Day Four

Mount Fuji - Kawaguchiko - Shinjuku

Another early rise & shine. Breakfast consisted of Kelloggs Frosties (yeah we found a supermarket that sells the most expensive cereal in the world) & milk that tastes like liquidised cheese. Also in the supermarket we found some extra thick weird looking bread, some packet ham & nasty cheese slices. So whilst eating our English breakfast Andy made our sandwiches for the day. We gathered our things together quickly & headed out for the day - Mount Fuji here we come!!!

We jumped the train & headed for Shinjuku bus station. Arriving in Shinjuku underground train station we have never experienced anything like it in our lives!!! There is a whole world that moves underground. There is every type of shop imaginable, believe us when we say that you would never need to see daylight. The train station is that massive it's probably the size of Liverpool, imagine fitting 500 Lime Street stations in one space, its a whole society underground. It is easier to navigate around underground using the subway exits than it is above. We wouldn't like to guess the population of the place but we can only describe it as a sea of people all in chaos, a permanent rush hour.

At the bus station with our tickets bought we boarded a coach for Kawaguchiko - it was nice to get on a coach instead of a bloody train we can tell you. It was nice to sit on the coach & gaze out at the many different sites of Japan. 2 hours later we arrived at a very small town at the foot of Mount Fiji, it was cold & frosty with lovely cleanish fresh air unlike Tokyo. In order to get up close to Mount Fiji we had to take another bus journey to a place called the 5th Station. At this point 2 Canadians had latched on to us - why us? It always has to be us!

40 minutes in to the twisting & turning through the wilderness & around the cliff edge of Mount Fuji the weather wasn't looking so great. Barely able to see in front of where we were driving, was disappointment looming over us? Could we actually get to see Fuji through the thick fog & clouds?

Getting further up & with our fingers & toes crossed the sun started to slightly appear so we stopped thinking we had wasted our money & our last day in Japan. As the bus finally stopped we could see breath taking views of life below. We hadn't realised actually how high up in the clouds we where (oh my gosh we where half way up). There where a few shops scattered around but we weren't too interested in the shops - where was Fuji?! Turning around there was this browny black looking hill (yes it looked no bigger than the welsh mountains), we were a bit disappointed that at this point Fuji hadn't lived up to our expectations. After making our excuses & ditching the Canadians we decided to have a little explore & start the ascent of the famous Mount Fuji.

Walking through dirt tracks & narrow paths the scenery was simply beautiful. There was autumn coloured trees set in the ground of black volcanic rock & ash. Every so often there was a parting in the trees where Fuji would peep through. Continuing further & further we reached an opening & there it stood, Mount Fuji in all it's glory & magnificence! At this point the views & setting had changed our opinions. From the 5th station the enormity wasn't magnified. Further up, alone & away from people, in the crisp fresh silent air (Andy was taking a piss!), the long trip had seemed totally worth it. We was that high up & above the clouds it felt like we was on told of the world.

Like a pair of little old hikers we decided that an hour of climbing Fuji was enough plus I needed the loo & after using the high tech bogs of Japan dropping my knickers in the wilderness wasn't an option. We started to slowly walk down back on the path munching our homemade weird sandwiches & scoffing the Asda chocolate (literally) we reached the car park below! Checking the time we had 40 minutes to kill before our bus arrived to take us back to Kawaguchiko we decided to walk around by the little shops. Behind the shops was a little walk way that represented traditional Japanese culture. At the top of the walk way there was yet more shrines an electronic dancing fortune teller dragon. As it was cold we headed inside the shops for a warm & a nosey - kill a bit more time.

Back at Kawaguchiko bus station we decided to take a walk to Kawaguchiko Lake. Walking through narrows streets you would hardly believe that a massive lake was sitting in amongst all the houses. After about a 15 minute walk we was there! The lake was lined with boats for hire and tourist boats but as we had got there quite late none of the attractions were open. It was nice though to just stroll around the quiet area without listening to constant madness. The lake was huge with a massive bridge running right across it.

After to 2 hour bus journey back to Shinjuku station in Tokyo we decided to look around & suck in the nightlife. We headed underground to the subway as it's easier to find tourist places than walking around endless lit up streets that look the same & that are rammed with people. Armed with our Japan Lonely Planet book borrowed from the hostel we headed for Tokyo's Metropolitan Government Building which is open to the public in certain parts. After getting the lift to the 45th floor the doors opened to a circular room with gigantic windows - from here you could see the whole of Shinjuku, Tokyo's major part. With lights & buildings galore it was fantastic, all the skyscrapers looked amazing.

Back on normal ground we decided to head for Shinjuku's red light district, this time we decided to try & navigate on ground & through the streets - was this a challenge & a half! After asking a young man for the dirty area, a few laughs later & using the sat nav on his phone he took us towards the district. Approaching the area a man in a suit (in fact all men in Tokyo wear suits) at the lights we were crossing had warned Andy to keep his guard up with being with a western woman in the a place that has lots of mafia, we thought he was joking but we were wrong. The Shinjuku Red Light District was far from anything normal - all around was business men in suits & mean looking mafia style men standing in the middle of the roads touting for business & selling their girls. The area was absolutely heaving & you had to shuffle along the street. We have to admit that we seen nice looking women but nothing sexually orientated or revealing to imply that you was in Tokyo's red light district.

What an extremely jam packed day! Time to head back to the hostel to pack our bags. Train time again & oh no back on the underground! It was around 11.15pm & usually at that time you would expect it to be quieter - wrong!!! It was the busiest we have ever seen a train station. Some drunken people had latched on too us & was trying to speak English & understand what we were saying but we were just buzzing off them hahaha! Squashed on the train like sardines well it was worse than that, we headed for Asuaka station.

Back at the hostel & time to pack..... Get ready South Korea & Seoul. Here we come........