The morning began full of great promises. We awoke at around 5am, before the alarm went off, determined to make an early start. We had read that the best chance of seeing Mt Fuji in summer is in the early morning. When Michael went out for his jog, I wandered outside and around to the other side of the hotel - there was Mt Fuji, without a cloud in sight! I had to walk a few blocks to get some shots without unsightly electricity wires detracting from the mountain.
 
Breakfast at this hotel is great if you are Japanese, but my stomach doesn't crave rice, noodles, eggs, pickles, fish, etc . for breakfast. Fortunately, there was yoghurt and canned fruit, as well as some small croissants to satisfy me. Amazingly, we were at the bus station (also just across the road) in time to catch the 7:40am bus to Lake Kawaguchiko. Unfortunately, it was only later I realised that my research had not been thorough enough, and that we should in fact have been going to Ashinoko Lake in the Hakone area which is actually no where near Gotemba! Michael had chosen Gotemba as his research had suggested that this was possibly the closest to Mt Fuji that our rail passes could take us. But the real question is whether or not one is planning to actually climb Mt Fuji or simply see some sights with Mt Fuji in the background. After talking to Francesco in Nikko, we had decided that it climbing Mt Fuji was not a realistic goal, given that it can take 7 hours or more, is zero degrees at the top, is shrouded in cloud much of the time, and that the altitude can make you feel nauseous and light-headed!!! We had still been undecided as to whether we should take the bus that goes half-way up the mountain and then walk around the forest in that area . I figured we'd probably see more if we did the activities around the lake, such as the ropeway (cable car) and boat trip that Rae and Neil had recommended. My research suggested that the 2-day Freepass would be our best option - and that's where the confusion started. Both Lakes offer 2-day Freepasses (free in this context means 'unlimited'!).
 
It was a local bus that took us to Lake, winding its way through rural areas and up into the hills. 70 minutes later, we arrived at Kawaguchiko Station. The very helpful woman at this tourist information office went through all of the options with us, and we decided to start by walking the 15 minutes to the ropeway. (She advised that we could buy a pass on any bus, or just pay to go however far we wanted to go.)
 
The ropeway/cable car took us up the side of a mountain, just a 3-minute ride. There were lovely views over the lake, and if Mt Fuji hadn't been completely shrouded in clouds, we would have had a great view of her too. But there was nothing really spectacular about the experience . We had only purchased one-way tickets, as we wanted to do the 30-minute downhill walk. This was quite pleasant, passing through forested area with many hydrangeas along the way. 
 
We ended up down by the lake - mmm, funny that the boat offering cruises on the lake doesn't look like a pirate ship, as I had read about! Anyway, we weren't that interested in a boat ride, and so decided we would hike around the water's edge instead. Given that this is a major tourist area, we were surprised, as we had been in the Nikko National Park, that the side of the lake has not only not been developed, but is not even well cared for. There were sections of the walk that were OK, and the distant views were lovely. We came across some gardens that desperately needed weeding. There is so much potential in this area. If it were developed, it might possibly attract more tourists - there certainly weren't many people walking beside the lake.
 
After walking some distance, we decided that we'd seen enough. It was hot and it was becoming more difficult to angle my umbrella in just the right direction to keep the late morning sun off my lower legs as much as possible . We headed back through the side streets and on to a main road that led back to the bus station. I was amazed at how much distance we had covered - it took a while to get back. We made it back just in time to catch the 12pm bus back to Gotemba. I nibbled on a few peanuts on the way, but had to stop when a hole in the bottom of the plastic bag caused quite a few to fall on the floor of the bus. Poor Michael had to go down on hands and knees to clean up the mess!)
 
It was only once we were back in our room (we'd stopped to buy me an ice cream) that I actually realised that we had gone to the wrong lake. The Hakone area has a ropeway that goes for 30 minutes, rather than only 3! We read that only half of it is currently operating, due to volcanic activity, but people still think it's worthwhile. I was devastated! I lay down for a while to rest and try to shed my disappointment. I wanted to go there the next day, but Michael wasn't keen - he said he'd be happy for me to go on my own, and he'd meet me back in Tokyo . Whilst that's quite do-able, it's not the same doing those sorts of things on your own. 
 
By now, the sky had become overcast. Michael suggested walking to a monument we could see from our hotel room - "The Peace Park in Gotemba City commands a beautiful view of Mt. Fuji and houses the chalky stupa...It is located on the mountainside of the outer rim of Hakone crater, commanding a good view of the city. The stupa, the symbol of the park, keeps the Buddha’s ashes presented by late Indian Prime Minister Nehru. 4 golden images of Buddha are also housed. In front of the stupa, the guardian dogs of respective Asian countries stand in line. In addition, The pond circuit-style Japanese garden, the Buddhist Monastery of Nihonzan-Myoho-ji Temple, images of Deity of Mercy ‘Nade Kannon’ (lit. rubbing Kannon) and 33 Kannon images are also well worth seeing."

The temperature was now very comfortable for walking, with umbrellas needed for the short downpour of rain we experienced along the way, rather than for sun protection. We ambled in the general direction of the monument, passing through quiet suburban streets along the way. When we could no longer see the top of the monument, we found a mounted map to help orient ourselves. Still unable to locate it, we asked a local woman who was just about to get into her car. It transpired that we had turned around about 50 metres before the entrance which was just around the slight bend in the road! (The woman spoke excellent English and told us how she had been to Canberra and Melbourne!) Back we went, up the hill to the entrance of Peace Park . A bus load of tourists had just been deposited there. At this stage, we didn't know know the significance of this monument, but can now appreciate the reverence the other guests were displaying, and why the avenue leading up to the stupa was so grand and the gardens so well maintained!

After a good look around, we began the trek back to our hotel, disagreeing over which direction to take towards the end. I had observed the bus turn left at the intersection where two banks were located, and so was adamant that the railway station was to the left. However, Michael's intuition told him it was to the right, and so we walked straight on, going through a subway underneath the railway line. On the other side, it was apparent that I was correct. (Naturally, I'm not going to report on all the times that I have been wrong, but they are so few, they are not even worth mentioning!)

Back at the hotel, we freshened up and then went searching for somewhere to have dinner . We stumbled across a restaurant inside a large shopping complex that I think also housed a small casino (there are many casinos scattered around Japan - I suspect it is a popular pastime). This choice turned out to be an interesting experience. Firstly, we were instructed to remove our shoes - these were then placed in individual lockers for which we were handed the keys. We were then guided down a dimly lit corridor with dark timber floors and walls with sliding doors that opened into individual cubicles. These reminded us of the cubicles in the restaurant in Osaka. We were ushered into a cubicle with a low table and what appeared to be cushions on the floor. I lowered myself on to the cushions, expecting that we would be sitting on the floor for dinner, but then discovered that there was a space underneath the table for our legs! We were given an English menu and a page of instructions for English-speaking tourists, and then the waiter left, sliding the door closed behind her. The instructions advised us to ring the bell on the table when we were ready to order . The 380 yen surcharge per person included as much of the salad starter that was delivered to our table once we had placed our order. Each time a waiter brought us a dish, s/he would squat down outside our screen door, knock politely, open the door and place the dish on our table. There was a slight smell of smoke hanging in the air, and the place was very noisy. Clearly, the groups in the neighbouring 'cells' we're having a jolly good time!

When we had finished our meal, we rang the bell, and a waiter promptly came to collect our credit card. The experience cost us about $40 all up - a lot more than we've been paying for meals, but worth the splurge! We didn't bother asking whether they were going to bring us our complimentary miso soup to end the meal, having already requested a second bowl of salad and feeling quite satisfied. It was a good ending to what had been a bit of a disappointing day for me.