On March 26th, we found ourselves in Shimizu, Japan. Our excursion today said we were supposed to “gaze upon sacred Mount Fuji from several perspectives that include a hilltop shrine and a coastal pine grove so stunningly scenic that artists have captured its beauty for centuries.” That didn’t quite happen. In actuality, it rained – hard – all day today. So any thoughts of views of Mount Fuji were squashed, unfortunately. Nevertheless, we still went on our excursion with hopes of making the most of it.

We began with a cable car ride to Kunozan Toshogu Shrine. The ride itself was only about 5 minutes long. We were supposed to see “sweeping views of Suruga Bay and majestic Mount Fuji” but really only saw trees in the somewhat immediate vicinity due to the rain and fog. Once we reached the other side of the cable car, we were at the shrine, which consisted of a complex of ornate bright-red buildings constructed in the Shinto style.

The second shogun of the Tokugawa government built the temple to honor his father, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who unified Japan in the early 1600s. The three main halls within the complex are elaborately decorated but vary architecturally.

Something unrelated to our stop but super fun: we discovered that our tour guide went to Southern Oregon University in Ashland. What a small world!

We also discovered that Rook has troubles with umbrellas:

After we were finished at Kunozan Toshogu Shrine we headed for our second stop – the seaside pine grove Miho no Matsubara. The grove consists of more than 50,000 pine trees, including a 650-year-old tree thought to have mythical powers.

The view of Mount Fuji behind the forest is supposed to be absolutely spectacular but, again, we couldn’t see it because of the weather. So instead, we spent our time in the small museum that highlighted the various plant life in the area and the different art forms that have featured Mount Fuji as seen from Miho no Matsubara. Here, we got to play some musical instruments made from wood from the nearby trees, pretend to be fungi, and read about a local swan maiden legend.

Honestly, the excursion today was a disappointment but only because the weather was so crummy that it made the views impossible. Based on the photos we saw in the museum, I’m sure that Miho no Matsubara would be worth visiting again on a clear day.

When we got back to the ship, I crawled under covers and watched a movie trying to warm up from being in the cold rain all morning. The girls and John enjoyed some tea time on the cruise.

In the end, it was a good day because we were able to explore and see new things. 😊