From Fuji to Fiji

 

A travelling day for sure and one where I'd be sat on my backside a lot.  I do love these kinds of days, lots of time to take everything in, watch the world go by, but with only one purpose, to get from A to B (in today's case via C and D)

My great nights sleep amounted to a solid 5 hours between 11-4 which I am taking as progress. 2 hours of trying to fall back to sleep and then giving up the ghost and taking a chance to see even more of this wonderful area.  Not wanting to miss out on Chrissi's lake experience I decided to get on the running shoes and head lakeside.  Was the best time of the day, Kawaguchiko just coming to life, fellow joggers, fishers and strollers all taking in the glorious peace and tranquility of the scene. Clear blue skies, calm and placid waters, and Fuji watching over proceedings, just perfect.

It was then onto the checking out of the Airbnb, our little bit of luxury on this holiday I feel, and we needed to ensure we returned it in something like the good condition it was loaned to us. Been a lovely little home for 3 days, a modern japanese experience for sure.  

We strolled to the bus station where we had an hour or two to kill and combined that with breakfast. I enjoyed (and I mean enjoyed as most of my food choices have been weak or rushed) a crispy rice/sausage/bacon corn dog kind of thing, some cheese balls, and a lovely eco friendly latte, once I worked out which spout to drink from.

The bus onboarding was well managed by the Japanese equivalent of my Mum.  She had us all in line, busying herself bringing the buses in, even getting into the luggage hold to take our bags in . Super Nan.  Two hour trip back to Tokyo was very pleasant. I know all eyes turned to the trains here, and it was more by luck than judgement but top tip, use the buses, they are absolutely fabulous darling.  Saw the nearby theme park Fuji Q for you roller coaster thrill seekers. (Vaughany boy)

Opposite the Shinjuku bus station you might recall a little place called eggslut. Second super choice of food for the day, if the previous meal was brunch, this was lunch.  An egg cheeseburger with hash browns and iced coke. Delicious and a chance to take one last look of Tokyo. There was a Wendy's round the corner which used to be our departure restaurant from Vegas but Wendy has become eggslut now, for sure.

And then it was on the bus to the airport where free onboard wifi which has also been perfect on all long bus trips gave me the chance to write this blog.  Obviously sticking my head up once in a while to take in the scenery

We are leaving with a list of things that demand further exploration that we just didn't have time for over the 5 days - chief among them would be some of the anime/cartoon stuff, bullet train travel and samurai type immersion.  But its not about the what ifs, and more about the what we have done and the seams of interest that have opened up. One particular seam is my now near obsessive interest in the likelyhood of Fuji erupting again in my lifetime and what the implications of that would be now we have seen all of the surrounding area. I've always been a bit of a volcano man, was the only bit of my A Level Geography that ever made any sense.  It should be noted the whole of this trip is along various rings of fire and fault lines, and whilst I'm not wishing for any large seismic activity, a little tremor would be of interest. There are many earthquakes a day in Japan but I have not felt a rattle or a hum thus far.

Anyhoo, airport check in awaits, and then a flight to Fiji...the politeness, sense of pride in self has been a feature from first to last in this country, and one to be admired I feel.  Yes, you get customer service in the US, but here it feels deeper and more meaningful.  Its been great, we have all taken different elements of this trip as highlights, but we now move to the main event, having spent the last of our pasmo card in the cafe.  The pasmo card a good example of some of the seeming extremes here, very high tech country with all the mod cons, and then a random card that you have to top up with cash and never know how much you have on it.  But then the check in, immigration and range of goods airside all cutting edge.  Tradition and the future all in one place.

 Right lets remind ourselves this whole trip is essentially a return trip to Fiji with stop overs.....

(Carys)

Since today has been more a day of travelling than anything, with some pretty sights along the way, I don't have too much to comment on. I got some good sleep and got up to finish gathering our things and leaving the Airbnb hopefully as close as it was when we arrived there that we could. It's been a good home for the short time we've been there, so I was sad to leave, but we set off in the now blazing sun to do the little walk to the town for the last time.

 In the bus station we found some breakfast, of which I was't really keen. I tried some red bean paste pancakes and fried cheese balls which were both a bit too rich for me, but nice to try. We bought a couple of souvenir-type bits and had a last wander round the town , saying goodbye to Mt Fuji. 

When the bus came we got on board and I enjoyed some more rest as we came back onto Tokyo, which by now feels all-too familiar. We settled back into our part-time home, Eggslut and got some lunch, which I did enjoy today, being very hungry. I had mum's favourite fairfax, egg and cheese with avocado in a bun, and got some wedges from the restaurant upstairs, all of which was top quality. I washed it down with the apple juice that tastes very much like pears here, and then we were back at the station to travel to the airport. 

We passed lots of cool sights on the way, including Disney Sea, which made me very happy. Aiport check in was all very smooth, and we've had a little walk around now, appreciating how clean and tidy everything is - the whole country feels immaculate to be honest. 

Now we wait for our next flight, which seems to have come round very quickly already. I've really enjoyed our jaunt in Japan, and am so grateful to have visited such a wonderful country, and hope to have the opportunity to return one day. Now I'll spend the flight trying to sleep, and getting excited for our next stop, Fiji!