Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the first floor, which has set lunches for under ¥2000. The
dark and cosy hotel bar is Nikkō's best spot for a nightcap
- there are almost no bars in town.
Ì
Meguri Café
ն
909-1 Nakahatsuishi-machi
T
0288 25 3122.
A true vegan café, with a great laidback
atmosphere, run by a husband-and-wife team, who use
vegetables grown in their own garden as well as local
organic produce. You'll also find some yummy dessert
choices, mostly Western style (such as cakes), and plenty
of fresh fruits. Try to get there for lunch (until 2pm):
vegetable rāmen is served every other day (¥945), plus
there are set lunches available Mon-Wed (¥1050).
Daily
11.30am-6pm.
Meiji-no-Yakata
໌࣏ͷؗ
2339-1 Sannai
T
0288
53 3751.
This charming stone villa, once a holiday home
(see p.210), is a nostalgic treat. Dishes are simple (curry
rice costs ¥1575, with other mains running to ¥3000), or
you can just enjoy coffee and cakes on the terrace.
Daily
11am-7.30pm.
Ì
Sou-an
҇
1024 Kamihatsuishi-machi
T
0288
53 0534.
Lovely café and garden in the back of a shop run
by traditional sweets maker Nisshodo - specializing in
yokan
, a Japanese sweet primarily made of azuki red beans.
A drink (
matcha
, tea or coffee) and dessert will set you back
¥800.
Daily 9am-6pm.
Suzuya
ླՈ
2315-1 Sannai
T
0288 53 6117.
This
stand-alone restaurant, by the bridge up the slope from
the Kosugi Hōan Museum of Art, is a good place to sample
yuba-ryōri
; the set lunch costs ¥1400 and includes
tempura, rice, noodles and rolled tofu.
Daily 11am-3pm.
Fuji Five Lakes
The best reason for heading 100km west from Tokyo towards the area known as
FUJI FIVE LAKES
is to climb
Mount Fuji
, Japan's most sacred volcano and, at 3776m,
its highest mountain. Fuji-san, as it's respectfully known by the Japanese, has long
been worshipped for its latent power (it last erupted in 1707) and near-perfect
symmetry; it is most beautiful from October to May, when the summit is crowned
with snow. The climbing season is basically July and August; even if you don't fancy the
rather daunting ascent, just getting up close to Japan's most famous national symbol is
a memorable experience. Apart from Mount Fuji, the single most interesting sight in
the area is the wonderfully atmospheric shrine
Fuji Sengen-jinja
, in the area's transport
hub of
Fuji-Yoshida
.
During the summer, the
five lakes
in the area are packed with urbanites fleeing the
city.
Kawaguchi-ko
is not only a popular starting point for climbing Mount Fuji, but
also features a kimono museum and the easily climbable Mount Tenjō, which has
outstanding views of Mount Fuji and the surrounding lakes. The smallest of the other
four lakes, horseshoe-shaped
Shōji-ko
(
ਫ਼ਐބ
), 2km west of Kawaguchi-ko, is by far
the prettiest. The largest lake,
Yamanaka-ko
(
ࢁதބ
), southeast of Fuji-Yoshida, is just
as developed as Kawaguchi-ko and has fewer attractions, while
Motosu-ko
(
ຊބ
) and
Sai-ko
(
ބ
) - the best for camping - are fine, but not so extraordinary that they're
worth the trouble of visiting if you're on a short trip.
20
Fuji-Yoshida
࢜٢ా
FUJI-YOSHIDA
, some 100km west of Tokyo, lies so close to Mount Fuji that when the
dormant volcano eventually blows her top the local residents will be toast. For the time
being, however, this small, friendly town acts as an e
cient transport hub for the area,
as well as the traditional departure point for journeys up the volcano, with frequent
buses leaving for Mount Fuji's fifth station (see p.217) from outside the train station.
If you're in town in late August, you'll find the main thoroughfare illuminated
spectacularly, when seventy bonfires are lit along its length at night-time during the
Yoshida Fire Festival
(August 26 & 27).
Fuji Sengen-jinja
࢜ઙؒਆࣾ
• Off Fuji Panorama Line road • 24hr • Free • Head uphill from the station along main street towards Fuji; turn left where
the road hits a junction and walk 200m
The volcano aside, Fuji-Yoshida's main attraction is its large, colourful Shinto shrine,
Fuji Sengen-jinja
, set in a small patch of forest. Sengen shrines, dedicated to the
