Chasing the Perfect Fuji shot.

[RetiredandTravel]

10 hours ago, drron29 said:

Indeed it is. I have been wearing it for 17 years now and still good.

our son worked at Bear Stearns for 5 years. About 3-4 months before they went under he got a job back in Australia. Fortunately they didn;t want him ubtil 2 weeks after Bear Steans folded. So he got his payout from Bear Stearns and 10 days later his new bank paid for his relocation to Australia.

On the final day of Bear Stearns they were able to take items that hadn't been sold hence my jacket.

 

I guessed that because you had mentioned your son had worked in NY from 2002-2008 (2018 typo) in our LeBernardin conversation.   Sounds like he was very fortunate.  I have a Bear Stearns hat and golf divot repair tool.  😁

 

 

[drron29]

We kept returning to NYC every year until 2018 and continued the Le Bernadin tradition.

From 2002 until late 2015 we had a timeshare in the Hilton Club on 6th Avenue. We were staying in the Hilton to see our son. it was 5 months after 9/11 and the Hilton Club had opened a month before. But no one was buying in NYC. They made us a good offer so we bought in. We were number 5 in the list of owners that used to be displayed in the Club Room.

 

Then in 2015 they made us another offer we couldn't refuse. They bought back our membership at a price that covered our initial purchase plus the annual fees we had paid for 13 years. This was mainly because the $A had tumbled and we got a lot more of them at that time

[highplanesdrifters]

1 hour ago, drron29 said:

They bought back our membership at a price that covered our initial purchase plus the annual fees we had paid for 13 years

 

Sweet move!

 

@RetiredandTravel

 

Take your ball cap profits? 

 

 

 

[drron29]

Different views from our room.

 

 

And the room. Quite spacious for a Japanese hotel.

 

 

 

After unpacking the carry ons we went for a walk around the grounds.

 

 

Couldn't take my eyes off a certain mountain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We crossed the road at the back of the Hotel and walked down to the lake.

 

 

There was a group preparing to go kayaking.

 

 

 

[drron29]

Down to the lakes edge.

 

 

 

 

And back into the hotels gardens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[drron29]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And they have a mini golf course.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[drron29]

More of the golf course.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we went for a walk up the road to the hotel lined with cherry blossom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[drron29]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[drron29]

I decided it would be a good idea to have a car As the Tourist busses were packed and Kawaguchigo CBD was a zoo. But we also wanted to go here -

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6919.html

 

So got online and arranged to pick up the car at 9am the next morning. We went to the lobby to have a couple of glasses of wine. They have this crazy automatic dispenser.

 

 

 

You stick a card that you buy at the front desk and then supposedly serve your wine. 500 yen for 60 mls. Now Rojaan naturally wanted a white wine so picked one of the dry whites. Nothing happened. eventually went to the front desk and they couldn't get it to work either so he cancelled the transaction and got a new bottle out from the cupboard and poured her 60 mls. He forgot to charge it so she ended up having 3 glasses to my 2.

 

 

 

The second white and my 2 reds had no problems. they weren't too bad.

Back to our room.The swallows were busy building a nest on our balcony.

 

 

Then watched the first of the sunset. Of course our room faced east.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[drron29]

We hadn't booked for dinner thinking as guests we should be OK. The website says reservation is recommended but it doesn't say they are only opening 1 of the 2 dinner restaurants now. They have 2 dinner settings at !730 and 1930. Fortunately we wanted an early meal so we went down to the restaurant. Told by the waiter that as we didn't have a booking we should go to the front desk and make a reservation. We thought we would have to hang out until 1930 but no that was completely booked but there was a table available at 1730.
Back at the restaurant we once again were asked if we had a booking. Yes I made it a minute ago.

Taken to the table and handed the English menu. Basically 6 set menus -3 French and 3 International ranging in price from $A110 to $A230 per head with wine extra. Fortunately there was an A La carte selection which we ordered from. I started with a raw squid and scallop salad which was excellent. I then had a seafood plate. Quite nice.

 

 

Rojaan had fried chicken for mains and a raspberry dessert. She liked both.

 

 

We washed it down with a house white which turned out to be a Sav blanc. quite good.

 

And all that was $A140 which we felt was much better value than having one of the set menus.

 

The next morning it was down to Brekkie at an early hour for us as we were going into town to pick up a rental from Toyota that I made the night before. wasn't that much to choose from but I was happy with the little box car we got.
My 2 plates at breakfast.

 

 

It was very nice. We both loved the miso marinated roast potatoes.
More importantly Fuji wasn't hiding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[drron29]

I then caught the shuttle into town. Easy pick up.great service. I had to do a right turn out of the depot onto a busy road. No problems the agent walked onto the road, put his hands up and I went back to the hotel and picked up Rojaan. Soon we were off on our plans for today. First stop Lake Motosuko for the Shibazakura festival which had begun the weekend before. We arrived soon after it opened that morning and for a while not huge crowds. Though the flowers were definitely not at full bloom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the summer months they have a Peter rabbit garden. A bit sad in early spring.

 

 

 

 

[drron29]

But the real reason it is so popular is because a certain mountain has a way to getting into your photos.

 

 

 

 

Their little village with shops and restaurants plus quite a few food trucks for the festival.

 

 

 

 

And the way to pay if you want something from a food truck.

 

But it's that mountain again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And even a floral Mt Fuji.

 

 

Edited May 20 by drron29

[drron29]

 

 

They also have an elevated viewing spot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not at full bloom but even so the display and location are great.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[drron29]

The last of the Festival. We had got there not long after it opened but as we left the crowds were pouring in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[silkismom]

Have you decided which is the "perfect Fuji shot"? So many to choose from.

[drron29]

20 hours ago, silkismom said:

Have you decided which is the "perfect Fuji shot"? So many to choose from.

I have decided that there are several perfect fuji shots depending on the background and place of taking. But the one I will remember is that first time I saw it cloud free.

Now back to the report.

 

Now we set off to drive around Lake Kawaguchigo. But first a brief stop at Lake Saiko on the way. More cherry blossoms plus Fuji.

 

 

 

 

When we came back to the car we realised we had parked in front of a temple.

 

 

 

And our little car.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[rojaan19]

So my two  artistic shots from the other side of the lake    😊

 

[drron29]

Next stop was Oishi park on the western side of Lake Kawaguchigo. An incredibly busy tourist attraction with small gardens ,a souvenir shop and soft serve ice cream. On the 2 previous occasions we had the grape flavor and this time made it 3 out of 3. The car park was an absolute shamble with people going in and out. I was lucky turning right into it as it can take a lot of time. but a couple of cars were turning left coming out and a truck blocked the oncoming traffic. It appeared to be a full car park but my Karma paid off. A fellow pulled out of his spot as we turned the corner into another lane. First the gardens and Fuji.
Beds of Nemophilia that were just starting to flower.

 

 

 

Massed they look fabulous. We saw that at Ibaraki on a previous trip

https://hitachikaihin.jp/en/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My artistic shots.

 

 

 

 

PS the grape ice creams are very oishi.

Edited May 23 by drron29

[drron29]

It was getting late after having our icecream so we decided on an early dinner. We went tu Tetsuann a yakiniku restaurant run by Koreans. We had been before Covid and enjoyed it. Sadly not as good this time. So the menu.

 

 

 

So Rojaan had the beef garlic rib and I had the kimchi fried rice with soup and extra kim chee. I had a beer and mrsdrron a glass of white wine which was OK

 

 

Then back to the hotel and the last look at Fuji for the day.

 

What we didn't realise that was the last real look at Fuji for the stay. Looking out the next morning we saw this.

 

And it didn't get any much better after breakfast. Just a short view for no more than 5 minutes.

 

 

[drron29]

So we took longer over breakfast and I took pictures of the buffet.

 

I liked everthing on those labels.

And these.

 

 

Sushi was nice.

 

 

 

I like their salmon or mackerel for breakfast.

 

And on the right boiled potatoes with miso sauce. Absolutely delicious.

 

Squid and Takoyaki were very good.

 

The western options. I didn't bother with these apart from a sausage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[drron29]

A late start after breakfast and we set off for this gllery not really knowing what to expect.

http://www.itchiku-museum.com/en.pdf

 

Now when I first saw the name as happens quite frequently a song popped into my head and stopped there

 

As it turned out to be a taste of what was to come. We did hit a high and it was all too beautiful. But first the entrance and a couple of nice trees along the street below the museum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unique seating.

 

Up to the level of the museum shop and entrance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Aussieflyer]

Oh dear drron - I can't see the photos at all - just the dreaded question mark. 

[drron29]

The photos have been posted the same way since the beginning. I just brought the thread up on my phone and they are all there.

[drron29]

When you enter the first building there is a display on one side and items for sale on the other.

 

 

 

 

 

You then go out and climb some irregular stairs to the major gallery and to the cafes -One Japanese and one western style.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[drron29]

Now there are no photos allowed in the main gallery but we were both blown away by the beauty of the display. Itchiku Kubota was born in 1917 and was fascinated by the detail in 14th Century Kimonos so set about learning the art of Tsujigahana silk dyeing.
He was inspired also by the works of Gaudi and wanted to build his own museum. he found this land at the age of 74. It took 3 years to build and opened in 1994. He died though in 2003 and eventually the collection was put up for sale. But it found an unusual saviour in an organisation run by a man born in Uzbekistan who joined the Russian Diplomatic corps and his first posting was to Tokyo. After 13 years in the diplomatic service he retired and became very rich through mining, banking and insurance. His story here-

https://internationalchodievfoundation.com/about-icf/our-founder/

 

Now a couple of pictures of the kimonos from the web.

 

https://thekubotacollection.com/museum

 

There is a link there to see other works from the collection.

 

 

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6912.html

 

In the museum all the kimonos are side by side as in that second image. They form a continuous picture. It really is breathtaking.

So if you are interested in art, Japanese culture or even architecture I thoroughly recommend a visit to this museum.
And as long as the clouds stay away you can see Mt.Fuji