Last Day in Kawaguchiko

We did indeed do the insane shopping center yesterday. It felt like a department store, like a Macy's, except it was more tall than wide. Three or four stories, and they sold all manner of things: clothing, groceries, fast food, kitchen wares, stationary, ceramics, etc. Plus, near the escalator where there's a big open vertical space between the floor of the first storey and the ceiling of the third, there's a trampoline with bungie cords attached, so you can bounce the entire height of the building. Neither of us indulged. After the climb, landing on a trampoline from a three-storey height sounded like a femur-splinteringly bad idea.

So we bought some gifts and got lunch at the ubiquitous Mos Burger, then hopped a taxi to the one shrine of Konohanasakuya -- our dear mountain goddess -- that we hadn't visited yet. Not as awesome as the one in Fujiyoshida, but very pretty, plus it had a mini-shrine to some sort of holy horse and lots of huge cedars with ropes tied elegantly around them. Not sure what it means, but it looks nice. We also took a moment to scare the koi in the pond. Smug scaly bastards.

By then, the weather had mercifully clouded up, so the walk home over the Ohashi bridge was sort of cool and pleasant (i.e., not at all in the usual manner of summertime Kawaguchiko). Curiously enough, the word "ohashi" means chopsticks, so I dunno if they named the bridge after an eating utensil or if the word has another, more stately meaning. Bob has renamed the bridge "Spider Bridge," because he went walking on it late one night and found that at least every three feet or so, a hefty-size spider had built a web in the railing. I guess the lake water below plus the bridge-lights above equals lots of juicy nighttime insects.

So today is our final full day in dear Kawaguchiko. We're off to Station 5 again to buy some gifts and souveniers, and perhaps to throw a baleful glare up at the mountain. It's still early here, about 8:30 AM, so we'll have time this afternoon as well. Our guesthouse has given us a coupon to a local onsen, so we'll see if we're feeling brave enough for that. Onsens are supposed to be relaxing, but I admit they don't really sound that way to me. If you don't know whan an onsen is, I'll let you find out on Wikipedia.

Tomorrow, it's off to Tokyo Station, then to Narita, then to San Francisco, then home!