Sakura Diaries, part 3

On reluctant mountains

Hello,

On Friday afternoon, we arrived at Lake Yamanaka, one of the five lakes that surround Mount Fuji. The process of getting there was surprisingly painless, given that it involved a train, a coach and a taxi while lugging three heavy cases and three backpacks, now stuffed with weird plastic booty from Super Mario World. But then, I get to either skip going to theme parks, or veto what Bert buys in them. I can’t have it both ways, and I definitely know which one I prefer. 

As we rolled our luggage into the house, our very helpful AirBnB host pointed towards a bank of fog and used her digital voice translator to say, ‘Fuji-san is that way.’ That way looked very much like the end of the world, just a white void with water lapping at its edge. Having already spent two weeks on the trail of reluctant cherry blossom, I have to admit to a sense of gloom. Was I now to meet a reluctant mountain as well?