Fuji-san

I had a good 3+1/2hr run this morning up a mountain in the direction of Fuji-san….If I could read Japanese I could tell you the name of it. I think it was Oyama on route 78...
Its was another honest '700somethingmeter' climb over a range that spurs of Hakoni.
And at the top …Bam! Fuji-san just hits you like a shock wave….! That’s some mountain!
Mt. Fuji was just across a valley from where I was…I’m getting closer…but the snow is moving down it’s slopes…so spring will be the time to have a real go at it…The Fuji road ends at the 'Fifth Station' at about 2000m which is twice as high as I have ever climbed on a bike in one go….then there is another 1000m walk if you want to get to the top !


A flast sign showing the way to Hakoni which is a ride for another day.
I will make a loop out of that one because Hakoni is at the top of the valley that Sunny Heights peers up at...!






That's 8C at the bottom of the climb!

Ride This !

Here are a few ride photos of the Izu area.
HotMix everywhere...wish you were here!





Take 135 !
High up Hakoni Mountain


The long building in the top left of this pic is Sunny Heights.

Odawara is famous for manderins amongst other things...They are every where. You can buy a tree, put your name on it, and come each year and pick the fruit...
Smooth.... Sweet...
Alpine Izu road at 900m's This is not typical of mountain roads around here ...it's stright ! Its more like one of the toll roads that skip acroos the tops of the mountains...



Fuji-san from the alpine rd.
Each year in June there is a 2000m something Fuji Mt Hill Climb which gets over a 1000 riders...
Izu coast line.


West coast Izu has 'good' views of Fuji-san
Nice little coastal village on the west coast of Izu. This is a popular kayaking spot...I wonder why?
20% but worth it..!
There is always another level. Life around here is vertical as much as horizontal...


Can't help myself....What a beast of a scooter ! We're talking seriously long and low !

This matalic pink piece of art lives at Sunny Heights. There's obviously people with good taste living here..!

Streetscapes

Cycle and walking street in Sagami-ono


Bicycle Parking station, all 3 buildings !
Don't forget to buy a parking ticket!!
'Super' with many Mama - chari's out front.

Super bike parking.

Multi parking at an appartment block.
Some restaurant shop fronts

'Buy pizza not petrol'

Food is everywhere in Japan.
Food culture is highly important to the Japanese.

Every night on TV there are hours and hours of documentaries on places and food…! It is truly mind boggling! If you watched the amount of stuff that’s on TV every night about food you could get a diploma.

A lot of this food is associated with accommodation and hot springs. But that's another story...



This set cost $8.50 it's a deep fried chicken and vegi dish made with a brown sugar soy sauce.
Here's some shots from Japanese bakeries and cake shops... what can I say... resistance is futile !






Supermarkets and department stores have a large variety of ‘ready to eat’ foods as well as the usual stuff you’d expect to find…
These are all crumbed croquette's! Pumpkin, Tuna, Beef, Chicken, Pork, Corn, Crab, Prawn, Sweet Potato, Etc...
Japanese don't use the decimal point so 198 is about $1.98 AUD ...

Elbow room only in the imported food shop.

Heres the pickle section, just starting to get my head around them...
These are all mushrooms. Great food and cheap...Sauted mushrooms

anyone?

This box of fruit is $66.00 !

But it will tast like no other fruit you have ever had...!

I buy apples at about $1.80 each, which is expensive by Aust standards. I have never had such apples...they have a beautiful nectar in the centre.

Eating out is common place. Some apartments don’t have kitchens cause it easer and just as cheap to eat out… The Japanese work late. It’s not unusual to find most businesses still open at 9pm…Typically a 12hr day is common. This must also have something to do with why so many people eat out…

There are many relatively cheap restaurants…A ‘hole in the wall’ type restaurant will set you back about $12 to $15 for several dishes which come as a ‘set’.
In some working class restaurants you can have a set for around $6 to $8 …!
Of course it is very possible to spend
every much more than this….
Here's a cheap restaurant with a ticket system
which makes it easy to get what you want.
You slot in some Yen and press a button and give the ticket to the cook and Bingo! Within 2-3 minutes you have a 'set'... This set cost around $5.50

This set cost $7something...and was a real life saver after my first climb in the mountains...