DAY FOUR SHIZUOKA MT FUJI

Onboard the ship we were in the very much a working port of Shizuoka, we could see just mist and cloud in the direction of Mt Fuji. It seemed pointless to head off to the mountain and time today was quite tight. So with no expectations we left the ship to see if there was any way to get a trip out of the port. Once again we were incredibly lucky when we bumped into an American who had lived in the city for 15 years. He told us the only way out of town in a short timespan was by taxi. He showed us the taxi rank and we stood in line with a numbered ticket. Taxis were arriving roughly every ten minutes and we were #6 in the line. At the front were a father and son from Liverpool so I asked them straight out “Do you want to share the taxi and go halves, we don’t really care where you are going we are happy to tag along”.

Next thing we know, we are on our way with our new friends to a Mountain top, there we could catch a Cablecar to another Buddhist Temple.

When we arrived, Mt Fuji was just nearby and was still shrouded in mist but unbelievably right in front of our eyes it started to appear. It really was quite magical once it was completely clear. I have spent quite a lot of my life around mountains but this seemed the biggest I have ever seen. Even though it is only I think 4000m it rises from the coast and you see its full majesty.

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Our new buddies we’re called Matt and Keith and we all really hit it off. Matt the son who was in his 40s had always wanted to visit Japan, he had a keen interest in Ninjas, Temples, Karaoke, Fantasy writing and the bizarre! He had played in bands, written games, written books and was by no stretch of the imagination interesting.

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His Father Keith was very reserved and at 74 often struggling to keep up with his whirlwind of a son but their conscious efforts to take each other into consideration was admirable. Keith had for a long time been interested in South Korea bizarrely after falling in love with South Korean films and TV shows. He had no interest in Japan but was definitely surprised how much he was enjoying it so far.

It was a short day but so special to have collected two new friends!

Tokyo & Yokohama

Tokyo isn’t just a city – it’s an adventure. So you need to pack your sense of humour and your curiosity; Tokyo’s charm is ready to enchant you, one quirky corner at a time if you let it!

We had navigated the trains from Yokohama to the main station in central Tokyo and wondered if we could ever get out of it! It is like a city in itself, as we walked down aisle after aisle of shops and platforms until eventually we popped out right by the Shibuya Scramble Crossing (think of it as the world's most organised chaos). This is a place that has appeared on virtually all the travel shows I had ever seen and we were here. Out came the cameras and the excited smiles I just couldn’t believe we were here and it did not disappoint! Yes it is touristy but so are all the iconic squares in the world; think Times Square, Piccadilly Circus or St Marks. As well as the up to half a million pedestrians a day that cross here it has become a meeting place in Japan. The video screens and neon signs are simply sensory overload even in the day when we were there. After crossing a few times we decided to have a quick explore of the area when we saw two Go Karts drive by, one was driven by a cow the other by Super Mario and that sums up Japan. Once you have been there a while you are not surprised by anything but, it still makes you smile.

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As with all whistlestop tours the time just seems to race by. We had a little explore of the area but most of out time was spent by accident inside a food mall just off the Scramble and we didn't even buy anything! It was just incredible with numerous separate outlets offering among other things chocolates, biscuits, cakes and teas but the difference was the standard of fair! It was as if the best chefs from each country had produced the food. The presentation and precision was just beautiful and believe it or not it was affordable.
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JUST A SELF INDULGENT NOTE:

 I phoned my Daughter and explained I had been to the Shibuya Scramble. Casually "Oh" she said "I took a Formula 1 car through there in the opposite direction to the traffic and brought it to a standstill for a TV piece". 

Well why wouldn't you have Sweetheart, I did not even know you had been there!