The Fuji area of Yamanashi Prefecture has sooo many museums. If we had loads of time, we would have tried to do two or three a day and it would take you a couple of weeks to see them all. However, given we are moving on today, we decided to go to the Fujisan Museum as Mt Fuji holds a special place in Mr K’s heart after he climbed it in 2015. The museum itself is a beautiful and impressive modern building with a large viewing area on the roof that has uninterrupted views of Mt Fuji on a clear today – which unfortunately, in the direction of the mountain; today wasn’t really.
Much of the walkways and underpasses around the museum were constructed of lava formed stones/rock…
There were numerous informative displays contained inside – and obviously I couldn’t replicate them all here. Many of the objects had only descriptions in Japanese and I translated only those that were of greatest interest.
At the beginning of the Heinan Period (c.794-1185AD) Mt Fuji experienced repeated large scale eruptions. At the time, it was believed that the eruptions were due to angered gods and the Imperial Court ordered that people worship Mt Fuji as a God to appease the god and attempt to quiet the eruptions and avert disasters… it didn’t seem to ‘work’ per se, but they gave it a good go by the sounds of it.
Climbing the mountain and leaving small sacrifices became a ritual pilgrimage that many Japanese (men in particular) aimed to achieve at least once in their lifetimes. A sentiment that seems to still carry forward today with many having climbed the mountain at least once. The god-like status of the mountain saw it become prevalent in many artistic endeavours through the period and since – indeed now, with mass production, representations of Mt Fuji are probably more prolific a motif than any other throughout Japan.
A scroll carrying container… c.1640s
Depictions of climbers in antique scrolls.
Cloth flags carried by climbers undertaking pilgrimages across the last century.
Today, modern climbers will carry a pilgrim’s walking pole which has the symbol of each station passed on the climb burned into the pole as a keepsake. In times past, pilgrims would have their clothing ‘stamped’ to show the passing of the many different stations on the way up the mountain. 
The Cherry Blossom Princess believed to inhabit Mt Fuji.
Each year a Fire Festival is held at Mt Fuji, it is an annual ritual that is part of worshiping the mountain – origins of the festival are vague, but it is a great honour to be chosen to help run the festival each year and become a six month all-consuming task for those who undertake it. First is the heavy task of soliciting donations to make the pyres that will be burned in late August – over 70 3m pyres are needed and stated around to be burned simultaneously during the festival.
A woodblock print showing the people engaging in the fire festival around the base of Mt Fuji. Below: the actual wood blocks used to create this amazing print.
An example of the 3m pine pyre that will be carried to the base of the mountain from the Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine and lit on fire during the Fire Festival.
A personal hand mirror with a motif of Mt Fuji from the Edo Period, considered a sacred object.
A piece of molten rock that turned into a projectile during an eruption on Mt Fuji.
The various strata formed by the repeated eruptions – 8m high.
Model of Jason Period home…
The area has also long been known for it’s textiles, particularly silk, and more recently has gained world renown for its linen manufacturing as well. 
Maps showing the various routes up to Mt Fuji – this from 1926….
This from 1964… 
And this a contemporary map showing the different routes that hikers take to the summit.
After that was (what turned out to be my favourite), a turtle soup with shark fin – this was delicious with rich umami flavours. Mr K was too busy watching me in raptures to appropriately appreciate it, in my humble opinion. 😉
Breakfast was full of all good things – miso soup, grilled salmon, tamago, mushrooms, pickles, tuna, fruit! So much food…
I couldn’t believe we nearly finished the lot and just left the garnish. After that we went for a wee hunt around the ryokan and saw the little shrine and public area where there was complimentary tea, coffee, soft drink and snacks. Then of course it was back into the onsen bath for a final soak before packing up and checking out… I would highly recommend this as a destination in the area. Everything was simply lovely. 
Anyway… may hours spent plotting and booking ensued, and by the end of April I had a very neat itinerary all squared away and November felt like it would never come. Five trips to Saudi for Keith, four to NZ for me, one to Perth, one to Hobart, a few to Melbourne (I forget how many exactly) and a handful of visits to Sydney and finally! Time to head to Japan.
Today, we were leaving the Chuo Ward and heading to Osaka Station to put the bulk of our luggage into storage and head off for what we were hoping would be a seriously serene and very Japanese, traditional onsen (hot spring) experience in a ryokan (inn) in a town called Takatsuki. Takatsuki is a town about the size of Toowoomba and roughly half-way between Osaka and Kyoto. But not before we did a spot of shopping at Osaka Station… it might sound odd to be shopping at a train station, but this particularly large station has two massive 13 and 11 floor shopping malls above it complete with food courts, restaurant halls, outdoor garden recreation areas – you name it. We have been wondering what Japan’s unemployment rate is like lately, (currently a seasonally adjusted 2.3%) because we keep seeing people doing jobs that just don’t really exist at home… from elevator attendant, to gift wrappers, to doormen and taxi management staff. In one store I had four people assisting me to buy some chopsticks! Everywhere feels overstaffed, it makes you wonder how companies are making any money.
We did a bit of shopping and decided to stop for a nice lunch before taking our train out to Takatsuki. The food in any large shopping mall or department store here is always confectionary, groceries and take out style food in the basement levels and more intimate cafes and restaurants on the uppermost levels – seems a bit counter-intuitive to me, if you can’t find anything that takes your fancy, you find yourself traversing up to 12 floors of escalators to find the other food outlets.
Fried tofu in some delicious but unknown sauce.
Beef three ways, beef stew, beef nibblets of some sort and seared beef tongue. It was really good.
After lunch we made our way to the trains – yet again – and head out to 
Our room made up for day use – later while we were dining someone would come in and set out futons for us… this seems like a great plan, as the room can accommodate one or half a dozen if needs be – none of this Western hotel ‘family room with four beds’ required type thing. The tatami mats are lovely to walk on, and it’s socks or bare feet only once you step up into the room.
Our room had a view over the river and we could hear the moving water babbling outside the window all night. We also saw many great cranes flying in and around the gorge. It was truly very peaceful and relaxing after coming from the hustle and bustle of Osaka!
I was quite concerned about the general ‘no tattoos’ policy that applies in most public baths throughout Japan (tattoos being associated with Yakuza – organised crime gangs who would use the bathhouses to conduct business) but the host who greeted us waived away my concerns and said ‘Tattoo – no problem, no problem’… I was still a bit apprehensive, as he had only seen the bee on my ankle, not the large Asian style dragon tattoo on my left shoulder!
With the women’s outdoor onsen empty, I raced back inside to change and come out for a nice private bath. I got showered (as is custom before getting in the baths) and dressed in my yakuta and by the time I got outside, there was a Japanese lady and a small boy who I presume was her son in the bath. Now, they modestly turned away as I slipped into the pool, but I was then faced with a dilemma – do I face them, leaving the poor lady to repeatedly remind her young not to stare at the big boobied (some gestures are universal regardless of language barriers!) or do I turn my back to her and display my large back tattoo? Oi! Within minutes the issue was quickly negated as she decided to remove herself and her son from the onsen… I hope I didn’t chase them out, but I have a feeling I did. 
After they left I had this little paradise all to myself for about half an hour – I wish it was longer, but I found the water temperature was just a bit too hot for me at 42℃, and I literally couldn’t stay in any longer. I made a mental note to take some cold water to the private bath we had booked for after dinner, which is the only way that men and women can bathe together.
Our meal was exquisitely presented, everything on its own individual little dishes, served with the appropriate sauce, pickle or condiment. First course consisted of some sort of green tofu served with wasabi, some mollusc of unknown genus, a very mysterious but tasty fern frond and some pickles. In the little jar on the bottom right was some shrimp on a very tasty bean paste concoction.
Off to our sides were individual steamboat chicken dishes, with mushroom and vegetables making a very tasty broth.
Of course, I ordered some sake, and Mr K tried a local beer. Next course was some sashimi, with tuna, mackerel, salmon and shrimp.
Followed by a yam cake with fish on it cooked in a cherry blossom broth… very unusual.
At this point I wasn’t quite sure when the little meals were going to stop coming – the next dish was a baked trout with vegetables and miso flavours.
After that, our chef brought out thin sliced, rare roast beef also served with some unique sauce that I couldn’t for the life of me tell you what it was.
THEN… a soba noodle dish served with tempura seafood. 
And finally a sake flavoured blancmange, with yuzu jelly and strawberry served with black tea for afters. This is traditional Japanese ‘all evening dining’, where you have roughly the same amount of food you would have in an ordinary meal, but it is continually being brought out in small meticulously presented portions over the course of several hours. The meal was delicious, and even though the courses seemed to just keep coming, we both felt we had an elegant sufficiency. 
We went for the first of two visits to the private baths – these needed to be booked in advance and cost JPY3000 on top of our room rate, but it was totally worth it. Mr K and I were able to relax in the bath and chat with each other – it’s a totally different experience to using the large sex-segregated onsens and the conditions are just idyllic… right beside the river you can see out across the gorge and listen to the burbling cascades below and hear the occasional birds calls. My only lament is that I found the water a bit too hot for my liking (which is weird because I usually LOVE really hot showers). The website says the water from the natural springs is at around 56-60C, but presumably, have cooled somewhat by the time they reach the baths dependent on ambient temperatures. But it was okay, I just found I kept getting out and dousing myself in cold water Nordic style to cool down so I could hop back in! It’s my Scando/Viking genes I think! 
Showering space to get clean and wash your hair etc before hoping in the onsen bath. The round drum looking bucket is for filling up and dumping (cold?) water over yourself.
We had a second private bath booked for first thing in the morning and it was lovely and fresh in the open air bath – all the muscle tension just seeped away.
After our morning bath, we dressed and eventually made our way down to breakfast. There was a large buffet with a mixture of Japanese and some western food offerings.
Again our meal was presented in beautiful lacquered boxes and small dishes for each individual little morsel…
From left to right, fish roe, mushrooms, some baby spinach type leaf thing, marinated squid, boiled tofu, shrimp, yam and something I didn’t recognise, and a serve of black tea and mackerel.
On the side was another steamboat with tofu and light vegetables, served with soy and spring onions.
Then we took the train back to Osaka and we found some green spaces at Osaka Station to kill some time before our flight tonight (not this space though – it was too busy and noisy). 
Kansai airport was decked out in wisteria which reminds me I need to find the huge wisteria tunnels that Japan is known for – if they’re anywhere near as spectacular as the cherry blossom groves, it will definitely be worth the trains and hassle to go find them next time we are in Japan.
Kansai airport has two Pokemon Store and sooo many restaurants.
Thankfully the lovely people who checked us into our flight let us know there are stuff all restaurants once you go through security, so we stayed outside to have dinner. We ended up having okonomiyaki at a restaurant called Boteju which I’m only recording here because it had the best okonomiyaki we’ve ever had (across three trips to Japan) and it was highly unexpected for an airport restaurant – but then I found out they had been in Osaka since 1945 and have quite the reputation so if I had done my homework I should not have been surprised… 
Finally, we were heading home on a blissfully empty plane! Some earplugs and valium and maybe I’ll arrive home in a half decent state. This flight was booked on QFF points, so I am thinking with three seats to myself and the ability to lay down and sleep all night for barely $70 in taxes – this flight probably represents the best value for travel $$$ I have ever spent!
