Well I don't know if is the best, but our last full touring day certainly will rank at the top. Imagine being woken by the early morning light at 05:30 and looking out the picture window of your hotel room and low and behold, the view to greet you is none other than that of Mount Fugi in her bright, sunny, snow covered glory. Amazing! Who would have guessed? To get an idea of what it was like from the shore of Lake Ashi, click of the following video.
Indeed it was to be a special day. After breakfast we boarded our pirate ship for a tour of the lake. Our first port of call was to be at the far end of Lake Ashi where we would board a cable car which would traverse a mountain range, giving us incredible views of Mt Fugi. We cross over an extinct volcano crater which still emits sulphur vapor gas and hot water which feeds the hot springs to the local resort facilities.
We transferred gondolas twice and took a funicular down to the town of Gora. Not sure of what we were to do at that point, as this had been a hastily planned day with the attitude of we'll see where the winds take us, we set out not knowing in which direction the breezes would blow. We decided to take a short walkabout around town with no real objective other than to explore and see if there was anything of note to discover. Voila!! The winds blew us up a small side street and wouldn't you know it, but we stumbled onto or rather into a wonderful garden which turned out to be Japan's oldest French garden, opened over 100 years ago. Admission was included with our boat/gondola ticket and there just happened to be a cafe serving lunch overlooking a water fountain. What luck. The garden, complete with bougainvillea green houses was in full cherry blossom bloom. Spring flowers were in abundance and the sweet smell of something we couldn't put our noises to was a welcoming distraction. There also happened to be a handicraft workshop where potters and glass blowers were teaching their skills to anyone who wanted, but for a fee of course. What a brilliant idea. We hadn't done too much shopping to date but decided to pick up a few original pieces to make the journey back home with us.
I have come to the conclusion that YES there is a society where humans can interact and be civil to one another . We all can be courteous and respectful to our neighbours. That there is mutually acknowledged hope in mankind for both our peers and elders. And above all, that these instilled values in our youth should be carried forward in perpetuity to the next generation and all of those to follow.
One last ride on the Shinkansen today to Narita Airport for our flight to Shanghai tomorrow, then a direct flight back to Montreal. This will be my last post for this blog and I hope you have had some time to come along and share some of our experiences. It has been great, but now is the time to return home. And as I always say "if you want to come back, then first, you have to go home" . Signing off from Japan. See you soon :)
Sayonara
Indeed it was to be a special day. After breakfast we boarded our pirate ship for a tour of the lake. Our first port of call was to be at the far end of Lake Ashi where we would board a cable car which would traverse a mountain range, giving us incredible views of Mt Fugi. We cross over an extinct volcano crater which still emits sulphur vapor gas and hot water which feeds the hot springs to the local resort facilities.
We transferred gondolas twice and took a funicular down to the town of Gora. Not sure of what we were to do at that point, as this had been a hastily planned day with the attitude of we'll see where the winds take us, we set out not knowing in which direction the breezes would blow. We decided to take a short walkabout around town with no real objective other than to explore and see if there was anything of note to discover. Voila!! The winds blew us up a small side street and wouldn't you know it, but we stumbled onto or rather into a wonderful garden which turned out to be Japan's oldest French garden, opened over 100 years ago. Admission was included with our boat/gondola ticket and there just happened to be a cafe serving lunch overlooking a water fountain. What luck. The garden, complete with bougainvillea green houses was in full cherry blossom bloom. Spring flowers were in abundance and the sweet smell of something we couldn't put our noises to was a welcoming distraction. There also happened to be a handicraft workshop where potters and glass blowers were teaching their skills to anyone who wanted, but for a fee of course. What a brilliant idea. We hadn't done too much shopping to date but decided to pick up a few original pieces to make the journey back home with us.
I have come to the conclusion that YES there is a society where humans can interact and be civil to one another . We all can be courteous and respectful to our neighbours. That there is mutually acknowledged hope in mankind for both our peers and elders. And above all, that these instilled values in our youth should be carried forward in perpetuity to the next generation and all of those to follow.
One last ride on the Shinkansen today to Narita Airport for our flight to Shanghai tomorrow, then a direct flight back to Montreal. This will be my last post for this blog and I hope you have had some time to come along and share some of our experiences. It has been great, but now is the time to return home. And as I always say "if you want to come back, then first, you have to go home" . Signing off from Japan. See you soon :)
Sayonara
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