Fuji Park Hotel

... taro root and soba noodles. It actually was all pretty good.
A shinkansen (bullet train) took us back to Tokyo. By this time I was just out of it, seeing as I still had not been able to sleep. Thankfully last night I got a full nights sleep so feel much better.
A reception and dinner last night wrapped it up at the hotel.
All the Japanese are so nice and polite. We are having a wonderful time!

... which consisted of a variety of small soups, fish, sushi and rice dishes all with unique tastes, textures and colours, a great place to experience some traditional eats and relaxation.

Only there for a short time but it was definitely one of the highlights of the trip and a key souvenir spot! I've never seen so many cartoon fuji-chan souvenirs! Endless!

... Edo).

W okolicy jest stary punkt kontrolny (checkpoint), którego zadaniem było kontrolowanie przepływu ludności przez wewnętrzną granicę w starej Japonii. Szczególnej kontroli podlegały osoby opuszczające dawne Tokio (dawniej: Edo). Dlaczego? Powód jest bardzo ciekawy. Szogun przetrzymywał żony i dzieci samurajów w Tokio, podczas gdy mężowie służyli gdzieś wewnątrz kraju, z dala od rodzin. Była ...

... que estabamos rodeadas de mosquitos. Asi que nos fuimos a ver los puestos de comida que habian puesto para la ocasion. Habia pinchitos de sepia, pasteles con trocitos de pulpo, patatas con mayonesa, salchichas, carne a la plancha... comida para todos los gustos. Nos sentamos un rato y a las ocho en punto empezaron los fuegos. Tenian las plataformas en el centro del lago, asi que el espectaculo era prometedor.

La verdad es que acostumbrada a los fuegos artificiales de Valencia ...

... because she wasn't all that great with the mike, half the time I couldn't hear her...let alone understand her! Chrystal however did get a question right and the prize was some pureral (sp?!) jelly. It was like a really soft grape Now & Later. Pretty tasty actually, the guys in the seats in front of us thought it ...

... what we mistakenly thought was the appropriate dress code for a remote Japanese town (when in Rome...) From the numerous stares we received, it appeared we were very, very wrong. Seeing Sam hobbling through the streets wearing some wooden wedge flip flops, a silk Kimono and holding a washing basket will remain one the highlights of my trip. Arriving at the onsen, and realising everyone else was dressed in the somewhat less traditional ‘jeans and t-shirt’ combo ...

tot ce matin, le temps etais tres nuageux, ensuite vers 11h00 la pluie a commencer et elle n'a pas encore arrete. Je suis aller visiter des grotes, pensant que j'allais me sauver de la pluie, malheureusement, il faut marcher longtemps pour ce rendre de l'arret d'autobus au grottes alors je suis revenu trempe. Depuis, je tente de faire secher mes souliers et me jeans avant demain!

... down slanting sheets that it made us almost invisible ahead of us. At one point, Fredrik’s eye glasses were all clouded that he had to take it off; he was descending the steep hill half blinded. My water proof jacket began to absorb the water and my feet inside of hiking boots were all wet. My awesome gregory rucksack was also getting heavier as the inside (including my passport) was getting wet. When I started ...

... suppose I should've been tipped off as to what was in store when the first ordered dish arrived, and was still moving. A small mound of recently cut tentacles lay squirming in front of me. "Sebastian dozo!" One teacher said...it would later become the slogan for the night. Picking up the moving tentacles was a little difficult, but trying to hide my initial reaction was a greater challenge. Fortunately I was already down the road to inebriation, so ...

... ready to tackle the climbing again. One of the main reasons people climb Mt Fuji is to see the sunrise from the peak, which leads to a lot more people climbing throughout the night (suddenly I came to understand why it was so noisy!). The mountain gets downright conjested! But once more we continued out climb, always trying to beat that sunrise to the top. At approximately 5.15am I reached the very peak of Mt Fuji. With the last few minutes getting ...