Our adventure has taken us from Tokyo south and west to the town Shimizu in Shizuoka prefecture, close to Mount Fuji. The main points of the trip were to get closer to Kyoto (our next destination), see more of Mochan who organised the Hospitality Club party in Tokyo on Sunday, and to see the great mountain itself. Well ,2 out of 3 aint bad, as the song goes. Kyoto is nearer, Mochan is still the wonderful force of nature he appeared to be, but Fuji defied our efforts by remaining very firmly shrouded in clouds, for pretty much all of its visable height from where we were standing (a local viewing spot that takes in both the mountain and the sea).
This was initally disappointing as one of the main points, when planning the trip, was to reach Mount Fuji by travelling over land and sea, but in fact the mountain did bless us today. As my dear friend Iain remarked the other day 'sometimes points change as the journey unfolds' the experience today reinforced the old adage that the journey is more important than the destination. How true when I reflect on the incredible trip we are having - how honoured I feel almost every day to experience the myriad wonders that happen to and around us continually, being afforded glimpses into so many lifes and worlds that I have no real right to and how irrelevant spying one mountain from atop another one now seems. So thank you Iain and thank you Fuji for the reminder, which I shall bear in mind when re-planning the rest of our journey, which may not be feasible in its current form due to seasons and funds.
The day was splendid as we walked through 150 year old tunnels through bamboo forests and explored this area with our friend Mochan. We stepped back in time visiting a village unchanged for centuries it seems, and also one of only 2 hotels in the country that has survived since the Edo period. Really interesting place, that has persuaded me once and for all the the Japanese design aesthetic is pretty wonderful both in terms of beauty and practicality. We also had a tea ceremony in somewhere that tourists never come (this area is totally off-guide) and the ladies who run it were so surprised to see westerners that they let us in through a very special, normally off-limits doorway into a secluded private room for the ceremony. Wonderful cake ('setting-sun' for autumn - the cakes are very symbolic of the season, just as kimono are) followed by even better tea, and lots of insightful conversation. The perfect break from Tokyo as we prepare to hitch to Kyoto tomorrow with fully replenished batteries. Hurrah!