Monkey Business at Mt. Fuji

Asia » Japan » Shizuoka » Mt Fuji
April 20th 2008

Published: April 20th 2008

Edit Blog Post

pohl position

Foggy Fuji

It was hard to grab a good picture after about noon or so.

Mount Fuji is probably one of the best known mountains in the world, so I couldn't go to Japan and not see it. On a clear day, you can see it from Tokyo if you go to an observation deck of one of their tall buildings. Clear days seem to be hard to come by, and I wanted a closer look anyway. My original idea was to climb to the summit and witness the sun rise over the top ofit. However, these dreams were dashed when I read my lonely planet. The climbing season is only from July to August. Climbing outside that window is not recommended because of all the snow and may result in death! So, I decided that a few close up shots would have to be good enough for now. Just as well, it was freezing there!

My friend Kyle, who lives in Tokyo, told me that Kawaguchi-ko is a good spot close to the mountain to get a good view. It sits on one of the 5 lakes that surround the mountain and is a bit of a summer resort for the Japanese. So I headed out on a bus and enjoyed the drive out

Tea Time

Enjoying some tea at the ryokan I was staying at.

to the mountains. I got there a couple of hours before the sun went down, so I was able to ride a cable car up to another high point to snap a few pics. It was a bit foggy/cloudy, so it was hard to snap decent shots. I would end up getting a some clearer photos the next morning.

Mt. Fuji is very distinctive in how it rises almost symetrically to a point. The mountain itself is actually a dormant volcano and the leveling off at the top is actually a crater. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to climb it, but then I probably wouldn't have been able to see it snow-capped either. After grabbing a few good pics, I took in some of the sights around the town to see what was on offer before I had to hop on my bus back to Tokyo. The town is mainly geared toward summer time travelers and there are lots of japanese sweet shops and trinket shops.

The other highlight of Kawaguchi-ko for me was seeing the monkey show. This show was mainly for kids, but I enjoyed it too. The show consisted of 2

Clearer Fuji

This was in the morning outside of the train station.

monkeys who would perform various tricks from the commands of their trainers. The monkeys were pretty impressive, and seemed to understand more Japanese than I did. They would run and jump across 2 staircases only to land and walk down on their hands. Walking across the stage while balancing on a basketball was pretty cool, but my favorite was seeing the little guy climb a pair of stilts and walk across the stage. What is it about monkeys that is so funny? I couldn't but help be reminded of Bathroom Monkey.

Here is a video of a monkey walking on a ball.

Here is a video of monkey jumping

Additional photos below

Photos: 5, Displayed: 5