Just near Mt. Fuji, Staying in freezing winter in Yamanashi Prefecture.

 Live with a beautiful mountain is a huge experience for many people, especially if it is world heritage. In the cold winter of mid February 2018, I made a two-week trip and stayed Yamanashi Prefecture (山梨県), near Mt. Fuji, at 3,776m, the highest mountain in Japan.

 Everyday was another cold day, and person like me who lives in Tokyo couldn't believe how cold it was. Just less than two hours ride on bus, Yamanashi Prefecture is almost a  whole different country with low temperature in the nights (in an average of minus 12 degrees Celsius). In my life with many traveling to countries, I had never been such a freezing place.

 Thankfully, the weather had been good during my stay, and I could see the mountain wherever I was. It was not only high, indeed it was massive, and I wasn't sick of it at all ;)

 Sometimes I took a walk around a beautiful lake in my neighbour Lake Kawaguchi (河口湖). It's one of Fuji Five Lakes (富士五湖), spreading around the north of the mountain. There was a pathway along the shore with some wooden bench. It must be nice place to read a book it it wasn't so cold, haha.

 Thanks to the mountain being nominated to the world heritage in 2013, many tourists began to come, and top-notch cafes and restaurants as well as accommodations are widely available. I visited one of fine cafes near the lake, felt like being home :)

 I believe it was a bank of some sort....

 Also, I drove to other lake, which was Lake Yamanaka (山中湖). Due to its altitude of 980m, there was covered with thick ice in the north. I could walk on the iced surface a bit (I have no courage to go further, you know!)

 Beautiful mountain covered with snow on top, mirror like lakes....Yamanashi Prefecture is a great place to go, if you can cope with its cold!

endless evening.

 Sometimes I feel pain being still alive. I wish I could let it go, but you know, it's always there in my mind.

Meguro rive and Sakura, on 31st of March, 2018

 It’s always nice to take a walk in Tokyo.
And I particularly enjoy it in the mid spring, when flowers and grasses finally coming out of solid ground, as if we see a sudden change of the world. On the end of March 2018, I cycled along Meguro River (目黒川) in Tokyo, where many fancy restaurants and shops are there.

Sakura is hard to predict when it begins to bloom. This year 2018, it was much earlier than usual. Starting bloom in the last week, it seems now is the biggest days for sakura lovers to walk around.

Along with Meguro river, this sakura road goes on like a few kilometers long, and you can get off the train like Meguro Station of JR or other private line. It’s been three years since I came here last time, I guess.

After seeing beautiful pink scenery, I hop on to the bicycle, headed to Tsutaya Books (蔦屋書店), a famous sophisticated bookstore in the fancy district of Daikan-yama (代官山), where many embassies are along the street.

 Not only books, but you can also find nice stationary, pottery, music and so on. I sometimes come over the place just for have a cup of coffee in the terrace, relaxing myself :) A nice thing about this bookstore is that they open from 7 a.m. in the morning, when many other shops and places are still closed.  Early bird like me love such a place! (It is closed at 2 a.m. in the midnight, by the way)