Full bloom around Fuji

Day 1

Route: Hashimoto - Doshi - Yamanakako
Bicycle: 72 km
Train: 35 km
Total ascent: 1496 m
Average speed: 13,6 km/h
Riding time: 5:19 h
Weather: sunny and nicely warm during the day but cold once the sun had set

Originally I had planned to go with a group of cyclists from Osaka to Mt Fuji last weekend, but the weather forecast showed rain for most of the weekend, so the ride was cancelled… and finally it was a nice and sunny weekend where instead I went house hunting and enjoying time with friend on our bikes in Tokyo. 

I have now ridden already several times from Hashimoto to Yamanakako through Doshi village. A long but never too steep ride on a road with traffic but tolerable amounts.

 Today the flowers were out in force.

Mostly cherry blossoms as to be expected but also some peach flowers, recognizable with their full flowers in strong dark pink: 

I had decided to have lunch at the road side station but shortly before arriving there I saw a small restaurant with a lot of motorbikes parked outside. So , thinking that this must be very tasty I went there as well. And yes, tasty it was. It was a lot of small tapas like dishes plus a full dish of meat and rice. I will definitely be back.

Over the mountain and then a short way down to Yamanakako and a picture of the lake , swans and Fuji in the distance before heading to an onsen at the other side of the lake. 

 First time in this onsen and one with a really nice and unobstructed view of Mt. Fuji while soaking in one of the two rotenburos: 

After a good bath and a simple dinner at the onsen I road to my hotel for the night. A hotel from the bubble years, never renovated, but in a convenient location on the lake shore and with a good price. In the end it’s about sleeping. Nothing else. 

Day 2

Route: Yamanakako - Kawaguchiko - Otsuki
Bicycle: 72 km
Train: 80 km
Total ascent: 503 m
Average speed: 15 km/h
Riding time: 4:48 h
Weather: blue skies, sunny and not too warm

While at Yamanakako yesterday the cherry blossoms hadn’t even opened yet, in Kawaguchiko they were in their prime full bloom. I always knew that Yamanakako is higher, but never thought of it to be that much higher that it would make so much of a difference to the cherry flowers. 

The day started in a cool morning at Yamanakako with a clear blue sky and a Fuji still partially covered in snow.

From there I made my way over to the Kawaguchiko area and Chureito pagoda sure that I’d be able to get a famous photo with Fuji in the background, the pagoda in the forefront and sakura in full bloom. Well, I only managed to arrange 2 days f these things in any one picture. Either Fuji and sakura or sakura and pagoda. But all three were elusive due to a decision (by the local government?) to burn on this blue skied, full bloom Sunday with thousands of local and foreign tourists, the grass on the hills of Mt. Fuji. I don’t understand why these grasses need to be burned, but to burn them on a weekend with brilliant weather and full bloom seemed to be a specially stupid decision. 

Fuji with sakura alone however is already quite nice.

And I had waited for about an hour in this line observing how the sky little by little got clouded by the smoke. 

The pagoda towering over the sakura trees. 

From here I made it through a very small mountain road over to Kawaguchiko , taking more pictures and finally to a shrine on the foothills of Mt Fuji. Everywhere sakura in full bloom and many people around enjoying them. 

To return I went downhill all the way to Otsuki, put my bike in its back and back to Tokyo by train. 

Although the smoke was a shame it was a great weekend enjoying hanami around Mt Fuji.