Japan 2015 Day 09: Leaving Tokyo for Kawaguchiko

Weather: sunny morning; overcast afternoon (just in time to obscure Fuji-san!) 20°C, high 28°C

Accommodation: Woke up at Kimi Ryokan; went to sleep at Kawaguchiko Station Inn.

Train: Shinjuku 10:47 am –> Kawaguchiko 12:41 pm.

I went downstairs with Eskil when he woke up, and in a while we went out to get breakfast and coffee. (The normal routine had become that whichever adult’s turn it was would get food from Andersen in Ikebukuro train station and coffee from place on the corner closer to the ryokan.) Eskil was NOT a pleasant companion to get breakfast; I really felt like giving up and tying the lead of his backpack to a fence and hoping he was still there when I got back. I didn’t, but it was a near thing. When we finally got to Andersen, it was 7:40 and their sign said they don’t open until 8 am. Oh dear. There was a Pronto next door, so I got a few things there and DRAT! By the time we’d finished Anderson was open – even though it was 15 minutes early. Oh well. We got coffee and eventually made it back to the ryokan to have breakfast with Scott.

After breakfast we packed, including putting my suitcase, the smallest, into Scott’s, the largest. This was easier to manage on trains but meant we had plenty of space if we bought things along the way.

We checked out of Kimi and made our way to Ikebukuro station. Eskil didn’t want to get into the carrier, but we made him as it would just be too difficult with him walking / standing still / running.

We took the Yamanote Line to Shinjuku, found our platform – and then I realised we could have taken the Narita Express from Ikebukuro and it would have been the same train/platform! Oh well. Because of construction the carriages weren’t clearly marked, plus we had reservations in different cars. I took the bags, and Scott took the boy. Once on the train, I realised it wasn’t as solidly booked as it sounded, so I took the bags to Scott and Eskil’s car and sat there. I kept my eye open not wanting anyone to think I was stealing their seat, but there were no problems.

It was rather exciting to be heading out of Tokyo. As we’ve been there before – albeit briefly – Tokyo felt a bit like a place to practice and to acclimatise before we headed out into the wilds of rural Japan. It was also the first day we were using our JR (Japan Rail) passes, which would be our main transport for the next 3 weeks. And the gorgeous countryside was exciting!

Once at Kawaguchiko we easily found Kawaguchiko Station Inn since it’s directly opposite the train station. Our room was only a few minutes off being ready, so we waited until it was. We had a small but lovely room with a great view across to Mt Fuji – if it weren’t for clouds.

The restaurant under our accommodation was closed, however they recommended a restaurant across the car park. It was so close the wifi still connected, and it was great. It looked like it was run by grandmas, and it seemed to have real home cooking. We shared katsudon and soup with hand made udon. A late but really good lunch.

We took a bus to the Kachi Kachi Yama ropeway; it was rather fun. Eskil LOVES ropeways. The story behind Kachi Kachi Yama is – interesting. The Japanese can certainly create kawaii characters out of anything!

Fuji was hiding, but we had glimpses of it. We finally saw the summit on the bus ride home!

We went back to the ryokan to hang out. We’d had a late lunch, so Scott went to the 7-11 and got beer and snacks. Wasabi tortilla chips and edamame with beer is the dinner of champions!

Eskil watched TV; there was some strange children’s programme he enjoyed.