A memoir of journeys made

I only had one goal for the Tokyo-leg of our Japan trip – to see the pink moss in full bloom with Mt. Fuji in the background!
Disclaimer: probably because the bf made sure we get to watch a sumo match and a baseball game, and visit a robot restaurant amongst others hehehe

Shibazakura is a flower that grows thickly, covering the ground like a lawn. The shape of its pretty flower petals looks like that of sakura (cherry blossoms) and it comes in a variety of colors including different shades of pink, white, and light purple, with some petals having striped patterns. –Japan MWM

There are few but vital things to consider when going to Kawaguchiko for a daytrip: How do you go there? Do you take a bus or take the train? What’s the weather gonna be like? Will you be able to see Mt. Fuji? Will the flowers be in bloom?

I was originally planning for us to go to Kawaguchiko from Kyoto as a stop over enroute to Tokyo to avoid backtracking. But on the intended day of travel, the weather was bad wasn’t so good.  It was continuously raining in Kyoto and according to the weather report, it’d be raining in Tokyo too. Turns out there was a typhoon that passed by the country while we were there. Since we weren’t too keen on getting soaked with our luggage in tow, we decided to just head straight to Tokyo. We’d save a trip to Mt. Fuji for another day.

I was checking out the weather report on a daily basis after that. Plus, there’s also a website that would show you a live feed from the Shibazakura festival. Pretty handy! The Fuji Shibazakura Festival is an annual event that is held when the flowers are in bloom – mid April until late May.

When I was checking out the route to get there via hyperdia it hit me that there are other alternative public transport to get there. We didn’t get a JR pass and I wasn’t too keen on shelling out 18,000 yen for transport alone. We opted to take the bus because it’s a direct trip – no need to transfer. PLUS, it’s way cheaper (7,000 yen/ return/ 2pax)! The only catch is you have to make (an online) reservation to make sure you’ll have a seat on the day and time that you want to travel. We decided to wing it one clear day and arrived at the bus station around 11am to find out that the next available seats are for the 3pm trip. Oh no! I easily booked a reservation when we got back to the hotel that evening.

Boarding on time at Shinjuku

Two days after, we were back in Shinjuku. Following the West Exit (or expressway buses) sign we arrived just in time for our scheduled departure. When we got to Kawaguchiko station, there was a booth outside that’s selling ticket for the festival along with discounted return bus trip, it’s another 30-40 minute bus ride away.

We were still 30mins away when we first got a glimpse of Mt. Fuji. We’re just happy that we could see it inspite of a cloudy forecast. It turned out to be a warm, sunny day with a clear view of the beautiful volcano.

Here are some pictures from our daytrip. :)

Woot! First glimpse of the beautiful Fujisan!

Looking for an ATM that accepts non-Japanese issued cards – the only one we found was at the post office!

Taking a picture of the bf taking a selfie! :D

So colourful and beautiful!

The full bloom of the flowers had just finished a few days before – still looked amazing!

Seems like a good choice for nuptial photos too!

The queue for the coach back to the train/ bus station