No Regrets!

Last night brought a bit of stress. I was unable to secure timely bus tickets to Mishima Station, necessary for catching our scheduled shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto later in the day. Every ticket during our small window of flexibility was already sold out.

This morning, we were up at 5:45am, determined to reach Chureito Pagoda at the crack of dawn. The pagoda’s viewing platform is known for its iconic view of Mt. Fuji, and we hoped to get there before the tourists and clouds arrive. We couldn’t find a taxi near the hotel, so we booked it down to the train station, where we were lucky to find a lone taxi waiting for us. We hopped in for the short ride. Our taxi driver’s name was Hiroki, and we negotiated with him to return later that morning to take us to Mishima Station.

At the base of Chureito Pagoda, I thought for a moment that we might be the first ones there. Only local workers were out, sweeping the night’s fallen leaves from the path. The climb is 397 neatly cut stone steps. We took a deep breath and started up.

Dave made it about halfway before his crippling fear of heights got the best of him. Trembling but selfless, he encouraged me to go on. I huffed and puffed the rest of the way, excited by the early morning light. When I reached the top, I found about 30 other tourists had already beaten me there.

But I got it. The iconic shot. Mt. Fuji in all of its glory. The mountain is just so darn photogenic, with that near-perfect symmetry, those gently curving slopes that seductively draw your eyes down both sides. It helps that no nearby peaks compete for attention. And just as I had hoped, the rains that came through last night and left a cute little hat of snow right on top. The timeless pagoda in the foreground frames it perfectly.

As the sun crested the hills to the east, the colors changed, warming the pagoda and forest in a warm, golden light. It’s a breathtaking view, and I couldn’t stop taking the same picture over and over. I had folks take a bunch of selfies of me, only to notice on the way down that my fly had been open all morning.

On way back down, I stopped at a quiet shrine and thought about the things I’m really thankful for: my happy and healthy and very special daughter, a life that allows for amazing travel and adventure, and people who care about me. Maybe the beauty of the moment had put me into an uncharacteristically spiritual mood, and I got a little emotional.

By the time I met up with Dave at the bottom, I had a big smile on my face that rivaled Dave’s sushi smile. I had my moment, and I had captured some amazing photos. Within minutes, the sky had clouded over, and the warm sun on Mt. Fuji was gone. ChatGPT was right, you must go first thing in the morning.

Then back to the hotel to enjoy what turned out to be a massive and impressive buffet breakfast. Neither Dave nor I are breakfast people, but that didn’t stop us from stuffing our faces. Then a quick soak in the footbath on the roof of the hotel, which offered yet another wonderful view of Mt. Fuji.

Right on schedule, Hiroki returned with his taxi to pick us up at the hotel. We asked him to swing nearby Oishi Park for some final iconic views of Mt. Fuji, this time on the water. So beautiful.

It was with Hiroki that we realized how easy it was to use the Google Translate app to communicate. Hiroki typed on his phone, we typed on ours. So easy! But then Hiroki went rogue and, without the app, asked if we would mind if he played rap music. I said “yes”, and then he started playing rap music.

We arrived at Mishimi Station very excited for our first shinkansen experience. While waiting in the station for our train, we caught the end of World Series Game 6 broadcasted on Japanese TV. We started chatting with a guy from Toronto who was excitedly watching the game and became quick friends. At the end of the 8th inning, the channel inexplicably cut off coverage of the game, but our Toronto friend was able to stream the game on his phone for us. It didn’t end well for the Blue Jays, and the series goes to Game 7 tomorrow.

When standing on the station platform, the shinkansen whoosh by so fast you don’t even have time to get your phone out to record it. It’s a literal rush, same thrill as standing at the end of a runway when planes land.

We left Mishima Station with Mt. Fuji looming in the distance. Wow, this train really moves. Our speed peaked at 178 mph, but about only sound you hear is the whooshing of air around the train. Most impressive is when trains whoosh by each other in opposite directions. Just a roar and a blur. Of course, it’s nearly silent inside, with keeping to themselves and voices kept to a whisper. Our ride took us through ugly cities, tree-covered hills, recently cultivated fields, and over choppy lakes.

The chaotic and massively underserved taxi stand at Kyoto Station gave Dave some momentary stress, but we finally got our taxi and headed to our hotel, the absolutely exquisite Four Seasons. This is one of nicest hotels I’ve ever stayed in. There are a lot of right angles everywhere. Any place with a lot of right angles is going to be expensive. After getting settled in our ridiculously bougie suite, we headed across the property to the garden teahouse for our sake degustation. Dave and I agree that “degustation” is a weird word, caught somewhere between “digest” and “disgust”, and it became a source of humor for the entire afternoon. We couldn’t wait to degust with each other. I told Dave I wanted us to degust at exactly the same time. In the end, I learned a lot about sake and further refined my palate. I’m starting to really like the stuff.

Then a stop in the hotel lobby to enjoy a short maiko performance set to traditional music. Hauntingly beautiful.

After getting cleaned up, we headed out to Tempura Endo Yasaka for a delicious dinner that left me and Dave exceptionally stuffed. Then a walk through Pontocho, Kyoto’s lively nightlife district. Lively and swarming with people, also surprisingly photogenic with lanterns and a charming, gently lit stream running through the middle of it. There are hundreds of bars and restaurants on multiple floors on criss-crossing streets and alleys. But encumbered by fat bellies and lacking the yen needed to get into many of these cash-only places, we called it a night.

More exploration of Kyoto tomorrow.