I shall have a fishy

Today began with an earlier wake up as we wanted to see Tokyo fish market. It took a while to get there as we got a little lost and bought a loaf of bread and a strawberry yoghurt drink for breakfast (I was craving bread), but by 10am we were walking round, taking in the fishy smells. It was amazing! The scale of the whole market (Matt's pun of the day) was one thing but the variety of fish and the freshness of it was the best part. Full of hundreds of different stalls, the market was overrun with Japanese men carting boxes of fish onto little wooden carts or driving them round on mini vehicles which looked somewhere between a golf caddy and a scooter. 

After saying a fond farewell to Fernando (the name has to be sung like the abba song), we headed to the station to move on to Fuji. It only took us 2 attempts to get on the correct train to Otsuki and then after a quick lunch of a sandwich (yes, more bread) and a ham and cheese pastry (too much bread and pastry) we took a Thomas the tank engine train to Kawaguchiko. Pictures will follow of the Thomas train. I'd also like to add details of the drink I had with my lunch. It was a peach flavour chilled herbal tea. I expected something like Lipton ice tea but it was quite different. I don't think the herbal tea contained any sugar which I feel made it more refreshing. Definitely one to have again. 

By this point, Mount Fuji was in plain sight and just as big and spectacular as expected. When we arrived at kawaguchiko there was a sign saying buses to the moss festival were available. Our first big spontaneous adventure. I can't remember the proper name for the festival but it's a load of pink flowers and a pond with Mount Fuji in the background. Very pretty and a perfect place to think about the late Dr Morrill. He would have appreciated it's beauty. 

The bus returned us to kawaguchiko station but we were too late to catch a bus to our hostel. There was the choice of phoning the hostel so they could pick us up but the cost of calling wasn't a nice thought. So I had the brilliant idea of walking. To be fair to myself, it was only 2 and a half miles but it was getting dark at this point. Whilst deliberating we got stuck into a bowl of noodles. I went for a tempura udon noodle which consisted of udon noodles, cabbage, carrots and other spring veg soaked in a broth with what I believe were tempura onions sprinkled on top. It wasn't the most flavoursome of foods (I'm starting to think no Japanese food is flavoursome except sushi) but it was still pleasant to eat. 

For the walk to the hostel, we luckily stuck to main roads and made it before I wet myself. First impressions of the hostel are okay but comparing it to the Tokyo hostel it in no way matches up. Free bike rental though!