Day 7- Time to get outside of Tokyo, see Fuji and en route to Osaka
Day 7:
富士の日の出は毎回新しい始まりです
Still relishing in the euphoria of Disneyland, we sadly realized our time in the Tokyo metro was really over. We’ve seen humanities largest city, the physical scars of war long gone, rebuilt into a city of technology and efficiency, a City of tomorrow. We saw firsthand what an investment in real mass transit can turn into. We caught the tail end of the cherished Sakura, the cherry blossoming across the city. And the people of Tokyo. What a pleasure it’s been to interact with you. You’re kind, respectful, helpful, and showed a true appreciation for us choosing to visit your magnificent city and country.
And now, it was time to jump on one of Japan’s signature technological achievements - the Shinkansen bullet trains. They connect the entire country, reducing the need for automobiles and short haul domestic flights. At a minimum, they go 200 miles per hour.
There spacious, comfortable, and convenient, with trains literally leaving ever my 5 to 10 minutes, it’s impressive to see, and they’ve been in operating since at least the 60s. The closest the US has is the Acela in New York to Boston, and it tops out at maybe 140 mph. Our next stop was Osaka, with a midday stopover in Mt Fuji.
It really is a luck of the draw if you get to see the majestic mountain. As we’ve said repeatedly, the weather can change in an instant, which makes it difficult to plan a day there. Additionally, a majority of his people go to the 5 lakes region, a testament to the overcrowding and over-tourism that is plaguing Japan right now.
I selected Fujinomiya, a town that was on the south west of the mountain, and is actually the closest to it. It also has the World Heritage center and museum, as Dan is a big fan of heritage sites. We arrived just after 1, walking to the center. It tells the story of the mountain, which is actually an active volcano. It provided its significance to the region and nation, its symbolic influence culturally and historically.
After sitting in awe, soaking in the majesticness, snow capped top, with whisps of clouds floating by, we noticed at the tip, toxic vapors being emitted.
Which makes sense, it is active. There’s been some mid-sized earthquakes recently which even prompted a reminder and warning from the authorities.
We walked across to the local market, doing a little shopping, eating some local cuisine - specifically fried garlic noodles,
followed by some matcha gelato.
It was now late afternoon, time to head to Osaka, Japan’s second city. We had snagged 1 night at the Conrad.
The hotels I’ve been to have lobbies and check-ins on the 1st floor. Not this one. The lobby was on the 40th, with floor to ceiling windows offering a 360* view.
Conrad Osaka
The city was lit up, the lights sparkling against the night sky. And with that, we topped off the night with some of Ōsaka best sake.
Final step count was only 9,529 and 4.32 miles. Till tomorrow everyone. #worldheritagesite#mtfuji#fujinomiya#shinkansen#bullettrain#japan #Asia2025
