Sightseeing Thanksgiving

 Our Thanksgiving celebration this year was unique from any we've had so far. We passed on the traditional meal and went sightseeing instead. 

We went with another couple in our Branch to visit Mt Fuji and the Five Lakes. It was a lovely place and the weather really cooperated. 

Our first stop was to Nenba Village near Lake Saiko. The village is a recreation of traditional Japanese style houses with shops and artisans in each of the buildings. The view of Mt Fuju was beautiful!

During this time of year there are lots of people drying persimmons. The shop keeper we spoke to told us it takes about 2 months for them to get completely dried. But when they are finished they taste very good - if you like persimmons.

After we visited the village we were starving so we decided to eat at one of the village restaurants. We were so hungry that we forgot to take the picture before we ate - so here is the after shot. Not as appealing as the before. But I found a picture on online of the food we ordered. It is called Hoto and is the specialty dish this area is known for. When we told Kimball's mom the name of the dish she was familiar with it. In fact she said her father, who rarely entered the kitchen, would make the noodles for Hoto!

After we stuffed ourselves with Hoto we headed to Lake Yamanako where there are bike rentals and a path that runs around the lake. But when we got out of the car it felt a little too chilly to ride bikes and it was getting late in the day, so we decided that will be something we save for the Spring.

Below is a pic of a cruise boat that takes people around the lake. Its very Japanese to have this style of boat for tourists. They also have this same style in smaller, individual sized paddle boats. It struck us as a funny looking thing.

We stayed in an Air BnB that was really nice and quite big by Japanese standards. But poor Kimball still struggled with his "gaijin" legs.

 

The view from our bedroom window.

On Friday we visited a couple of caves that were formed when Mt Fuji erupted back in 804. The first cave we went in is called the Wind Cave. The Wind Cave is located in a strange and eerie forest. The rock/lava is so near the surface that the roots have no soil to go into so they grow above the ground. 

We found a path that lead through the forest to another cave - the Ice Cave. It was a beautiful walk through the woods.

Our next stop was the the Bat Cave (and they had lots of Bat Cave memorabilia at the gift shop there). 

For this cave we had to wear helmets and its a darn good thing we did. I think each of us bonked our heads at least once during the trip into the cave. They told us the bats were way far back at the end of the cave so we likely would not see them, but Kimball had his light and found one hanging from the ceiling. 

Near this area there was a Mt Fuji museum that had another great view of the big guy.

That night for dinner we opted to visit a traditional Japanese restaurant. As we walked in they had a place for us to take off our shoes and store them in lockers. The "key" for the locker is a block of wood that has grooves cut into the back. The slots on the lockers have nails in them that fit into the unique grooves on each block. Pretty nifty.

After dinner we headed for the Fuji-Sensui Onsen. This was my first trip to an onsen and I was a little nervous. One comment I read online is that westerners are often stressed out about the onsen experience - but only for about 5 minutes until they realize that no one cares! In case you are not familiar with onsens - they are public baths. There is a men's side and a women's side. You wash before you enter the soaking pools and then you sit back and relax (no swimming suits)!! 

Of course I could not take pictures of our time in the onsen, but here are pics from the website of this onsen. It was freezing cold and nighttime when we first went outside to soak, but by the time we got out I was heated through! Not cold at all as I walked back in. Slept like a baby that night!

Funny story - I wasn't planning to get my hair wet. But, with all the steam and soaking, it was looking crazy by the time we got out. The onsen provides body wash, and shampoo and conditioner so I decided to just wash it. In the changing room they had blow dryers. I had not brought my brushes or a comb so I was just using my fingers to try and shape it as I dried it. But you know my hair - its so thick and course and without "product" it is almost unmanageable. I was wishing I had brought along my hair stuff when a spritz bottle on the counter caught my eye. There was kanji written on the bottle but I can't read Japanese so I didn't know what it said. I guess because I wanted "product" I got it in my head that this might be some kind of hair styling mist. Heck, they seemed to provide everything else like that so it made sense in the moment. 

I picked up the spray bottle, sprayed it into my hands and rubbed it through my hair. Right as I did this, it suddenly occurred to me what was in the bottle - sanitizer. Of course - the dang Covid! I'm certain others around me saw me rub it in my hair. Oh dear, gaijin! 

Saturday morning the sun came out and was perfect for a trip to the pagoda with the famous view of Mt Fuji in the background. Taking a picture here was on Kimball's bucket list. So, check one off the list!

Kimball in the foreground taking his picture!

Next we drove to Lake Kawaguchi, the largest of the Five Lakes. Near the lake is a Ropeway that takes you up to a peak with MORE GREAT VIEWS OF FUJISAN! Just so many pics of that darn mountain!

At the top of the Ropeway they sell these delicious mochi balls with a teriyaki glaze. When in Rome...

Our final stop was to a place called Maple Lane. It was slightly past its peek with the leaves mostly dropped, but still very pretty and you get the idea. 

In this area there were several food trucks so we partook. I found my most favorite Japanese food is Okonomiyaki. This time I had the Hiroshima style with noodles. Delish!!

Kimball had the ika (squid) and yakisoba. We may have missed the Thanksgiving feast, but we didn't go hungry, that's for sure!