Tokyo-Mount Fuji and The Phone

Yesterday, I left the hostel early to catch the bus to Lake Kawaguchi. I had to take the metro over an hour from the hostel, which involved a change of lines, to the bus station.

The ride on the bus, which I made reservations for, was uneventful. It took about an hour to reach the tourist center at the Lake, which was really really busy. When I got off the bus, though I discovered I didn't have my phone. I looked through everything, and I started to panic. I went to the ticket office, which had a lost and found, and reported the phone lost on the bus, but didn't have much hope.

First I went to the tourist information office, where I was told the best way to see different spots was to take the hop-on hop-off bus (actually three different busses), for $15.00. I bought a ticket (after standing on line behind 20 different people), and then I got in line for the green line bus-(after waiting in line for 30 people). To enhance my bad mood, there was a picture of a beautiful pagoda with Mt Fuji behind it-but I learned I bought the wrong bus ticket for Mt Fuji. I should have bought a heritage bus ticket as opposed to the sightseeing bus. I wasn't happy. And buying that new ticket would require waiting on a long long line.

I got on the bus-which drove through about 20 stops like a bat out of hell-people we're waiting at the stops and he just drove on by. Finally, I got to the first stop, which provided a commanding view of Mt Fuji, beyond an old-fashioned looking town, with old-time buildings and shops. I learned the town went through a mudslide years back, and there was a museum highlighthing this, all in Japanese.

i got back on the bus, went back to where i could change cars,l, and returned to the visitors center, where I got on another bus. This time I got off at a ropewalk, which is a cable car going to the top of a mountain, with an even better view of Mount Fuji.

i then took the bus to the end of the line-where I had to get off. I got on another bus, returned to the visitors center around 4:30, and they had my phone. I was relieved. I walked around a little, looked at new cars at a Suzuki dealer, including my favorite, called a Hustler. I then saw some nice views of the mountains, and got on the 6:25 pm bus back to town, (the one I had a ticket for).