2-Day Trip to Fujigoko (Five Lakes of Mt. Fuji) in winter 3/3

9:50 Departed from the hotel
10:00 Visited ITCHIKU KUBOTA Art Museum

10:39 Got on a local bus
11:00 Arrived at Mt. Fuji Station. Shopping at Q-STA within the station building

11:30 Got on a local bus, Moved to Lake Yamanaka
11:53 Arrived at Hotel Mt. FUJI

12:00 Lunch at Restaurant Seahorse

12:45 Moved to Jupiter meeting place
13:00 Got on a dome ship at Lake Yamanaka
13:30 Pond smelt fishing
15:00 Finished fishing experience and took a walk around Lake Yamanaka area

16:15 Got back to the Hotel Mt. FUJI, Got on a Fujikko bus
16:53 Arrived at Mt. Fuji Station

16:59 Got on Chuou Kosoku Bus
18:55 Arrived at Shinjuku Station

ITCHIKU KUBOTA ART MUSEUM
Visit to see the highest grade Japanese Kimono!
You will be thrilled to watch a number of beautiful and gorgeous “Uchikake”, Japanese princesses’ robes with fine patterns and trailing skirts worn over a kimono using golden threads at this museum. What you can observe at ITCHIKU KUBOTA Art Museum are made by Itchiku’s special technique of dyeing kimonos called “Itchiku-Tsujigahana”. 」You can feel strong power from his artworks when you see them closely and look kind of solid when seen from a distance. The secret behind this solidity is one of his techniques of “Shibori (tie-dyeing)" where he makes patterns by bunching up a small bit of the cloth, tying it with string and then dyeing the cloth. Can you guess how long it takes to make one uchikake? It is said to be around one year each. As photo taking is not allowed in the museum, you should take time and enjoy them to its fullest. The main building has a complicated wooden structure using Hinoki trees (cypress family) and it has a special atmosphere that indulges yourself into luxurious time.
Their Tea House is little-know good spot!

There also are a Japanese tea house and a cafe where visitors can enjoy the view of a Japanese garden with waterfall as well as tea and sweets. You could just go in for fun without actually ordering at the café. Enjoy the beautiful traditional garden, and take full advantage of the beautiful natural environment of the museum to relax.

Admission fee: 1,300 yen per adult, 900 yen per college and high school student, 400 yen per junior high and elementary school student
* You can pick up 100 yen discount coupon at Tourist Information Center or ITCHIKU KUBOTA Art Museum website!
Open hours: April- November 9:30-17:30, December-March 10:00-16:30, closed on Wednesdays
Access: Retro bus, get off at ITCHIKU KUBOTA Art museum, 5-minute walk
Menu served at tea ceremony room: “Zenzai” set 1,000 yen, Green Tea Milk 600 yen, etc.

Restaurant Seahorse: Local country dishes with fresh seafood
Taste delicious local ingredients!
　After you go out for pond smelt fishing, I would recommend you to stop by at Restaurant Seahorse (located near the Hotel Mt. Fuji bus stop) for lunch. They offer a variety of Japanese foods using fresh ingredients they source each day from local farms and ocean to bring you tasty, healthy and memorable dishes. You can enjoy Yamanashi prefecture’s local soul food noodle “HOTO”, rainbow trout broiled with salt, pond smelt and much more. Even if you can catch too much pond smelt, Restaurant seahorse is there to treat you with nice dining experience.

《Restaurant Seahorse》
Seahorse website: http://sea-horse.biz/

Experience ice fishing for wakasagi (Japanese pond smelt)!

Have you seen someone doing an ice hole fishing on TV? You can enjoy pond smelt fishing at Lake Yamanaka during winter. The Pond Smelt is a relatively common winter fish, smaller than regular smelt. Their tempura taste great as their bones are soft.

At Lake Yamanaka, you can enjoy pond smelt fishing without standing under the cold weather. They have a popular dome ship where you can enjoy fishing without getting off from the ship. Even when it’s freezing cold outside and you don’t have a special warm snowsuit, you can sit in a warm room hanging down a fishing rod from inside. One of the dome ship called “Jupiter” started operation in 2008 using solar power generation. As you can leave the ship on the way, it is recommended for those who would like to try fishing for a short amount of time. Why don’t you include pond smelt fishing in your trip itinerary?

《smelt fishing》
Jupiter website: http://www.y-jupiter.jp/domeboat/

A picture of Mt. Fuji covered with snow is very popular, however you can see the real Mt. Fuji with snow only during November to May. Winter Fujigoko offers numerous attractions that are not well known yet and you should take advantage of cold weather and enjoy winter under the crispy weather. You will find every aspect of high quality Japan such as Mt. Fuji, snow, Japanese culture, delicious foods, wonderful people and much more would be included in your adventure!

>> http://www.deepjapan.org/a/3902 (1 of 3)
>> http://www.deepjapan.org/a/3900 (2 of 3)