Mount Fuji, fall foliage and more on my most recent Japan visit :)

Fujisan is a breathtaking sight to treasure on a Japan trip! :)

 

In the garden of the lovely, century-old ryokan that two friends,

my mother, Puppet Ponyo and I stayed in at Hakone

 

 Click on the above image to view the enlarged version of the photo 

taken from a restaurant with a lovely view of Shinjuku Gyoen 

National Garden and the surrounding built-up area

 

Earlier this year, I achieved a long-time wish of seeing Mount Fuji as the plane I was on made its descent to Narita International Airport.  A little more than a week ago, soon after the pilot announced that the plane my mother and I was on was about to make its descent to that same airport located approximately one and half hours of Limited Express train from Tokyo, I saw light dawning and got to thinking out loud that "This really is the land of the rising sun!"

 

This time around, I had to wait until the fourth day of my Japan visit to catch sight of Fujisan.  Almost needless to say, I didn't mind the wait.  After all, decades had passed between my first visit to the Land of the Rising Sun and the visit during which I finally got to truly understand what an amazing experience it is to see Japan's most sacred mountain.  

 

And I actually would go so far as to opine that getting to see Mount Fuji on my second rather than first visit to Hakone actually made things feel even more special since I know full well the experience of going to that scenic area and being able to enjoy it without seeing Fujisan as well as realizing how seeing the mountain's snow-covered peak really can feel like having the cherry as well as icing on a lovely cake!

 

Something else that added tremendous aesthetic value to this most recent trip to Japan was my getting to see lots of colorful leaves (koyo) on account of this visit taking place at the height of autumn.  Pretty much from day one of this November trip, I got to see the kind of foliage that gets me remembering why autumn (or fall, in American English) is my favorite time of the year in those parts of the world with four distinct seasons.  And you know the leaves of such as the Japanese maple tree are really beautiful when even people who live in Vermont -- like one of the two friends I met up with in Japan this time around -- go on about how pretty it all is!

 

Other sights that made me a majorly happy camper for much of this Japan trip included that of pretty as well as pretty delicious food (some of whose lovely aroma I often found myself appreciating).  Then there were those kawaii sights that gladden my heart, including of a certain pear fairy -- and especially when visiting its home town of Funabashi.  (To its detractors: yes, I honestly would say that I had a great time in that not super famous city in Chiba Prefecture as well as admittedly more scenic locales like Hakone, Asakusa and more this time around!) ;b