Mt. Fuji and Hakone

So, I was quite relieved that our tour to Fuji didn't involve any hiking...unless you count the stairs in Hakone. In fact, it was mostly a series of pleasant bus rides and stops. The tour also included a "Japanese style lunch". Japanese style lunch can be loosely translated to mean: "lots of small samples of a variety of foods that will surprisingly make your stomach feel full for at least 2-3 hours". I got the vegetarian "sample" and the rest of our crew had the regular "sample".

Vegetarian meal

Although we were able to see Mt. Fuji best from the visitor center and again when we got to Hakone, we did have a chance to actually stand on the mountain, too. The day was clear enough for us to go to Step 4 which is the highest point that anyone can go in winter and also the point where the trees stop growing. (Some vague memory of elementary science class makes me want to call that the tree line...)
The Korean pop group Code V happened to be visiting Fuji at the same time as our tour so we joined the hoards of girls snapping pictures and got a closer look. Gina somehow managed to get us close enough to start a conversation with them and they were actually really outgoing and friendly. An older woman nearby said that we were "lucky" to talk to them b/c apparently they're kind of a big deal here. So random. 
Anyway, it was a looong and exhausting tour, but worth every moment of the mad dash at 5 AM until the nice quiet cab ride from the Shinkansen (bullet train) to the hotel.