Tokyo 29/5/2017

Last night we had our dinner cruise on the Sumida river. We had to take off our shoes and sit at a low table, but our legs sunk into a space below the table. It was another Japanese feast. The dishes were not as good as the previous night but they did include tempura squid, fish, potato, prawn, eggplant and eel. I tried the eel and it just tasted like a soft flesh fish. After dinner we had Karaoke. 

Today we had an early start a 7.50 am meet. We have a 2 hour drive to Mt Fuji and Haokone national park. Our first stop is at the Icchu Kubota Kimono museum. Mr Kubota was an artist who created scenes on kimonos. He resurrected an old style dyeing the silk to create his masterpieces. It is a style of tie dyeing. It took him years to recreate the style and he was 60 when he perfected it. They are amazing as is the museum building, built out of wood. He was the first living artist to be displayed at the Smithsonian in Washington. On the way there we had a view of Mt Fuji, but some of it was covered by cloud. After the museum we proceeded to Haokone for a cable car ride to hell valley. A valley that has sulphur vents. A very interesting landscape. We are also able to get some good shots of Fuji. We then move to lake Ashi for a cruise on a pirate ship. The lake was formed after the caldera of a volcano collapsed. During the cruise we got more views of Fuji, it does dominate the landscape.

It is another 2 hour drive back to our hotel. Tonight we had dinner at a French restaurant with fantastic views from the 46th floor. An interesting menu that included Aussie beef steak which was delicious. Ann is really enjoying the meals.

Tomorrow is less hectic, but also our last day in Tokyo. Will try to post some more photos tomorrow.