October 23, 2017

Mount Fuji and Kawaguchiko

Every time I visit Japan, I try to allocate time to go to Kawaguchiko or Hakone. Love these 2 places cos I get to see the majestic Fuji-san (Japanese refer to Mount Fuji as Fuji-san, don't confuse it as Mr Fuji ok hehe).

Another reason is also because I've never gotten a photo of the mountain in its full glory. It's always cloudy or foggy. Grrr.. I want to see it like those photos I saw on the Internet or the travel brochures. The snow-capped mountain with clear blue skies. No luck so far although I did get quite good photos sometimes.

How can you not fall in love with this mountain?


view from Mount Kachi Kachi 

Kawaguchiko in Autumn...


Mount Kachi Kachi ropeway 

Opening hours: 9am ~ 5pm
The ropeway runs in 5-10 minutes interval
Fees: Roundtrip 800 yen (Adult) / 400 yen (Children)

queue for the ropeway

The lake is also very beautiful. I took the 20 minutes pleasure boat cruise on the lake, Ensolleille. The view of the mountains and the scenery around the lake was wonderful, although Fuji-san wasn't so clear cos it was almost noon. Need to come early in the morning for the best view. Also I went up Mount Kachi Kachi first before embarking on the cruise. I think it is best to go for the cruise first before going up the ropeway.

There weren't many people on the cruise so I had plenty of space to walk around the top deck and had unobstructed view of Fuji-san.

Opening hours: 9am ~ 4.30pm / ~ 5.30pm (summer) / ~ 4pm (winter)
The boat service runs every 30 minutes
Fees: 900 yen (Adult) / 450 yen (Children)





beautiful autumn colors starting to show



unobstructed view of Fuji-san but it wasn't clear :(


love the view anyway

sunny day


 ice cream on a sunny day


strolled around the lake

Went to Kawaguchiko again in Spring to see Fuji-san... and I was greeted by sakura as well!

at Kawaguchiko Station 


never get bored of this view


to Mount Kachi Kachi ropeway

The lake was really beautiful with sakuras surrounding it. If only the sky was clear, the view would've been perfect.

 sakura trees


 



 cloudy day





Two different views but the same beauty 

Oh we found one halal restaurant here, Alladin Indo Restaurant. But too bad it wasn't opened yet when we came.




It's very easy to find this restaurant. It is located nearby the Kawaguchiko pleasure boat jetty.

Address: 288-1 Funatsu, Fujikawaguchiko Minamitsuru-gun, Yamanashi 401-0301
Phone: +81 555 72 6755
Opening hours: 11am ~ 3pm (lunch) / 5pm ~ 11pm (dinner)

You can also find a halal hotel at Kawaguchiko. Yup, a Muslim friendly hotel, Syariah Hotel Fujisan. The hotel provides prayer room, prayer mat, qiblat indicator in each room and of course there's halal meals (reservation needed). I actually wanted to stay there but no room was available. Check the website for more information.



Anyway, there's a tourist information center at Kawaguchiko Station so you can get maps, information etc before starting your sightseeing around the lake.

No comments: