Day 6 June 23

Another big day of travelling today. First we have to pack our bags and leave the submarine house. It's raining outside and miserable and the walk to the station gets us wet. We call into the tourist information centre to say goodbye to the girls who have helped us so much. Then it's back on the trains. First to Shinjuku. Then the bullet train to Otsuki. And then we ride the Mt. Fuji Express which is a very cool looking train. Arrive at Kawaguchiko around 2 pm and it's a beautiful day but Mt. Fuji is obscured by clouds. Everyone warned us we might not get to see the mountain at this time of the year.
Picked up and taken to our villa by the Lake and everything is explained to us. "And one more thing" seems to be the catch phrase. The room itself is lovely but there is no couch to sit on and there are only four channels on the TV and they are all in Japanese. So we head out to the lake for a walk. Mt. Fuji is still covered by clouds but we can now see the tip of the mountain and the clouds are moving. After about 30 minutes the clouds pass by and Mt. Fuji is revealed in all it's glory. And it is beautiful. A little bit magical. The photographers all pop out from everywhere. Liz and I sit on the bench and just look at it. The kids go back to the villa.
The cottage is self contained so on the way here we were taken to the super to buy groceries. Making a cup of tea we find we have bought coconut milk. Later we would realise the eggs we have bought are pre-cooked. A trip through little rice farms to the 7-11 store is need.
After all that walking Liz and I go for a soak in the onset which is deep spring baths. Very very hot. Because you can't wear bathers we're little bit nervous. I go into the men's onsen and luckily I have it to myself. As does Liz next door. Sitting in a hot bath, outside, with a twilight view of Mt. Fuji was simply just amazing. The vending machine next to the onset sells beer too. What a beautiful world. The state of bliss leads to a very early night.