pastel palette!

And Mt Fuji looms large.

There we had a lovely sunny day walking around this beautiful place with Mount Fuji as the backdrop.

Next stop was Oishi Park on the Lake with another superb view of the lake and Mt Fuji. Flowers bloomed in profusion The 350m-long Flower Street shows off its seasonal blossoms starting with tulips in late April along with moss phlox. And of course, cherry blossoms

And our last… and perhaps my favorite stop was Iyashi no Sato which stands on the site of a former farming village on the western shores of Lake Saiko. The village was destroyed by a landslide during a typhoon in 1966. Forty years later the village’s traditional thatched roofed houses were reconstructed and reopened as an open air museum and traditional craft village where people can learn about the culture and try out and purchase different local handicrafts. I thought it might be a boring hard sell… but it was the exact opposite. OMG- I was in heaven.

Traditional thatched houses… cherry blossoms everywhere with Mt Fuji rising up behind the picturesque village, making for spectacular scenery. Could it possibly be any more picturesque?

The village is now made up of more than twenty houses that have been converted into shops, restaurants, museums and galleries. Each of the shops specializes in a traditional craft such as pottery incense or weaving. Some of the handicraft shops, provide hands on workshops for visitors to try making traditional products, including washi paper, charcoal and soba noodles. There is even a portrait studio where visitors can try on kimono or samurai armor for a small fee and take photos. If only we’d had more time 😂

So from one extreme to the other, we went from the peace and tranquility of the mountain countryside to the buzz of Shinjuku. Our bus dropped us back in Shinjuku and I decided to hang out with another single woman I had met on the tour. If you’re looking for the busiest, liveliest, brightest, craziest area to visit while in Tokyo, Shinjuku is probably a good option.

It’s what many people imagine when they think about Japan. There’s even a giant Godzilla head on top of one of the hotels.

It is home to the world’s biggest railway station, where more than two million passengers flow through their hallways daily… just a taste of the immensity of this mini-city.. So Shanta and I just strolled around and admired the bedazzling neon lights. Part of the quintessential Tokyo experience, the neon lights are iconic symbols of a city that never sleeps… it kind of reminded me of the bright lights of New York’s Times Square. It’s a lot of fun and kind of overwhelming. It is also the epicentre of Tokyo culture and cuisine!

Our first stop was in Shinjuku Omoide Yokocho… aka Pee Alley. While the blossoms that you see on this street in my pictures aren’t real, it remains one of Tokyo’s most beautiful streets… if you can call it a street. A tiny alleyway is more to the point.

This tiny place is filled with even tinier restaurants and bars that fit a max of about 8 people each… mostly locals.

There are apparently about 280 of them and each one is so full of character and made me feel like I was in some kind of movie or something! It was like Pontocho in Kyoto… and we stopped and had a drink in one of the tiny bars.

We then headed off to Shinjuku Golden Gai which is another small area in Tokyo with a lot of character. It has a unique and alluring nightlife scene. Small bars are clustered together and weave through narrow alleys and passageways.

The lanes are only wide enough for a single person to pass-through and we found a little place to eat some delicious ramen

Bed time for me after another long day walking another 18 km. Tomorrow is my last day in Japan and I have to make the most of it.