Fujiyoshida Views

In early February, we took a last minute trip up to Fujiyoshida to check out some great views. It was a much needed trip after coming out of some covid restrictions that we weren’t anticipating having in 2022. We had a beautiful two hour afternoon drive up to Fujiyoshida.

We checked into our hotel and found a really good tempura restaurant. We all enjoyed the food and went back to the hotel to get some rest before our next day’s adventures. Jonathan has graduated to a big boy bed and the boys were so adorable sleeping in the hotel bed.

We ate breakfast with a great view at our hotel and then started off to our first stop.

The forecast for the day originally said it would be cloudy, but it turned out to be the most perfect weather. We drove a little further north for our first stop, Hahanoshirataki Waterfall. It was a short five minute walk from the parking lot to see the first waterfall, Hahanoshirataki. We continued up a stairwell path to find the Chichinoshirataki Waterfall. After seeing this one, we continued on to see another waterfall over a dam-looking structure. It was extra cool because these waterfalls were all frozen! The hike was short but perfect for the boys.

Such a fun little hike! Our next stop was Tenku no torii, a big hill with a beautiful overlook of Mount Fuji.

Next we visited the Kawaguchi Asama Shrine. This shrine area had a lot of beautiful nature elements including seven giant cedar trees.

We wanted to get a closer look at Lake Kawaguchi, so we drove down there next. Jonathan fell asleep in the car so I went to the lake with Jeffrey. The lake was partially frozen over and Jeffrey enjoyed throwing ice chunks onto the frozen water and watching everything shatter.

We stopped at 7-Eleven for lunch. This convenience store is probably one of my favorite things about Japan, they really have some great meals here lol. This 7-Eleven was uniquely colored with brown and white. It’s a law in some historical districts that buildings must de-emphisize it typical color scheme to blend in better with the historical area.

Our last stop of the day was at Chureito Pagoda. This pagoda is a very popular photo spot and overlooks Fujiyoshida City and Mount Fuji. This pagoda’s official name is the Fujiyoshida Cenotaph Monument and was built as a monument to enshrine 960 citizens from Fujiyoshida who died in the wars that occured after 1868. The monument was completed in 1962. The pagoda is located about 100 meters up on the hillside of Arakurayama. We parked at the bottom and had a steep bajillion stair climb to the pagoda. What a beautiful view!

Jonathan insisted on bringing his paci and blanket up and down this whole park. His blankey definitely received a much needed wash when we got home.

That was the end of our trip. We said goodbye to Mount Fuji and had another beautiful drive back home. It was a really great weekend and I was very impressed by Jackie’s last minute planning.

BRB, Out to Japan – Jackie