Thursday 9th April

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Today i am off to Lake Saiko to do some exploring & caving. Basically Mount Fuji is surrounded by 5 different Lakes. Lake Kawaguchiko being the largest. Lake Saiko is the second largest & also the most beautiful.

In order for me to get to Lake Sai, i need to catch the retro bus. The retro bus only runs once every 30minutes until 12pm & then once every 1 hour thereafter. I catch the bus at around 10am. it takes about 45 minutes to get to my location & the journey is wondeful. The scenery is very picturesque!

My first stop is BatCave. I am so fuckin excited right now, i absolutely adore bats, amongst other things like octopus & ducks, however i am looking forward to getting in the cave. Immediately i notice - when putting on my helmet and buying my ticket - that i am/will be alone. This thought unnerves me slightly as from my experience of caving/climbing/abseiling i know that you really should go in at least a group of 2/3. Plus i can get a little claustrophobic although i an not the kind of chick that lets apprehension get the better of me. Anyway i am not about to let it stop me & i make my way into the entrance.

The cave is not very big, in comparison to some i have been into, but it has enough low ceilings, tight tunnels & walkways, creepy paths & dark crevices to keep me entertained for at leats 30 minutes. I take a few pictures, make sure that i go through all the nooks & crannies, and unfortunately i do bnot see any bats...oh well

I did enjoy it mind you, especially as i was on my own. There were a few points where i was definitely a bit worried!

The next stop/cave is the Lava/Ice Cave. Before i go in i decide to get some food, check out the sovernoir shop & have a beer because it is aklready lunchtime and i am feeling the hunger pains. The thing with getting up at stupid o clock is that you are hungry constantly. After a quick hot dog & chips {tip: do not have the fuckin hot dogs, they are minging} i go into the Lava Cave. This time i am not given a helmet, another thing that worries me but i decide that it cannot be a dangerous cave if they feel it is unneccesary.

I get to the entrance and see that the stairs inside are very steep,notonly that but is sliipy. Iwalk down holding on the rail and go inside. This cave is gash...very small & is not what i would call a cave at all. It is more like a glorified walkway. It has no tunnels and is about 10 minutes long. The opnyl good bits about it is the fact it has been created by lava cascades when Mount Fuji has erupted in the past & the one icicle structure inside. I am in & out in no time & feel a little disappointed. However, it was pretty cold in there so i am somewhat glad.

After my caving mission i get back on the bus and check out tjheLake again in a different location. It is a sunny day so i sit on the beach & watch some fireman fire some water into the lake. I find this pretty odd but anyway...I go home late in the day & have a chinese for tea.

All in all i have a good day.

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Photos

Me inside
check the low ceiling

another small space
i crawled through all of these