Fuji-san... a mini hike.

I hiked Mt. Fuji from the 5th station all the way to the top earlier this summer. These pictures, however, are from a mini hike I did from the 5th to the 6th station.

This view of Fuji-san is from the Mt. Fuji Visitor's Center.
Can you see the people hiking the switchbacks?
Most of the trail is primitive, but at the start it is kind of paved.

Yes is really is this crowded! The climbing season on Fuji is short, so everyone climbs at the same time.

I took this picture while on the move. On the arm of the light pole is the shape of Mt. Fuji with the real Fuji-san behind it.

How to use one of those fancy Japanese toilets. This was at a rest area on the Expressway. The bathrooms at Mt. Fuji are, umm, interesting. They use recycled water. The bathrooms up on the mountain itself are pay bathrooms.

Nishizaki hiking and grape picking

A couple of months ago, we went hiking and grape-picking in the Nishizaki area.
This place had a roof make of Delaware grapes.

Here are one of three types of grapes we picked. That man is the proprietor.

Bear warning at the Nishizaki Ravine trail head.

This was the 5-story waterfall on the 10km hike.

Bathroom directory at a rest stop on the Expressway.

Mt. Nokogiriyama via the Aqualine

If you like abnormally large Buddhas, as I do, Nokogiri Yama is the place for you!

Our journey started with a drive on the Aqualine. The Aqualine is world's longest undersea tunnel, running 60 meters (197 feet) deep under the surface of the water. It is quite expensive to travel this route.
The first place we came to was the Hundred Shaku Kwan-non. Not sure of the translation, but it was neat. The picture below was a narrow canyon you passed through to get to it.

Here is the Nihon-ji Daibutsu. This is the largest carved stone figure of Buddha in Japan.

Rurikoo Observatory. I have also seen this referred to as "Peering into Hell."

View from the top of the Ropeway.

Taken from the Aqualine rest stop.

Welcome to Japan!

This is just my initial test blog... enjoy this picture of a 5-story Pagoda in Nikko at the Toshogu Temple.