Kanto Tavel Journal

Preface

I have traveled to Japan several times since 2023, but I have never traveled to the Kanto region. I want to see what Mount Fuji looks like, and I am planning a trip during the cherry blossom season on New Year’s Day. I looked at the cherry blossom season in previous years, which was around the Qingming Festival. Taking 2 days off plus 3 days during the Qingming Festival is not too rushed. I booked my flight, specifically choosing a red-eye flight so that I could make the most of my daytime hours on the day of my return trip.

There are two views I want to see on this trip:

1. Sakura in full bloom ✅
2. Mount Fuji with its snow cap ✅

Before Departure

Route

Detailed Itinerary

Day1 Tokyo

The flight on the first day was at 1:50am, and I had arrived at the airport at early 11pm the night before. Since I didn’t bring any suitcases, I could just check in at the self-service, avoiding the hassle of long queues. There was no one around at this time, and the security check was quick. I lay down on a chair near gate 230 and didn’t fall asleep.

After boarding the plane and taking off, I still didn’t fall asleep on the plane. There was also a meal at midnight, and finally there were all kinds of drinks to choose from. I ordered a glass of apple juice, which was delicious with curry rice. Let me express my emotion. I only flew on a big plane when I was 30 years old and ate pretty good airplane meals. This is already the most high-end flight I have ever taken.

The screen on the plane has some interactive functions. You can watch movies and watch the plane camera footage (but it was too dark in the middle of the night to see anything). This airline has free WiFi throughout the entire flight. It’s not smooth to watch videos but it’s OK to read pictures and texts. It’s nice to be able to charge your phone on the plane.

I squinted for a while until almost 5 o’clock. We landed at Haneda Airport at 5:45 and started queuing up to enter customs at 6 o’clock. There were so many people and it took almost 45 minutes to enter the country.

It rained in Tokyo in the morning and will clear up in the afternoon (this is also an important factor in why I will go to Mount Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi in the afternoon).

Kanda River

Take the train to Takadanobaba and go to Kanda River. It was raining lightly after arriving at Kanda River. Walking in the rain was so romantic. Some scenes from Makoto Shinkai’s movies came to mind, wow, I’m finally in Tokyo.

On the Kanda River, from Toda Piraibashi to Mekage Bridge, there are many cherry blossoms planted on both sides of the river. I came at this time just in time to catch up with the full bloom, and some of them have fallen to the water due to the wind and rain.

Maybe because today is a working day, I didn’t see any tourists on the road, so I enjoyed the comfort.

Continue to Sugawara.

Sugawara

I took the train and got off at Sugawara Station. Then I thought that cherry blossoms should be planted by the river, so I walked towards the river. As we walked across the road to the river embankment, the place where Xiaoxin and the others often played looked like this.

There are many egrets (probably) on the river in the distance.

Passing a shrine, several cherry blossom trees showed a very pure scene next to the torii gate. A few teenagers came here on bicycles. I think these are the real “Nobi Nobita”.

I continued walking until I reached an intersection and looked down the river from the bridge to see many cherry blossoms. Only then did I realize that my “destination” should be here. The wooden trail that goes down from this intersection along the river bank is under the blooming cherry blossoms, which is very bright and fairy-like. Still didn’t see any tourists.

A train happened to pass through the cherry blossoms.

If the cherry blossoms fall at a speed of five centimeters per second, then…

After leaving Sugawara, the next stop is Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden.

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

Makoto Shinkai’s movie “The Garden of Words” has many filming locations at Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. There are many varieties of cherry blossoms in Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. Different varieties of cherry blossoms bloom at different times, so Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden has a flower viewing period of about a month.

The trees in Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden are very tall.

NTT Docomo Yoyogi Building (NTT ドコモdai々木ビル)

The Japanese garden is also beautiful.

It’s raining, take shelter for a while.

A group of birds are flying in the sky, it’s so atmospheric!

Standing in the cherry blossom forest, with cherry blossoms blooming above your head, it feels like you are under the sacred tree of Avatar.

There is a maple forest inside, which is great for admiring the red leaves in autumn.

After leaving Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, the sky gradually cleared up.

Lunch was settled at a convenience store. In the afternoon, I went to Shinjuku Station and boarded the 14:37 JR train to Otsuki.

Why only go to Otsuki? Because I am staying at Toyoko Inn Kawaguchiko Ohashi tonight. This store provides free shuttle buses to several points near Mount Fuji, including a round-trip bus from Otsuki Station to the hotel. It is very convenient and great!

Looking out on the JR train to Otsuki, you can see many rural towns. I fell asleep in the car several times, just to catch up on some sleep. When I arrived at Otsuki, the shuttle bus would not arrive for a while, so I took a brief walk around the station. There is a cherry blossom tree in front of the station, which is also in full bloom. It is blowing in the breeze, so beautiful.

At 4:30, I got on the Toyoko shuttle bus. When I got on the bus, the driver confirmed the passenger information. I was the only one who reserved this bus today, which was a bit beyond my expectation. I thought it would be full of tourists during the cherry blossom season😄

The driver didn’t speak English and used a translation software to ask me if he could stop by for gas. I said OK. It took almost half an hour to drive to Lake Kawaguchi. I looked out the window and saw the exposed mountainside of Mount Fuji (the face was blocked by clouds).

Lake Kawaguchi

Arrive at the hotel and check in by yourself. My room was on the top floor, but it was not in the building facing Mount Fuji, so there was no way to see Mount Fuji directly from the window. After checking in, we simply sat for a while and headed to Kawaguchiko Bridge (very close), which has a good viewing location.

Passing by Lawson, there is also a good photo location here. When I walked to the bridge, I could already feel the evil wind coming. Fortunately, the jacket is windproof, but wearing a peaked cap on your head is not enough to keep you warm. You have to buckle the hat as tightly as possible, otherwise a gust of wind will blow the hat off the bridge.

The bridge is not very long, and the clouds at the top of Mount Fuji have never dispersed. I was hesitating whether to continue to the lake on the other side and wait. After all, it was a bit cold, and I didn’t wear the down vest I brought, so after thinking about it I decided to go.

We waited by the lake until it got dark and the clouds were still there. That was it for today. It was too cold, so we went back to wash up and sleep.

Buy some water at the convenience store.

Day2 Mount Fuji

Early in the morning, have breakfast on the first floor of the hotel. I looked around and saw only rice, curry, tender eggs in sauce, small sausages, and grilled chicken. I almost vomited some of them (they were all slippery and oily food). Fortunately, I made a cup of coffee in the coffee machine and drank it, otherwise I couldn’t eat it anymore. I still like to eat bread with milk in the morning.

The weather today is unbeatable. Just as the weather forecast said, Mount Fuji has perfect visibility and looks great every time you take a photo.

I passed by Lawson again and took some satisfactory photos today.

Lake Kawaguchi Fuji

We continued to Kawaguchiko Bridge and took some beautiful photos.

When you get to the lake, the reflection of Mount Fuji on the water forms a “reverse Fuji” scenery.

Reverse Fuji means that on a clear, windless morning, Mount Fuji is reflected on the calm river mouth lake, forming a “double Mount Fuji” that is symmetrical up and down and as clear as a mirror.

There seemed to be white swans in Lake Kawaguchi, but I didn’t see them, only black ducks (ugly duckling: quack quack?).

As I continued walking along the lake, I came across a cherry blossom tree in full bloom.

Passing by a viewing platform.

Lake Kawaguchi Bridge

Tianshangshan Park

At 10 o’clock, we arrived at the Tenjoyama Park Cable Car Station and headed up the mountain to see Mount Fuji from a higher perspective.

The observation deck on the mountain overlooks Mount Fuji on one side and Lake Kawaguchi on the other. On a clear day the lake reflects the colors of the sky.

Looking into the distance, you can see the Southern Alps.

On the other side is Mount Fuji.

This perspective seems to have a cold feeling.

Take the cable car down the mountain and walk to Kawaguchiko Station to prepare for Yamanakako. Next to the station, I accidentally walked across the road from Lawson, an online shopping mall. There were many young couples queuing up to take photos in front of Lawson.

Taking the bus to Lake Yamanaka is not far, but it takes a long time.

Yamanakako

Arrive at Mount Fuji Yamanakako bus stop.

First we went to Changchi Water Park. The lakeside here faces Mount Fuji without any obstruction.

After taking some photos of Mount Fuji, I prepared to go to another scenic spot - Hiranohama. After looking at the navigation, the fastest way to get there is to go back to Mount Fuji Yamanakako Station and take a bus going in the other direction. So I started to “walk” for 2 kilometers again and went back to take the bus.

When we got on the bus and arrived at Hiranohama, the sun had already risen to a relatively high altitude, and Mount Fuji did not look so clear under the top light. After a brief stroll around Hiranohama, we went to the entrance of the tourist information center and waited for the bus back to Lake Kawaguchi.

Back at Lake Kawaguchi, there was still more than an hour before I left for Otsuki, so I went to hang out near the Lake Kawaguchi Bridge. There are some clouds in the sky at this time, which makes it look better.

Lake Kawaguchi Bridge

It’s almost time, go back to the hotel lobby to rest and wait for the bus.

When I arrived at Otsuki, it was still 40 minutes before the train I wanted to take, so I had a bowl of ramen at a small shop in front of the station.

We arrived in Shinjuku around 8 o’clock.

There were many smokers in front of the station and there were many cigarette butts on the ground.

Is this a street performer? Singing very well!

After checking in at the hotel, go to the nearby Shinjuku Central Park.

Passing by Tokyo City Hall, there were several cherry blossom trees in bloom.

Today is Friday, the park is very lively, full of laughter and laughter.

What a fulfilling day! Went back to the hotel to wash up and sleep.

Day3 Kamakura, Tokyo

Slept well last night.

Get up early, wash up, have breakfast, and check out. I originally planned to go to Nikko to see Kegon Falls today, but seeing that the weather was not good and it was raining heavily in Nikko, it was not convenient to travel, so I turned south and went to Kamakura.

Take JR to Kamakura. According to Google maps navigation, transfer to the bus at Ofuna Station and go to Kenchoji Temple.

When you get out of the boat and stand upstairs, you can see a large statue of Guanyin.

It seems that I have never ridden on a train that runs like this. The driver of the bus below was very young, and he seemed younger than me. At this moment, I saw him coming out of the cockpit, taking a piece of cloth, and wiping the wheels (I thought in my heart: is it so clean???).

When you get on the bus, the driver will ask you where you are going. He enters the amount and then swipes the card. I couldn’t understand what the driver was talking about (later I realized he was asking me if I was going to Kenchoji Temple Ken-chō Ji), so I showed him the navigation information on my phone screen (the site name was in Japanese) and got on the bus smoothly. Arigadoza-mas.

Today is also a rainy day.

Jianchang Temple

arrive. As soon as you enter the door, you will see an avenue of cherry blossoms.

There is also a garden inside.

Go to the back mountain and have a look.

Continue up the mountain.

There is an observation deck on the mountain, and you can see Mount Fuji when the weather is good.

Mount Fuji is not visible today

Viewing Kamakura Seaside

Go down the mountain.

It’s almost lunch time. Let’s go find something to eat.

As we walked to Komachi Street, the rain became even heavier. There is a Hachimangu Shrine here. It rained too much so I didn’t go there.

Lunch was settled at KFC in front of Kamakura Station. I originally planned to go to Enoshima today, but the current weather is really not suitable, so I’ll save it for next time.

Take the bus to Ikebukuro. When I was riding in the car, there was a guy next to me who was wearing Crocs. He took off one of his shoes and exposed it, which almost made me faint.

Tonight I will stay at the Toyoko Inn near Ikebukuro Station. After arriving in Ikebukuro, I saw a milk tea shop inside the station with quite a lot of people queuing up (almost 10 people). I also queued up and bought a cup. The taste was average (not as good as domestic milk tea).

Checked in at the hotel and rested for a while in the room.

This overpass has a good view, train fans will like it very much!

I had a bowl of Yilan for dinner, and also ordered a piece of almond tofu. I had never eaten it before, and the taste of almonds felt poisonous.

Chidorigafuchi Night Sakura

Take the subway to Kyudanshita Station, and there is a cherry blossom viewing trail right out of the station.

There were supposed to be tourists rowing in the river, but it may have been suspended because of the rain today.

There are lights of different colors projected on the cherry blossoms under the cherry blossom trees. Some colors are not good-looking (very underworld), and some colors are beautiful.

Very beautiful and dreamy.

Day4 Tokyo

We have already visited the main destinations of this trip. We don’t have any special itinerary for scenic spots today. We will sleep until we wake up naturally. This Toyoko restaurant in Ikebukuro has bread for breakfast, so you don’t have to vomit after eating it😁 The slippery food is really hard to eat in the morning.

Ochano water

This is the filming location for a scene in the movie “Journey to Suzuya”.

Sensoji Temple

So many people! It feels similar to Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto, and tourists to Tokyo will come to see it.

A fierce draw😅.

There is a visitor center opposite Kaminarimon Gate, and you can go up to the 8th floor to overlook Sensoji Temple and the Skytree.

Skytree

Went to have lunch nearby and take photos of the Skytree.

Shibuya

What a very busy intersection! The shooting location is on the 12th floor of Shibuya Scramble Square (free).

It was still early, but there wasn’t much else I wanted to see. Went to the Starbucks upstairs at Shibuya Station to rest for a while.

For dinner, we had a barbecue in front of Shinagawa Station.

The flight leaves for Kansai Airport at 9pm. I will sleep one night and leave for Shanghai tomorrow morning. When I bought the air ticket, there was an option to fly directly from Tokyo to Shanghai at 10 o’clock, but I thought it would be midnight when I arrived in Shanghai, and I would have to take a taxi home.

The operating aircraft is the familiar A320.

Day5 Return

Get up, wash up, and take the hotel’s shuttle bus to Kansai Airport (saved another 530 yen, hehe). It takes about 15 minutes to arrive at T1, which is very fast.

The security check was also very fast, and it was still early. We took the small train in the terminal and went to the convenience store near Gate 11 to buy something to eat.

The smog is a bit severe today, and you can’t see the ground clearly anywhere you pass. Back to Shanghai, this journey ends~

Expenses

Impressions

• Cherry Blossoms

  The blooming period of cherry blossoms is truly short, and the frequent spring rain shortens it even further. Their most beautiful moment is when they are in full bloom with no leaves in sight. When I arrived, some new buds had already appeared, but it was still incredibly beautiful.

• Large Aircraft

  It’s definitely more stable than smaller planes. It was my first time using Wi‑Fi on a flight, and it felt great. ANA’s in‑flight meals were also quite tasty.

• Lake Kawaguchi

  The view of Mount Fuji from here is excellent — the mountain appears in a nicely symmetrical cone shape. You can see Mount Fuji from many places around it, but the scenery is generally not as good as from Lake Kawaguchi (for example, some spots expose the crater on the mountainside, making the overall shape less perfect, or the view is partially blocked). Transportation is convenient, though buses come roughly every 30 minutes.

  Japan’s rural areas are very suitable for self‑driving (if conditions allow). A creator I follow, 老宋CHANNEL, often travels to small towns across Japan, and I really enjoy the style of his videos.

• AI Fails

  During this trip, I used Microsoft’s Copilot app for some queries, and sometimes the answers were incorrect.

  For example, when I was at Ikebukuro Station, I asked which floor Starbucks was on. It told me 1F and 2F, but in reality it was on the 3rd floor.

  Another time, I asked whether it would rain in Kamakura (the weather forecast suggested rain). It confidently told me not to worry, that it absolutely wouldn’t rain — and then around noon I almost got soaked like a drowned rat (my umbrella was small, so I quickly hid under a storefront). I was so annoyed I actually laughed out loud.

• Big City

  Tokyo is truly a major metropolis. After living in Shanghai for several years, I felt Shanghai was already very metropolitan. I’ve been to Osaka and it felt just okay, but arriving in Tokyo gave me the feeling of “Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden.” Tokyo excels in urban planning, greenery, and transportation.

• Humid

  It felt a bit like the movie Weathering With You — it had been raining recently, the humidity was high, spring warmth returning, and my whole body never felt dry. Not my favorite feeling.

• Getting Lost

  I nearly got dizzy wandering around Shinjuku Station and Ikebukuro Station.
  Shinjuku Station truly deserves its title as Asia’s largest station, and even “the busiest station in the world,” with over 3 million daily users.

• Mainland Tourists

  There were noticeably fewer of them — similar to my trip to Kansai late last year. On the streets, roads, and tourist spots, I barely heard Mandarin spoken with a mainland accent.

• iPhone 17

  The thermal improvements on this generation are indeed very noticeable. Heating during charging and photography is much better, and the battery easily lasts a full day.

• Prices

  Hotels are much more expensive than in the Kansai region, but everything else feels about the same.

• A Small Regret

  I didn’t get to see Tokyo’s night view from a high vantage point. I think I’ll have another chance next time. If a trip leaves absolutely no regrets, then maybe it means I won’t return to that place for a long time.

Q&A

• Transportation PASS

  The current PASS prices have increased. Unless you’re doing an extremely intensive “speedrun-style” itinerary and visiting several faraway places, it’s hard to break even — not cost‑effective.

Some Links

• Mount Fuji visibility forecast https://fuji-san.info/zh-cn/index.html
• Train timetable search https://japantravel.navitime.com/zh-cn/area/jp/depArrTimeList
• Toyoko Inn shuttle bus reservation https://reserve.toyoko-inn-bus.com/

Easter Egg

My blog theme hexo-theme-linen is finally open‑source!

LynanBreeze/hexo-theme-linen: A clean Hexo theme.

Finally

Thank you for reading all the way to the end. I hope this brought you a bit of good mood. See you in the next travel journal 👋！