We have been watching a website forecasting the view of Mt Fuji for months,  checking the weather,  and frankly hoping we got a good week!  And we did!  Almost every day it forecast to be good sighting of the mountain, but Sunday the 19th looked the best!  We reserved a private driver for the day to take us to the prime viewing places on the north side of the mountain.   it was a bit more expensive than taking the train but we saw so much more and at a relaxed pace. it was well worth the money! 

Our driver picked us up at 6AM!  Sounds early but it was s great decision.   the crowds weren’t there at any of the sights we visited,  yet!  We started with the pagoda at the shrine,  seen in many Fuji posts. Luckily there were even still a few cherry blossoms in full bloom!  Great photos!

Next we visited 2 is the 5 lakes on that side of the mountain,  Kawaguchiko and Saito

There is a rebuilt village there,  once destroyed by a landslide in 1910, it was rebuilt as a tourist site,  an open air museum in 2004.  We visited some of the houses / shops and had a lunch of a local houtou noodle.

Lunch

we visited a couple spots to view Fuji made famous by Instagram,  but we had seen the best already!  having a private driver and stopping where we wanted was the best way!

spectacular Fuji!