Japan with Cleo #9/10 (Part 2) - Fuji Five Lakes, revisited: 5th Station & Shibazakura

(This post is Part 9(2) of 10 on Japan with Cleo, 28 April - 14 May 2017.)

Have rather neglected Cleo and her trip with me to Japan over the past months.... And it leaves an uncomfortable sense of incompleteness. So I'm pressing myself to finish. So, I left off with our first night in Onsenji Yumedono in Kawaguchiko (Part 9(1)).

The next day was our first full day at Fuji Five Lakes, we woke up to rather grey and dreary weather. Hubby and DT had gotten up long before me, and had gone for a relaxing morning soak in the ryokan's public rotenburo, which had a view of Mount Fuji. They came back reporting that, unfortunately, Fuji-san was shrouded. A bit of a damper on our plans for the day, which included the 5th Station (below) and the Fuji Shibazakura Matsuri (below). Fortunately, the view of Mount Fuji cleared as the day went by, although the weather continued to remain grey and dreary for the rest of the day...at least until dinner time back at our ryokan (below).

Cleo at the Fuji Shibazakura Matsuri, Fuji Five Lakes (on IG)

After a relaxing soak in the rotenburo, we sat down to a traditional Japanese breakfast at the kotatsu. There was quite a spread: a bowl of fluffy Uonuma koshihikari rice, miso soup, kinpira gobo, grilled salmon and kamaboko, pork nikujaga, tamagoyaki with daikon oroshi, and a little bubbling pot of thinly sliced pork with silken tofu, shimeiji mushroom, leek and sliced spring onion.

Breakfast at Onsenji Yumedono, Fuji Five Lakes

Breakfast ended with a little sweet treat. From our previous visits, it was fresh fruit, along with a choice of black coffee or tea. This time, we got a little mixed fruit cocktail jelly with custard sauce. Hmmm...never been a major fan of mixed cocktail fruit, but there was a slight sense of nostalgia when I tasted it. A childhood thing, that was of mixed memories.

Breakfast at Onsenji Yumedono, Fuji Five Lakes

We were somewhat reluctant to leave because the kotastu was so comfortable and the onsen so tempting. But DT and Hubs commented that it was best that we get our butts into gear, and return in the early evening so we could relax in the onsen before dinner. So we hauled our butts and dragged ourselves out to get the car.

Fuji Subaru Line 5th Station

First stop for the day was the Subaru Line 5th Station, one of the 4 fifth stations on Mount Fuji. Not going to rehash the stuff from last year with Elizabeth Rose, except to say that even though it was late spring, the temperature was still very cold!

Mount Fuji summit, Subaru 5th Station, Fuji Five Lakes

Ever since Mount Fuji was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013, the area has become even more popular among foreign tourists, and many of the facilities in the Fuji Five Lakes area have been upgraded or built to accommodate the increase in tourism. An example is the Chureito Pagoda area (see Part 9(3)).

Mount Fuji summit, Subaru 5th Station, Fuji Five Lakes (another on IG)

Went up to a hidden-away observation deck on the 2nd floor of one of the buildings closest to the trail to the summit. And was rewarded with a view from a slightly different angle of Fuji-san's summit. It was still dreary weather. The grey watery light conditions cut down the glare on his snow-laden peak, but his shoulders looked black and intimidating.

Bottled Mount Fuji spring water in souvenir shops at the 5th Station.

So inside one of the souvenir/supplies shop, I (finally) noticed the bottles of Mount Fuji natural spring water. So Mount Fuji spring water is created from snow melt that filtered through layers volcanic rocks over many decades. I'm sure they meant clean snow on his slopes and near the water sources, because the snow along the roads were not very clean.

Horses at the Subaru 5th Station, Fuji Five Lakes

Came across horses! Apparently one can horseback ride to the 7th station.

Panoramic view of the Southern and Northern Alps from the Subaru 5th Station, Fuji Five Lakes

Close to the parking lot at the Subaru 5th Station is a viewing deck from which we could see a panoramic view of the Japanese Alps. The information board indicated the names of the peaks: (left to right) Mount Hijiri (Hijiridake聖岳), Mount Akaishi (Akaishidake赤石岳), Mount Arakawa (Arakawadake荒川岳) Mount Warusawa (Warusawadake悪沢岳), Mount Shiomi (Shiomidake塩見岳), Mount Nōtori (Nōtoridake農鳥岳), Mount Aino (Ainodake間ノ岳), Mount Kita (Kitadake北岳), Mount Senjō (Senjōgatake仙丈ヶ岳), Mount Hōō (Hōōsan鳳凰山), Mount Kaikoma (Kaikomagatake甲斐駒ヶ岳), Mount Nokogiri (Nokogiridake鋸岳), and so on...

View of the Akaishi Mountains from the Subaru 5th Station, Fuji Five Lakes (another on IG)

The Akaishi Mountains (赤石山脈) is a mountain range that is also also known as the Southern Alps (南アルプス). The Japanese Alps stretches across the Nagano, Toyama, Gifu, Yamanashi, and Shizuoka prefectures, and comprises of the Akaishi Mountains (the Southern Alps), the Kiso Mountains (木曽山脈) (the Central Alps) and the Hida Mountains (飛騨山脈) (the Northern Alps). Back in July 2015, we'd spent the summer in Kamikochi with Yui Jamie, up in the Hida Mountains.

Sanrokuen

Cleo with the flowering azaleas outside Sanrokuen, Fuji Five Lakes (on IG)

We had lunch at Sanrokuen山麓園, the robata ryori place in Kawaguchiko which we went to in our November 2015 visit. We enjoyed the experience a lot and decided to return!

Ornamental water basin at Sanrokuen, Fuji Five Lakes

I vaguely remember the wooden structure was a 150-plus year old house that was originally in Hida, Gifu. Outside was one of those water basin features (ornamental?) and a huge oven filled with lit binchotan charcoal which they use to fill the irori hearths inside.

Grilling food over glowing binchotan in an irori hearth, Sanrokuen, Fuji Five Lakes

So, the irori is the traditional Japanese hearth, a square sunken pit in the floor (usually the living room) that is made of wood (sometimes lined with stone) and filled with sand and ash. The irori is multi-functional - not only is a place to cook and heat items, it also heats and lights up the room. Apparently, in the olden days, heat and smoke from the irori would dry the timbers and thatched roof of the house and preserve it from rot.

As good an experience as the last time in November 2015. Without the twitching fish....

Fuji Shibazakura Matsuri

The Fuji Shibazakura Matsuri, Fuji Five Lakes (on IG)

This trip was my and Hubby's first visit to the region in the spring season. Though we were late for the sakura, it was a good time for the shibazakura芝桜, the creeping moss phlox (Phlox subulata)! Last night over dinner, the ryokan staff told us that it was currently peak season for the shibazakura.

So, the Fuji Shibazakura Matsuri富士 芝桜 まつり is a little festival near the Fuji Motosuko Resort, that takes place around mid April to mid May every year. And it revolves around a huge field with around 800,000 shibazakura, which typically flowers in mid April to mid May.

McDaniel's Cushion at the Fuji Shibazakura Matsuri, Fuji Five Lakes (on IG album)

No kidding when they say it's a lovely sight. Looking at the carpet of bright candy pink flowers, I was just thinking of my dear friend Sheena...and how she would just squeal as she runs around snapping pictures and soaking up all that colour.

I'm just going to let the pictures speak for me. Partly because I'm a little too lazy to write anything, and well, there isn't much one can say. Pity about the dreary, cloudy skies though...

Autumn Rose at the Fuji Shibazakura Matsuri, Fuji Five Lakes (on IG album)

Oakington Blue-eye at the Fuji Shibazakura Matsuri, Fuji Five Lakes (on IG album)

Mont-Blanc at the Fuji Shibazakura Matsuri, Fuji Five Lakes (on IG album)

Tama-no-nagare at the Fuji Shibazakura Matsuri, Fuji Five Lakes (on IG album)

The boys and their Mount Fuji Cider at the Fuji Shibazakura Matsuri, Fuji Five Lakes

Hubby and DT found more Mount Fuji cider at the matsuri stalls. And of course they just couldn't resist trying it out. Again.

So on the Fuji Shibazakura Matsuri grounds, we also chanced on some late blooming sakura! The tree tag identified these beauties as gotemba-zakura御殿 場桜, Cerasus serralata 'Gotembazakura' or Prunus cv. Gotembazakura), a cherry blossom cultivar that has light pink blossoms and magenta buds. Apparently, it is suitable as a bonsai plant because it is a small tree with many blossoms.

Gotemba-zakura at the Fuji Shibazakura Matsuri, Fuji Five Lakes (on IG album).

Gotemba-zakura at the Fuji Shibazakura Matsuri, Fuji Five Lakes (on IG album)

On the way back to the ryokan, we also encountered other late blooming spring flowers, like Kanzan cherry and wisteria. And shrubs bearing cascades of small white bell-like blooms.

Late-blooming kanzan-zakura at Fujikawaguchiko-machi, Fuji Five Lakes (IG).

Late-blooming wisteria (fuji) at Fujikawaguchiko-machi, Fuji Five Lakes

Some kind of spring blooms Japanese andromeda, outside Onsenji Yumedono, Fuji Five Lakes

So I later learnt that the shrubs with the cascade of white blooms above) is the Japanese andromeda (Pieris japonica D.Don). The Japanese name, asebi馬酔木 (or アセビ), means "drunken horse tree" which ironically does not actually indicate that it's poisonous, for horses and people. Very beautiful. But also poisonous...

Yumedono Onsenji, Night #2

前菜：アスパラ合鴨、梅蓮根、甘海老麹あえ | Hors d'oeuvre: Asparagus and Aigamo duck, plum lotus root, sweet shrimp seasoned with kōji salt

前菜：蟹柑橘あえ | Hors d'oeuvre: citrus flavoured crab

More vocabulary learning opportunities at dinner time!

So in the hors d'oeuvre was aigamo合鴨, a Japanese duck that is a crossbreed between the domestic duck (ahiru鶩) and the wild mallard (magamo真鴨, lit. "true duck"). And I thought of the Aldini Brothers' grilled aigamo duck with spices in episode 8 of season 1 of Shokugeki no Souma.

The sweet shrimp was flavoured with shio koji塩麹, a traditional Japanese seasoning of koji, salt and water that is fermented together and often used as a marinade. So, when I started learning about Japanese food, it was interesting to learn about all kinds of fermented foods used in Japanese cuisine. Some of it was not unfamiliar, since Chinese cuisine also has an array of fermented foods. So, koji is essentially fermented rice, cooked rice that has been inoculated with the Aspergillus oryzae mold and left to ferment. It's the basis of many seasonings used in traditional Japanese food, e.g. miso, shoyu, mirin, to name a few. It's also used in the production of sake and shochu. And I can't help but think of that cute image of the A. oryzae in Moyashimon, fictional as it may be.... ꒰*⑅˃̶͈ ৺˂̶͈⑅꒱੭ु⁾⁾·°

旬の魚盛り合わせあしらいいしき | Assorted seasonal fish, informal style

The sashimi course was a salad of squid, halfbeak (sayori), katsuo (bonito), sweet shrimp (ama-ebi) with salad greens (onion, carrots, mizuna, wasabi sprouts). Very yummy.

ソフトシェルの揚げ物 | Deep-fried soft shell crab

金目鯛茶そば蒸し | Steamed kinmeidai (splendid alfonsino) and tea soba

海老、蟹、野菜天ぷら | Prawn, crab, vegetable tempura

甲州牛しゃぶしゃぶ | Kōshū beef hotpot

甲州牛しゃぶしゃぶ | Kōshū beef hotpot

After the cold appetisers and sashimi salad was a succession of warm/hot dishes. I think it was the chef's thoughtfulness towards the fact that it was a really cold day!

And then the star of dinner...the star of the region - Koshu beef! The thin slices had such beautiful shimofuri marbling. Shabu shabu was also a perfect way to have dinner at the end of a cold day, on a cold night.

ほうとう麺 | Houtou noodles

No rice or miso soup for tonight's dinner. Instead we got another regional specialty: houtouほうとう! So, houtou is a hearty hotpot dish that is local to this prefecture. They're like thick and chewy noodles, and are prepared like dumplings, rather like our ban mian. So, there's a belief that houtou noodles were created during the Sengoku era, and the daimyo Takeda Shingen and his samurai would eat them before going into battle. But I've also read that this is just a made-up story, and the origins of the Japanese houtou is pretty unclear.

季節のフルーツ | Seasonal fruits (Shizuoka Crown Melon and strawberries)

Classic end to dinner - fresh fruits, as they are. We each got a slice of sweet and juicy Shizuoka musk melon, so soft I could just spoon it up, and 2 beautifully shaped strawberries. Japan has many strawberry cultivars, so I'm not sure which these were.

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Japan with Cleo (28 April - 14 May 2017)
- I. Tokyo - Asakusa • Seiko Museum • Ginza • Akihabara & Nakano • Tsukiji Market • Enoshima • Shinkawa, Tsukuda & Tsukishima • Sushi Nakamura • La Paix • Nishiazabu Taku • Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu • 3-gatsu no Lion
- II. Aomori & Hirosaki - Auga Market • Aomori Gyosai Centre • Hirosaki Castle Park • Hirosaki Sakura Matsuri 2017 • Flying Witch
- III. Hakodate - Hakodate Asaichi • Goryokaku Park
- IV. Fuji Five Lakes - Lake Motosu • Subaru 5th Station & Shibazakura • Chureito & Kawaguchiko
- V. Osaka - Kuromon Market • Dotonbori • Harukas 300 • Food Basement Galore!
- VI. Kobe - nackymade • Steak Land Kobe

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