Today’s title is a bit misleading as I wasn’t actually able to partake of the best view of Mt. Fuji from the east. But I did get to imagine it while standing in the correct location.

Let me back up a bit and explain. There are some great views of Mt. Fuji from Shizuoka and Yamanashi. Unfortunately, getting there from the Tokyo area can take hours and cost thousands of yen. The best views of Mt. Fuji from Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, and even most parts of Shizuoka and Yamanashi are usually obstructed, if not by buildings then by wires or most often by a mountain range that only allows for a partial, cap view.

I have found, however, a nearly complete view of Mt. Fuji a mere 90 minutes and 940 yen from Shinjuku (80 minutes and 850 yen from Yokohama). There are also some added bonuses of this location like rice paddies,

mountain-side tea fields,

bamboo,

a river,

the ocean, a lake, and even cows at the top of the mountain!

So where is this place? Mt. Ono or Onoyama (大野山). To get there, follow the signs from Yaga Station (谷峨駅). For best results, check this site first. If the forecast is for 晴れのち曇 (as it frequently is) then you want to be sure to be on the first Express out of Shinjuku in the morning. The view of Mt. Fuji is best in the morning, the earlier the better for photography purposes. The hike from the station to the top of the mountain takes between 1.5 and 2 hours. Don’t stop for pictures on the way up. Hightail it up the mountain and try to get to the views of Mt. Fuji before 9 a.m. You can take pictures of the rice paddies, tea fields, bamboo, river, etc. on your way down.

This is a great hike with the above forecast if you are jet lagged in Tokyo and waking up before 5 a.m. anyway. I chuckle when I go through Shinjuku in the morning and see foreign tourists waiting hours for the stores to open at 10 a.m. Don’t be one of them. If you did Tsukiji to pass your wide-awake, early-morning hours on day one of your trip (or if you simply want to do something in the morning and don’t want to be part of a tourist crowd) then, weather permitting, this could be on your agenda for morning two (Odakyu Line train out of Shinjuku leaves at 5:31 a.m.).

If the forecast is for 曇りのち晴れ then time your arrival at the top to be an hour or so before sunset. Don’t forget to bring a headlamp for the way down. The trail is well marked so there is little worry about getting lost. Follow signs pointing to 大野山 on the way up and to 谷峨駅 on the way down. Here are some examples:

大野山ハイキングコース入口 = Onoyama Hiking Course Entrance

Above is a very poorly reconstructed scene of what it would look like were Mt. Fuji not covered in clouds. My camera was on wide angle and the sun was high overhead. A little zoom, a lower sun, and fewer clouds and this has to be one fantastic scene to behold. The entire left outline of Fuji San is visible and the right side reveals more from here than most Fuji views from the east. The scene in front of Mt. Fuji is also very nice, although the above photo doesn’t do it justice. Onoyama is covered not in trees but in grass. The name 大野山 literally means the mountain with a giant field on top, and that is what you will find. Hence the cows enjoying the view in the most unlikely of places.

I actually did see Mt. Fuji on this day. When I arrived at Shinmatsuda Station, I took the above pic from the station.

Posted on June 14th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: bamboo, directions, guidebooks, guides, hiking, mt. fuji, rice paddy, signs. Comments: 5

The above is an actual promotion the Tokyo Metro is currently running for June. The poster says, “beer drinking season has arrived.” The ad goes on to show where the various beer gardens are in Tokyo.

Usually ads, in any country, for beer gardens show happy people enjoying a cold, tall beer. If you look closely at the above photo (clicking on it will give you are larger view), you’ll notice this ad goes a bit beyond the normal. I’ve blown up one part of the image below to show you what I mean.

People passed out (face up AND face down), a guy who has had so much to drink that he thinks he is an angel, and a beer drinking monkey?!?!

Posted on June 1st, 2010 under Japan. Tags: beer, signs. Comments: 2

On Kenpo Kinenbi (憲法記念日 or Constitution Day) I went on a bike ride to Oji (王子) via Otsuka (大塚), Ikebukuro (池袋), and a few other places. Along the way I stopped at Kishimojin in Ikebukuro. The name of this place is interesting I think.

The characters (read right to left) mean devil/demon, child, mother, god.

There is an inari shrine on the same grounds which can’t be adequately captured in a photo. The highlight between the torii gates is an enormous tree which is loaded with fresh, green leaves in May even though the tree itself is anything but fresh.

According to the sign, this tree has been around for more than 600 years.

Posted on May 12th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: buddhist, ikebukuro, shinto, signs, temples, torii. Comments: 1

Not the greatest picture in the world today, but it has a story to go along with it. I sort of sneaked the shot, as many stores don’t like pictures being taken inside. I don’t know if this store had that policy or not.

Anyway, I was on my way to see Outrage in Kawasaki, and I had a few hours to kill. Having once lived near the Mizonokuchi Station, I decided to visit the place for the first time in nearly 22 years. I checked out the old Itoyokado, which is in a new, much larger building than before. The grocery part of the store (my memory tells me that it used to only be groceries) is now in the basement, and it is huge–probably the largest grocery store I’ve seen in Japan, other than those on U.S. military bases. By American standards it would merely be large but anyway…

The cool thing about this store is they slice up a giant bluefin tuna right in front of the customers while explaining about all of the different pieces. The maguro (鮪 or まぐろ) parts are then auctioned off right on the spot. I say auction but the prices were fixed. The first customer to claim a piece by shouting out was able to purchase it so it felt like an auction. Each part went for 1,000 yen. Freshly cut maguro was being sold left and right. They were saving the head, pictured, for last.

In front of the head you can see Itoyokado was having a special on eel (うなぎ). Until Children’s Day (こどもの日) the price was only 880 yen. Note the koinobori on the sign.

Posted on May 10th, 2010 under Japan. Tags: food, kawasaki, signs. Comments Off on Tuna head

Upon arriving in Japan nearly nine months ago and seeing the countless, cheap restaurants in the neighborhood I vowed to never visit one twice (in order to experience a larger percentage of them). I have not been able to stick to my goal however and have frequented about four or five places more than once.

One place that I’ve been to, three times now, is Kao Tai near Takadanobaba Station. The selection (and quality) have been different each time ranging from good to great. It’s the only place I’ve been to that always has foreigners inside. Sometimes as many as half the customers will be non-Japanese.

The food is better than the above photo may indicate. On any given day there are seven or eight different dishes to choose from.

The price can’t be beat. Only 780 yen for an all-you-can eat lunch. The address is 高田馬場 2-14-6, which is east of the station, just off of Waseda Dori on the north side. Look for a Thai Viking Lunch sign (not the one above which is right in front of the restaurant–not on Waseda Street) pointing you down the correct alley. I don’t remember if the sign is in English or katakana–probably a bit of both.

Posted on May 9th, 2010 under Japan, Thailand. Tags: food, signs. Comments Off on Kao Tai カオタイ