Yup, you've read the title right. I was in Yamanashi again (even though I was just there last spring and I have been there more than a handful of times lol). This year's autumn foliage according to released forecasts are quite late, especially in Tokyo (where I'm from) so I decided to chase 'em... in Yamanashi!
In front of Kawaguchiko Station, you’d see an old train and this red torii.
Yamanashi is a famous choice for tourists and residents alike to go all year round because there are lots of things to do and see. One of which is to hunt for the beautiful red leaves/koyo (hence the term momijigari; momiji= red leaves, maple and gari = hunt) and yellow ginkgo (or ichou in Japanese) of autumn. And that's what the beau and I did during our 2-day stay in Yamanashi this time! *wink*
Below is our detailed 2-day itinerary. Please feel free to use this as a reference if ever you plan on going to Yamanashi in autumn!
Day 1
- From our home station, we caught a train to Takao Station where you can find a giant Tengu statue. From there, we rode another train towards Otsuki Station and from there we rode the Fujikyu Line train to Kawaguchiko Station in Yamanashi. By train it took us about 2hrs.
- Think of Kawaguchiko Station as the center point as Retro Sightseeing buses that let you roam around the Fuji-Kawaguchiko area (Red, Green, Blue lines) can be found there. TIP: You can buy one- or two-day bus passes that will let you hop on and off the above-mentioned buses to make sightseeing easier. All you have to do is show the pass to the driver/s when you get off the bus. I purchased that before during one of my first trips to the Fuji-Kawaguchiko area but I did not this time cos I knew I'm not going all out- I'm just going to a few pre-selected spots plus I have a functioning Suica card already so I figured the bus pass would not work in my advantage.
Kawaguchiko Station with Mt. Fuji as background~
Always on the hunt for beautiful manhole covers♡
- We arrived at Kawaguchiko Station 10:30ish and we left our luggage at our guesthouse. This time we picked Orange Cabin since it's 2min from Kawaguchiko Station and the facilities were great! They even let us leave our luggage before and after check-in. You might want to consider this when you have a lot of belongings cos the coin lockers at and near Kawaguchiko Station usually fill up quickly. There are luggage lockers around operated by private establishments but they're pricier than usual depending on your luggage size.
- We were hungry famished lol so we decided to have an early lunch at one of the restaurants right across Kawaguchiko Station. You can easily see it cos it has a big sign that reads "Japanese Restaurant with Mt. Fuji View". The grandmas working there are very kind!
Brought my travel journal (from Travelers Notebook) with me~
Sooo after all these hullabaloos up there, we finally went to Destination#1: Itchiku Kubota Art Museum. This place houses master tie-dyer Itchiku Kubota's kimono collection (the ones that he did using the Itchiku Tsujigahana technique), an antique beads gallery, and a beautiful garden~ It's a lovely place to bask in art and nature at the same time!
The amazing entrance. Felt like I was in Bali! lol
This is the main building housing Kubota's kimono collection. It's a pretty small collection but it's worth the visit! You can watch a documentary (in JP/EN) all about Kubota and how he made his works.
While taking pictures and videos are prohibited at the main gallery, Itchiku-an, the tea house inside the main gallery where Kubota used to accept guests and drink tea with them, is a photo-friendly area.
You can order tea and sweets here.
Momiji!
There's a cafe in the vicinity and once you order something, you'll be granted access to the antique beads collection~
You can order coffee, tea, tiramisu and these kimono dorayaki.
You can opt to sit cozily inside or al fresco! We chose the latter and the view was just perfect!
I ordered the classic tiramisu and around the cup was a bracelet/elastic (?) with some beads. The cafe cashier said it's a gift and I can bring it home with me. Of course I did!♡
Ya girl was already so happy during this point of the trip ha~
Went to check out the antique beads collection before leaving~
Also, Mt. Fuji decided to not be shy and actually show up. We got lucky!
This part of the museum reminded me of Barcelona's Park Güell!
- Next in line was the famous Momiji Corridor. I've been to this place a couple of times before but since it's autumn, might as well check it out again right? However, the maple leaves weren't red yet when we went so we just passed by it quickly. There were food stalls next to it where I got Hiroshima-style yakisoba and karaage. We walked further along the street and checked out the Craft Market for some uhm crafts heh~ Headed back to our guesthouse at around 6PM cos it was soooo cold!
Half and half~
*nyan nyan*
Found a couple of maple/momiji stencils on the ground~
We were starving and good thing there were a few food stalls near the Maple Corridor~
Hiroshima-style yakisoba
Random street food~
Old school heater. It was freezing cold~
Some snaps from the craft market~
Called it a day and left the Maple Corridor area for our home for the night, Orange Cabin~
Day 2:
- Second day started with a breakfast in the guesthouse's common kitchen/dining. We went to the nearby 7-11 the night before to buy breakfast food to save on our travel money. I loved that all the necessary eating utensils and kitchen equipment were provided in the guesthouse. There's also free coffee and free sake if you want lol~
- Checked-out at 10:00 and then headed to Shimoyoshida Station, a 30-min train ride from Kawaguchiko Station via Fujikyu Line. From there we walked for about 15min to go to Arakurayama Sengen Park and Arakurayama Sengen Shrine, home of Chureito Pagoda where that famous Mt. Fuji x pagoda postcard was shot! Second time going there but I still found it breathtaking! Well, it will really take you breath away even before seeing the view as you need to walk up some 400 steps to reach the pagoda itself lol! TIP: Pack light and wear comfortable shoes! Bring a bottle of water or beverage of choice since there are no restaurants nor vending machines on top. There are food stalls right after the big torii gate before climbing the stairs to the pagoda and that's it.
Spotted an Honesty store on our way to Arakurayama Sengen Park~
Almost there...
Since we arrived later than we intended (cos I overslept lol), there were lots of tourists already.
TIP: Go early so the skies are clear and the paths are clear of tourists, too~
Arakurayama Sengen Shrine~
The houses looked like miniature doll houses!
Oh yup, you need to CLIMB.
Chureito Pagoda!
Thanks to a fellow tourist who offered to take our picture. We didn't have much photos of the two of us during this trip lol
The postcard view!!!
- From Shimoyoshida Station, we went back to Kawaguchiko Station for a quick lunch and then headed to the Mt. Fuji Activity Booking Center to rent kimono! I looove wearing kimono and taking strolls so I decided to book it before this trip. Kimono rental for 2hrs for women is ¥3500 and ¥3000 for men. Hair ornament set is ¥500 and simple hair styling is ¥1500.
Rode this Gaspard et Lisa train back to Kawaguchiko Station!
- Since we were in our kimono and our walking strides were limited lol, we decided to take a taxi to the nearest sightseeing spot (with autumn leaves) that we could find. And that was Yagisaki Park, just 10min by taxi/car from the station. We paid a little over ¥1000 and the taxi driver dropped us off right by the park entrance. Of course we took photos! We got too cold with just our kimonos, good thing the nearby Kawaguchiko Muse Museum/ Yuki Atae has a cafe that we can enter without paying for the museum fee. The cafe has glass walls enabling us to savor and clamor the perfect view as we fill our tummies with hot coffee and yummy cake: Lake Kawaguchiko and autumn leaves!
First time in this park!
One of the few decent photos I got of me wearing this lovely yellow kimono!♡
Lake Kawaguchiko, always enchanting~
Ichou overload~
We got so cold good thing there was a nearby museum and it has a cafe! They got cake sets and delicious ones at that!
- Going back to Kawaguchiko Station was quite difficult because we only had the Retro bus as the option. It was late due to a large number of tourists in the area and it was a Saturday. We were close to commissioning a taxi but when we tried calling, the line was busy so we had to wait for quite a long time, chilling, literally lol!
- Upon arrival at Kawaguchiko Station, we headed back to the kimono rental place to return the kimonos and get our stuff. We had dinner at the restaurant we had breakfast at the other day and then went to Fujiyama Cafe right inside Kawaguchiko Station for my favorite: Shingen Mochi soft serve before heading back to reality aka Tokyo~
Yamanashi was truly an autumn dream! Have you been to Yamanashi? Tell me your favorite spots in the comments below, yeah? ♡
xx,
Alyssa
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