Mt. Fuji

We got to meet the king of Japan over the weekend. Mt. Fuji is astounding! I've had dozens of chances to get a look at it from several different areas of Japan, but every single time it was too cloudy and hazy to see. It eluded me for 3 months. We stayed in a cabin by a lake at the base of the mountain, and arrived at night, so we still couldn't see it when we got to the cabin. I was determined to view it in the colors of the morning, and since this is the land of the rising sun, I headed out at 4am with my camera to meet the king. I was not disappointed! There it was, fully exposed in all its glory, and the top half was glowing pink from the sunrise. The snow near the summit popped with color. I was stunned and could not get enough pictures. The lake we stayed at has swans all over the place, and being up close with these huge white birds with the pink mountain in the background was one of the best experiences ever, and was definitely one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life. It was magical.

We walked along the lake, having fun with the swans, and ran into a momma duck with her tiny babies! Those ducklings were lightning fast and were zipping all over the shallow waters, poking at the mud. That was a delight!

Waiting so long to see Fuji was so worth it! The mountain and the area around it is so far my favorite place in Japan!

The cabin we stayed in.