Fujinomiya & Hammamatsu, December 28th
Asia trip 2018-2019

I have booked my hotel at Hamamatsu, but I do not have anything planned to do there. I have the loosely defined goal of getting close to the Mount Fuji instead.

As the train leaves Osaka, it passes by Shiga Prefecture (滋賀県 Shiga-ken). In striking contrast with the rest of the places I have visited in Japan, a mantle of snow covers fields and houses. For a moment, I think about stopping there. A snowstorm is starting. When the train stops at Maibara Station, I am not decided yet. And then, the train leaves and the opportunity is lost. Probably I will have gone to see the snow if I was still living in Barcelona. But, since I moved to Stockholm, to view snow has become less thrilling.

I pass Hamamatsu and get down at Shizuoka Station. There, I take a local JR train to Shimizu. I have a first glimpse of the Mount Fuji. At this distance, the unmistakable volcano is seen clearly.

I go for lunch at Kashi no Ichi Fish Market. There are a dozen restaurants in the waterfront building. I choose one with views to the port. The fish is fresh and the price reasonable.

I take another local JR train, I do not need to care about how much it costs as my Japan Rail Pass is still valid and covers for it. But local trains are not so expensive anyway.

I walk north from Fuji Station for a while. Fuji is a touristic city. But all the shops are closed. I take another local train. This time I stop at Fujinomiya.

As it is expected, the closer I get to Mount Fuji the more difficult is to see it. Now, buildings and electric cables hide the view. One of the bests spots to take a picture is a parking lot. After snapping some pictures of Mount Fuji from several places around the city, I take the Shinkansen back to Hamamatsu.

I check-in in the hotel and leave the bags that I have been carrying all day along. Then, I go for a short walk before going to sleep. A particularity of Hamamatsu is that it has received much Brazilian immigration. A testament to this fact is the numerous signs that add Portuguese to the usual Japanese and English.

The next time that I visit Japan, I plan to stay at Hakone. Hakone is a touristic city known for its hot springs and its beautiful views of Mount Fuji. This year I had no time for it in my agenda. To visit Shimizu and Fujinomiya was the closest thing to it that I manage to add to the plan.