Today, I got out of bed shortly after sunrise because I wanted to see the view of Mt. Fuji (Japan’s tallest mountain) as we cruised into the port of Shimizu. Although quite hazy, from our balcony, I watched the mountain pass by in all her majesty. I then finished getting ready for the day and headed up to breakfast. As we were arriving into port, there was a high school band on the pier playing to welcome us. In fact, it seemed like all of the dignitaries of the town and many of the citizens came out to welcome us into their town. This was Holland America’s first time into this port and they wanted us to feel welcome so that we would surely return. The town mayor presented our captain and his staff with ceremony and gifts.
We got off of the boat and walked to the train station. By this time, the mountain was covered in clouds. We had decided to get as close as we could to the mountain, which meant taking the train to the Fujinomiya Station. So, we bought tickets and went for a 40-minute train ride up the coast, and then a little ways inland. Unfortunately, the mountain was still covered with clouds. In fact, it pretty much stayed out of sight for the rest of the day. This mad me happy that it wasn’t in vain that I arose early this morning.
We did, however, have a nice day of shopping in the town where we went to on the train and in our port town of Shimizu. It was interesting because this wasn’t touristy shopping. It was going in and out of the everyday shops where Japanese people shop. We saw everything from office products to toys to clothes. It was a good day of going out and seeing how the people live. We even popped into a 7-11 convenience store for a soda and snack.
When we returned to the ship, they were having more activities going on in the terminal area. These included a Japanese Geisha performance and a Mt. Fuji photography exhibit that captured the mountain in all four seasons. The town also had booths set up for both the locals and us to browse and spend our Japanese Yen. It was a much-needed relaxing day after our full day in Tokyo yesterday. Tomorrow we have our last port in Japan in the town of Kobe.
The welcome ceremony put on by the town of Shimizu
Me standing by our “welcome” sign. I love the Mt. Fuji cartoon characters on the bottom left.
My folks outside the train station
Normal Japanese life…people standing at a noodle stand, eating their lunch
Our train coming into the station
A pedestrian shopping street in Shimizu
My only view of Mt. Fuji…look real close and you will find the larger cone-shaped mountain in the back of the picture. I will come back and climb this mountain someday when I have a few more days to spend.
Even though we got quite a bit closer to Mt. Fuji, we had no better luck at viewing the mountain. As you can see, clouds were set in for the day covering the mountain’s peak.
Rice being harvested...we saw quite a bit of this on our train ride. It seems out in the more rural areas almost all the houses have their little rice field to tend.
Traditional Kimonos for sale in a store window
Matching shoes and purses to accessorize a kimono on formal occasions
The Mt. Fuji Cartoon Character
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