Walk of life: Yamanashi 2018 山梨県の旅

Thursday, November 1, 2018

Yamanashi 2018 山梨県の旅 - Day 1 Kofu-shi 甲府市

Prelude:

This is my 13th visit to Japan and I decided to explore Yamanashi Prefecture, which is just adjacent to Tokyo. This was a trip dedicated to Fuji-san, a symbol analogous to Japan. Fuji-san spans across two prefectures - Yamanashi on the northern side and Shizuoka on the southern side. In Nov 2017, the images of Fuji-san captured during my expedition in Shizuoka Prefecture already blew me away. At that point of time, I made a mental note to visit the areas around Fuji-san on subsequent trip to Japan, to witness this breathtaking view all over again. Though weather was not at its best during my one week long stay in Yamanashi - cloudy and intermittent rain, there were a few precious moments when the majestic mountain stood out valiantly amongst the dispersing clouds.

Kofu-shi (甲府市), the capital city of Yamanashi Prefecture, was the focal point of my entire trip.
For the first half of my trip, we travelled westwards from Kofu to Fuji Yoshida-shi (富士吉田市) and Kawaguchiko-cho (河口湖町) where the famous Fuji five lakes, such as Kawaguchi-ko (河口湖) and Yamanaka-ko (山中湖), are located in.
In the second half, we made a stop in Koshu-shi (甲州市) to savour the best grapes in Katsunuma (勝沼) and commuted eastwards to Kiyosato highlands (清里高原) in Hokuto-shi (北杜市). Here, a completely different view awaits as the magnificent Yatsugatake mountain range (八ヶ岳連峰) can be seen clearly.

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Day 1: 12.10.2018 (Fri)
* Day 1/3 Tokyo Wide Pass

SGP T2 (0035 hrs) > NRT T1 成田空港 (0845 hrs)
by NH 804.

Purchased Tokyo Wide Pass. [10,000 yen]
https://www.jreast.co.jp/e/tokyowidepass/

NRT (0945 hrs) > Shinjuku JR 新宿駅 (1110 hrs)
🚆 by Narita Express 成田エクスプレス 10.
* Train delayed, reached Shinjuku at 1130 hrs