Day 20 - The Fifth Station

I woke up a few times in the night, and I swear an alarm went off at silly o'clock. None of the girls admitted to it so I reckon I must have dreamt it. I woke up properly just after 5am. I had set an alarm for 5.30 as I wanted to see the sun rise, but I didn't make it out in time.

 

Instead I had another leisurely morning and headed to breakfast on my own just before 7am. Met some of the other scouts from the bus and enjoyed pineapple, pancakes and granola again.. I could get used to this! On the way back to the room, I made a detour to the roof and was amazed to see Mount Fuji well in sight.

 

I ran to get my camera and phone and met two other ladies back on the way up. The view was clear and we got some great pictures between us. I could have stayed all day staring at the incredible mountain scenery around, but I still had to pack my last few bits. Back at the room, the others had gone for breakfast and I was locked out! Back to the roof it was.

 

Once they were back we three had a last minute panic trying to zip close our holdalls. We all managed in the end but I'm so worried my bag won't make it back home, we've all heard horror stories of seams splitting at the airport etc. We handed our key in at reception and waited to leave at 9.15.

 

We were driving straight to Mt Fuji this morning and to amuse us on the hour journey, Yoko taught us how to read some simple Japanese. We learnt the symbols for rain, sun and mountain. I also had a kip and Emily woke me when we got to the Visitors' Centre. Here, we met the Action Tour people. We had a quick catch up with Darren but I didn't see Gemma or Alix. I bought a few postcards in the shop and watched a short DVD on the history of Fuji.

 

We only had until 11.10, so it was soon straight back on the bus to ride up to the fifth station. It didn't take long at all and there were some great views on the way up. It also got obviously colder the higher we drove, and a welcome breeze greeted us as we disembarked.

 

First stop was lunch, all of the Action Tour and our Adventure Tour in one room together. I enjoyed most of the food this time, although felt midday was a bit too early for some of the dishes. One in particular that I couldn't touch was tiny baby fish, apparently they'd been candied but that didn't stop them staring at me.

 

Luckily, just as lunch finished the clouds cleared and we had a fantastic view of the summit. Once we'd taken a fair few photos, it was down to the toilets and then into the gift shop. I found Gemma buying a hoody, and decided to buy myself a t-shirt..  I'll probably never be here again.

 

I lost Emily in the shop again so decided to take a walk further up around the complex to see what I could find. There was an information centre with an observation deck that looked straight across the region. I then went to visit the shrine, where there was another shop and deck also. On the way back down, I found Emily and showed her the delights I'd discovered.

 

We were to be back on the bus just before 2pm, I was sad to leave but it was clouding over and the views were deteriorating so it was probably for the best. I am glad I didn't choose to climb to the summit, the steps to the shrine knackered me out!

 

We had another long journey ahead of us so Yoko told us more of the history of Fuji and tales that surround it. We also practised some origami, making mini Mt Fujis of our own. I couldn't sleep now as the sun was blaring through the windows and I was far too hyped up from being on the tallest mountain in Japan.

 

Our journey was quite uneventful so Lionel, Britney and a bit of Joseph got me through until we hit Tokyo. Our hotel was close to where we were last time, but by the Osaki Station, so slightly further out. We were staying at the New Otaki Inn, and it seemed very quaint.

 

I was sharing with two other girls, Emily and Jenny. I didn't know either of them, but as I reached reception to pick up a key, Emily came down to tell me the room number. I was in 618 and my bed was the last one by the window. The view isn't too bad, I can see the canal and a few skyscrapers.

We only had two keys for the room so, as Jenny was planning on staying out late, me and Emily took one each. We all then went our separate ways and I went to pick up Emily. We met Mike and Phil in the lobby and decided to go out for an explore. We then picked up Tilly and Fiona on the way and headed out to find Oriental Bazaar.

 

Our walk there was quite something, as soon as we were off the station it was like we'd stepped into another world. We could have been in Times Square or on the Champs Elysees. We were amazed, so many flashing lights!! We finally found the Bazaar, but we only had 10mins to look around as it closed at 7pm.

 

We popped back to the station and went a few extra stops in the other direction to get to the Rainbow Bridge. It was a much longer walk than we thought but it was great to see the city lit up. It's such a built up city, half of the buildings are skyscrapers and then the rest seem very traditional. 

 

We finally reached the bridge - it was incredible!! It was only lit up white tonight but it was still amazing. We took the lift up to the promenade and looked out over Tokyo Port and the new reclaimed land. My camera ran out of battery, but luckily it hung on until we'd made it down.

 

We took the short way back to the station and rode back to the hotel. I was hungry now and we'd seen a Subway earlier on which I made a beeline for. Unfortunately, it was shut so we went to the supermarket. I only spent ¥167 and got myself a nice baguette, banana and a drink. I'm tired now so once I finish this its off to bed.