After a night alone in Yotsuya, my significant other joined me for two
weeks in-and-around Tokyo. Breaking up
the stays in the aforementioned and Ikebukuro, we spent three nights in the
Fuji Highlands, more specifically Kawaguchiko.
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| Kawaguchiko |
Our lodgings, the Mizuno Hotel, sat over Lake Kawaguchi and with that
offered a rather nice view of Fuji-san…well, for the first day we were there
anyway. This allowed the opportunity for much sitting on a tatami mat in the
Japanese-style room, drinking green tea smugly while looking at Japan’s most
famous mountain.
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| Fuji-san at 5AM |
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| Mizuno Hotel |
The city of Kawaguchiko is a random one. Going there outside of the
two-month Mt Fuji climbing peak season meant that many of the facilities were
closed, and those that were open closed soon after lunch. This left
circumnavigating the lake as one of the few activities available while there; a
walk that was longer than initially anticipated with further randomness along the
way: There was a European musical wonderland for the middle-aged and middle
class; small villages with little happening except the construction of new
houses; endless fishermen; and a depressing stream of defunct tourist spots and
hotels.
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| Lake Kawaguchi |
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| Lake Kawaguchi |
Lake Kawaguchi almost seems like a tourist spot forgotten. Boats,
hotels, pedalos and swimming pools have been left abandoned both in and out of
the lake. Combined with the closed nature of many surviving establishments, it
feels very much like a ghost town in parts, with people seemingly preferring resort-style
locations, such as the Fuji-Q Highland Amusement Park nearby.
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| Lake Kawaguchi |
This meant a lot of time was left to spend in the hotel, sitting
watching the view of Fuji-san, which is what it’s there for, except climbing,
of course. Now, the Mizuno Hotel is by far one of the most random I have ever
stayed at. To start, it has a large and spacious reading room by the reception:
an excellent feature in any hotel. But surrounding the reading room, and indeed
the entire hotel, is some of the most unusual artwork I have ever seen. Sitting
in the bar here was a popular activity. As well as the reading room, there is a
music studio (?), rooftop Jacuzzi, health club, but best of all a free onsen of
its very own. The food was expensive, but the endless courses made it worth it
for a treat. Plus, it’s not every hotel where the owners offer to take you out
for lunch.
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| Mizuno Hotel |
The weather petered out after the first day:
largely cloudy, leaving Fuji-san difficult to fully enjoy. This is probably a place for
a short stay at most, only staying longer if you actually plan on climbing the
mountain in the months of July and August. Either that or a place to lie-low for
a few weeks…much like Mr Happy Days here…
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| Phil Tufnell celebrating his successful plastic surgery |
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