Sunday 15th June 2025
Well, when we parked our car in the empty carpark last night we were not expecting many people to join us but it was packed. Only about 8 spaces but they were full. The weather was atrocious. Wild wilds, torrential rain and over 100mm of rain fell overnight (by lunch time it was up to 157mm).

We woke early (5.30am) and thought it might be best to get on our way but the rain was so heavy we weren’t even sure which direction to go. We had planned to head towards Nagano (NW) but the rain radar showed a huge band of torrential rain where we were headed and on its way to us. There were also typhoon warnings (not sure where these were) so we decided to just hang out for a while. At about 8am we headed up to the roadside station about 10 mins away, the rain was still really heavy and flooded over half the road in some sections. We then just hung around in the car, watching the rain, doing a bit of computer stuff and all in all just having a rest. The valley fogged over and vision was quite poor, the rain teemed down and we were very grateful we weren’t in a tent. Although we have survived some downpours in our travels.

We had declared today a rest day. Hahaha!

At about 11am David decided it was time to head off, it was still very foggy, I don’t think he realised how poor the vision was but his thoughts were ‘we might drive out of the fog, it might just be in the valley’. And guess what? He was right. After about 30mins of drivinmg very slow with vision not much more than 30m ahead we drove out of the fog. It was still raining but this also improved over the next hour. The flow of rainwater in the Fuji River along the way was pumping. It was incredible. We stopped at a big ‘Michi no eki” which meads roadside station at about 11.30 as David has read that they have 10min showers for 300Y and it was true. All of a sudden I was feeling the lack of showers over the last 4 or 5 days. So we showered and they also have washing machines for 200Y, so we did a load of washing, and dried our towels in the dryer for 100Y. All in all, a good way to spend $10. Yeehah!

We enjoyed an okonomiyaki from a roadside stall for lunch and then headed on our way at about 2pm. On our way to our next stop for the night near Kofu, David found a Buddhist Temple. So much for our slow day. It closed at 5pm and as usual we were arriving at 4.45pm. As it was an impromptu stop, finding parking and navigating became problematic, especially as there was no English. Thank goodness for Google Translate. David sure has perserverence, I would have aborted the plan about 10 times but thankfully he does. The Minobusan Kuonji Temple was magnificent. Although closed, the gates were open and we were able to wander through the grounds of the most magnificent temple. As we walked through 3 monks walked around the grounds sounding a gong and chanting. We are not sure whether they were telling us the temple was closed or giving thanks for the day. As they didn’t shoo us away, we chose ignorance and enjoyed the magnificent grounds. The temples wre on a grand scale with many different buildings. The sun even peeked its head out from the clouds and we saw some blue sky. When we found the ‘287 steps of enlightenment’ we wished we had walked up from the bottom. They were a masterpiece in themselves. After about an hour of wandering round the grounds in almost solitude, only a couple of other tourists, we headed on our way again as our days chores were not yet complete.

Off to the grocery store which ended up being an epic task, about 2 hours. We then drove unfortunately in the dark through the alps, luckily we will drive through there again tomorrow. You could see the outline of the mountains in the dark.

We arrived at another large michi no eki, which luckilyu had 24 hour service, so we could have a late dinner as it is about 8.30pm by now. David is not sure if we will sleep here tonight as there is over 20 tru cks all with their engines running, a drive through just behind the parking, a service station and 24 hour shops. So maybe a little busy to get a good nights sleep but we will give it a good shot. Good night for now!

One of Yamanashi’s best kept secrets – Minobusan Kuonji Temple is a major temple in Yamanashi Prefecture . Located on Mt. Minobu , it’s overflowing with spiritual history.
Don’t Miss
• The 287 “steps of enlightenment” staircase
• Wild macaques living in the forest nearby
• Early morning prayer sessions at the main temple
A temple for devotees of the Nichiren sect
Just one of the dozens of temples on Mt. Minobu , Minobusan Kuonji Temple has a distinct atmosphere all its own. This 750-year-old temple is extremely important to the Nichiren sect of Buddhism.
Wander around the temple precincts and soak up the sights and sounds of this ancient and secluded place. Stroll along a mountain road covered in lush vegetation and bamboo as you listen to the chanting of devotees reciting the sutras. If you’re lucky, you might spot a family of wild Japanese macaques.”