It is surprising, that in our somewhat ramshackle and very dated room, we slept well. This isn’t really a tribute to the comforts of the hotel. We were just so exhausted from the ride that we could have slept anywhere. Riding through Fuji City last night to the hotel brought out the worst of what Golden Week can bring with bumper to bumper traffic leaving little room for us….a bit scary. We arrived at dusk and called it a day.
The fellow working at the front desk last night was endearing and quite forthcoming about his relief that Golden Week was finishing today. As he told us, with an element of drama, I am exhausted…it will be good when it’s over. We were touched by his excitement to share the view of Mt Fuji from the rooftop terrace when we arrived. It was spectacular. He shared with us that what we saw was ok, but tomorrow it would be the best it could be. And as fate will have it, the next morning Mt Fuji was nowhere in sight, obscured by heavy clouds. So, despite his exhaustion, we are grateful that he escorted us upstairs last night for a killer view.
An interesting photo of Mt Fuji at the hotel. Fuji is beautiful but my eye is drawn to the unusual cloud formation.
The strap of Barry’s watch broke and we couldn’t get it fixed, so we went to Don Quixote to get a replacement. What a good find…he got this Casio on sale and tax free. To celebrate we had some soft serve with fresh mango.
We don’t have many photos of our ride today as we had to ride on a narrow road with heavy traffic. Basically, we just rode, trying to stay focussed and safe. I guess at this point, we agree with the fellow from the hotel…”It will be nice when Golden Week is over.”
We needed a break so we pulled off at a complex that had a grocery store and a huge store. We will check it out..
To our surprise, the large building was a mish mash of different concepts. One side was a store that sold outdoor clothing, shoes, and collectibles, and the other side was a place to play “claw grab” and the majority of people were in this area.past the Welcome sign. This is the most popular game of its kind in Japan.
If you can handle the noise, this crazy jam packed facility has something for everyone. Claw Grab games, Manga and animated characters, basically anything you can imagine from a fantastical background.
And now, we are in the section with Claw Grab games. What amazed us that the prize was mainly a box of food items, like crackers, etc. We were amazed as the number of times it took to be successful, the cost of that far outweighed the price of the item.
This fellow clearly loves his blinged out van and perhaps has questionable taste. It would be hard to take away the modifications once done…truly a commitment.
We have checked in to the Dormy Inn and are enjoying our free Ramen which is offered every evening. We love Dormy Inn as they also have a lovely Onsen on the top floor with complimentary ice cream.
