Mount Fuji sightings are a bit like your college crush – a glimpse can make you feel like a poet, but when you don’t get one, you want to drown your sorrows in something strong and cheap. That’s a bit of hyperbole, obviously. But going all the way to see this enigmatic mountain, and seeing only clouds, that’s a bit of a downer.
The thing is, you can study weather patterns, align your chakras, rescue cats from warlords with fearsome scars– but if it doesn’t want to be seen, it won’t be seen. A thick veil of clouds drapes itself alluringly around the mountain and dares you to wait and watch. As we are always up for a dare that doesn’t involve much beyond saying goodbye to non-existent plans, we waited. The clouds played peek-a-boo all day long. We waited. The sun came out, the clouds stayed put. We waited. The place also helped. Lake Ashinoko is not like Loch Ness. Where a cute monster might pop its head out and you need to be in a state of constant alert. Nope. The gentle ripples of Lake Ashinoko help you discover your Zen spirit, while the stiff breeze makes you grateful for the little joys of life - your down jacket and thermal underwear, for example.
Close to 4pm, a branch of clouds decided to stage a mutiny and drifted away. And we finally got the chance to get poetic. Fuji-San was so happy with the haikus that it graced us with its presence continuously over the next couple of days.
Lake Ashi, Hakone