sayonara Fujisan! travel on west to gifu area

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After a Japanese style Breakfast for Celine & Scott, we went on a boat trip on Kawaguchi lake on the "ensoleillé" boat, aptly-named since the sun came out while onboard. Fuji-san also made an appearance, a scarf of clouds around her neck.

We return to the traditional village one last time for Jerry to pick up a print signed by the artist.

We're on the road again, leaving Fujisan and the beautiful 5 lakes area. We're crossing the mountains on a slower road before joining the Chuo expressway westwards towards Gifu prefecture, Minakamo town for the next stage of our road trip; this time, we're staying in a ryokan!

Jerry's at the helm today. Travelling by car offers a different perspective; for instance, the speed limit is 80km/h ie about 50ml ph(unlike France 110); like France there are tolls; the services are very well stocked up too. As for the landscape our journey was very mountainous; the motorway actually curves around the southern Alps in a huge triangle to avoid crossing the range with numerous peaks about 3,000metres (about 9000 feet) high. We were banked by steep slopes, with great vistas, by lakes or valleys. We also noticed a lot of orchards on the slopes, peach trees with their fruit already harvested, as well as kaki fruit which are still ripening. celine is hoping to sample some soon!
We arrived at the ryokan sakaeya in a street full of ryokan. It is a very old ryokan. We walked into the village that boasts several Edo period buildings, old wood, old stones, old style. We'll take a better look tomorrow in the daylight.

Dinner was a splendid affair, although the seating arrangements were an excruciating challenge to "I kneel for no meal" Jerry...on the menu were a classic claypot rice topped with seafood and vegetables, alongside tempura, udon or soba, miso, tuna sushi etc...with nama beeru! Stagered him with fatbellies!

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