We leave for the train-station at 7:30, to take the bus to the 5th station of Mt Fuji. Saleem wakes up at 5:00, so I am at least not too late. Luke sacrifices himself to queue for bustickets, while the rest of us enjoys a nice breakfast . The drive to the 5th station still takes 1,5 hours, including a short photo-break at a Shinto shrine. From here the mountain is clearly visible and we see that the top is covered in clouds: we all hope it doesn't rain! When w...

Upon arrival in Shin Fuji we drop our stuff in the hotel. Despite being a business hotel it isn't as comfortable as the other hotels we have stayed, and this last day I will share my room (unfortunately) with Saleem. We have dinner in a Chinese restaurant, and surprisingly Saleem decides to join us for dinner, which is nice because he hasn't been eating with the group almost since the beginning of the trip. Dinner was great and high on carbohydrates: a good pre...

Today we arrived around noon in Kyoto, the city most famous for its Temples, Shrines and Geisha's. After dropping off our stuff in the Ryokan we started a tour across the city. Firstly we went to visit the 1000 tori-gates. Anyone who has seen the movie "memoirs of a Geisha" probably knows the scene where the girl runs through a tunnel of red gates. (In reality these are orange or vermillion). This was a very nice visit. The next stop was a Buddhist ...

Today we started the day early with a bike exploration tour of the old-town, compared with a visit to a museum of the so-called "floats". These floats are big, more or less portable shrines that are used during the city festivals. These floats are so elaborately decorated that they can weigh as much as 2,5 tonnes, requiring up to 80 persons to carry them around town! A local speciality is the use of puppets on these floats. These marionets are control...

Today I　got up up very early, especially since my room-mate set the alarm at 3:30 (Besides this, he woke up at 1:00, to check his bag and a discussion on Indian curries) After a quick wash we set out to the fish market and it really was a spectacular sight. The tuna auction was very interesting! Besides this I saw a lot of fish and especially Fugo (which was kept alive) was interesting. This is the type of fish that can be deadly poisonous, and is only allowe...