As I write this with sore feet I am able to reflect back upon today and the many things I saw while walking from Fuji to Fujinomia, via the Fuja river. It is not the most direct route, but certainly one filled with much natural beauty. There were also one or two little surprise stops along the way, starting with a ferris wheel. From the top you could see the many bridges between us and the Pacific ocean a couple of miles away.
From below you can only see the wheel itself, but it turns out there is a reasonably sized shopping precinct with a variety of food options from Fujinomia yakisoba to pizza.
After staring at things from high up and listening to a rather confused audio guide (apparently we were on a sky walk and had reached the peak mere meters away from our starting point) we continued our adventure along the Fuji river, heading deeper into the area called Fujikawa (which means Fuji river).
Our next point of interest was found inside a mountain, in the form of a message left by, I assume, aliens.
Since aside from a lone cyclist we were the only ones walking this way it is safe to assume not many, if anyone has studied this message. Let me know what you think on the back of a postcard / comment. Upon returning into the sunlight and following the river some more we came upon some delightful cherry blossoms, and a little more surprisingly we were invited to join four random people for a drink.
As it would have been rude to refuse we did enjoy a couple of vodka shots and conversation about football and work, as well of course interest in where we were from and why we were walking so far like a couple of crazy people.
After parting company we continued further along the river until we came across a small shrine hidden up a hill in a bamboo forest. This is after we tried to stop at a shrine which turned out to be a school because sometimes I can’t read maps apparently.
Although quite a small place, it was a very peaceful one with a few old graves. We even found what appeared to be someone’s garden, meters away from the edge of the hill.
Our final pit stop was a shrine at Fujinomia itself. Another beautiful spot, covered in cherry blossoms and serene water features.
You can also see mount Fuji in the background, because today all things had to have the word Fuji in them. Fuji Fuji Fuji.
A Wandering Parrot 