Shorewoods Photography-Boarding Group 2 Travel Blog

Ahead of our cruise, we decided to use our few pre cruise days to visit places not included in our selected excursions from the ship. We find ourselves craving tours with more intimate, quiet experiences, that allow us time to relish and explore a place; to experience discovery.

Discovery is a magical practice. It combines your attention to the moment with the energy that is happening around you; the cloud formations, the light, the rain, the breezes, the people, forests, mountains, water; all those things coming together in that one moment, that won’t happen exactly that way again. It is sweetened by having your camera along to document what you find.

Discoveries elicit those wonderful responses of awe, catch your breath, and sometimes call for you to look aside your lens and take in what you see. Formally, per Merriam-Webster definition, discovery involves “making something known or visible, to obtain sight or knowledge of something for the first time, or to find out something new”. Isn’t this a wonderful way to approach traveling and photography?

Today is one of those pre cruise days, and we are so excited to be visiting Mount Fuji! We are meeting Yumiko, a private guide we discovered on Tours By Locals. We asked to visit the local spots off the tourist path, to more hidden away spots.

Today will be a unique day to travel: it is Culture Day in Japan. Culture Day is a national public holiday celebrating Japanese arts and culture in a spirit of freedom and peace. All museums are free and open to the public. It also means trains and buses are busy and packed with travelers. With the help of the concierge at our hotel, we planned and reserved a train and bus connection to Kawaguchiko station where Yumiko will meet us.

We woke early this morning and caught the train to begin our journey to meet Yumiko. The train is very full, and we are glad we were able to get 2 reserved seats for the first part of of our 2 hour journey to Mishima. We soon roll past open fields as Mount Fuji appears in the distance.

We arrived in Mishima and found our way to the bus. Once on the bus, the landscape became even more rural, and Mount Fuji became larger and more distinct. 

Once we arrived at Kawaguchiko Station, we soon found Yumiko with a sign with our name. She introduced us to our driver for the day, and we were off! Usually on a tour, we would take local buses to visit sites, however with it being Culture Day, Yumiko suggested we hire a taxi to get around.

Our first stop was to take in some views of Mt Fuji. We discovered as you travel around the volcano, the views change and you have the opportunity to photograph some different details. 

Yumiko did a wonderful job in selecting places to visit. While there were people around, there were not large crowds. The crowds at the spots actually added to the pleasantness of the day. Everyone is very sensitive to allow everyone time to get a photo, or take in a scene without others in front of you. It is also fun to offer to take photos for others in front of these beautiful locations.

We found ourselves in quiet spots, with fantastic views, and stunning photo opportunities. It turns out Yumiko is also an excellent photographer, and she captured lots of photos of us at different locations. 

This beautiful view of Mount Fuji in Nakanokura is the view on the Japanese 1000 yen bill.

Yumiko took us to Shiraito Falls, a strikingly beautiful array of waterfalls complete with rainbows.

As we climbed up to the top of the ravine, we caught a beautiful scene of the waterfalls with Mount Fuji in the background. The leaves are just beginning to change color, and it is a feast.

As we drove along, we would comment on how beautiful a view was, and soon we were pulling over to the side of the road with Yumiko calling for us to hop out of the car and get the shot! It was like being on a mini road trip, pulling over and taking photos of what struck us along the way. How often do you get a photo of cows and Mount Fuji together?

We stopped at a village with some traditional buildings, and yet another great perspective of the volcano.

Views continued to astound us as we stopped at several other spots.

Yumiko took us a to a beautiful cave in the woods with a small shrine. The texture of the rocks and the colors of the changing seasons made for some lovely photos.

We stopped at a festival where we enjoyed a drum performance. What joy!

Yumiko took us to a restaurant where we enjoyed the most delicious bowl of noodles, vegetables and tofu. Served in a large cast iron pot and sizzling hot, our initial impressions were….What?????!!!!! Soon we had eaten what we could, feeling restored and energized.

As we sat down to enjoy our meal, Yumiko told us about Itadakimasu. Itadakimasu ( pronounced e-ta-daki-mas) comes from Japan’s roots in Buddhism which teaches respect for all living things. At mealtime this respect is shown in the form of thanks to the plants, animals, farmers, hunters, chefs, and everything that went into the meal:

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For nature: We are grateful for the earth, clean water, and sunshine that nurture our crops.

For life: We are grateful for the life of vegetables, meat, fish, etc, which are equally as precious as our life.

For labor: We are grateful for the people who are involved in cooking delicious meals for us.

For wisdom: We are grateful for the recipes, knowledge, and love that have been spread in communities and families.

For partners: We are grateful for those close to us and who share the table with us.

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So much meaning packed into a single word.

We find itadakimasu a fitting way to close our post today. We are so very grateful for Yumiko, our driver, and all the people and places we have had the opportunity to visit and photograph today.

Itadakimasu.