This article is based on a visit made on Friday, 11 May 2018.
Edit 9 October 2019: Updated prices to reflect the increase in Japan's national sales tax.
Previously on Sekai Ichi, I embarked on a private day-tour of the Fuji Five Lakes, where our guide took us to see some of the lesser-known, more out-of-the-way places in the area. From our last spot, Kawaguchi Asama Shrine, he drove us uphill to a waterfall, the Haha-no-Shirataki (母の白滝, lit. 'mother white waterfall').
But first, we stopped at the parking lot for this. It is one of Chris's favourite views of Mount Fuji, also overlooking Lake Kawaguchi (to the right, barely visible in this shot). Wish I could say the same about the bugs... I tried recording footage of this outlook for possible video projects, and many of my takes were thwarted by a stray bug flying across the shot.
It was a short walk from the parking lot down to the waterfall itself. On the way we spotted some wisteria, which was growing a tad more healthy than in Ashikaga the day before.
The name "Haha-no-Shirataki" means "Mother's white waterfall". If you were walk further upstream, you would eventually run into the "Chichi-no-Shirataki" (父の白滝, lit. 'father white waterfall'), where "chichi" here means "father". I'm not that good at estimating distances, but I would guess these falls to be in the neighbourhood of 10 metres (30 feet) tall. I wonder if anyone's tried
meditating under that waterfall...
Speaking of meditation, Haha-no-Shirataki is something the Japanese like to call a "power spot", a place of solitude where one can soak up the natural and spiritual energy. In terms of Shinto, most power spots are places where
kami are believed to have landed on and departed from Earth. Whether or not Haha-no-Shirataki is one such place, I did feel some sort of sylvan blessing. Having a small shrine (barely visible on the left) helped, as well as there being only one other person around at the time. He was a photographer who took our picture for us, although I don't have that photo on me at the moment.
For lunch, we stopped at Lake Bake, a bakery-cafe on the northern shore of Kawaguchi-ko.
The outdoor seating area looks over the lake. Mt. Fuji may be seen as well, but from my seat it was obscured by this one tree and a few passing clouds. What I did see consistently was the Oishi Flower Park, just next door to the right (west, not pictured). It is a small place, and Chris usually includes it on his tours, but we agreed to skip it in favour of the Shibazakura festival, which we got to later in the day.
There are wooden animal sculptures scattered all around the grounds.
Many of them were bears. I would have expected this trio to mimic the
Three Wise Monkeys from Nikko (you know, "hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil" -- yeah, that's where that's from), but then how would they hold on to the fence?
I appreciate your welcoming spirit, mister bear. I had a lovely time at your restaurant and shall recommend it to others. But for now, I must be off. Our party went on our way around the rest of the Fuji Five Lakes, starting with Sai-ko, next time on Sekai Ichi!
Haha-no-Shirataki
Hours: Open 24 hours.
Costs: Free.
Address: Fujikawaguchiko-machi, Minamitsuru-gun, Yamanashi-ken 〒401-0304
Access: There is no public transportation available to Haha-no-Shirataki. From Kawaguchi Asama Shrine (read my previous article for info on how to get there), its parking lot is a 10-minute drive or a 40-minute walk. The waterfall itself is a 5-minute walk beyond the parking lot.
Website:
(English) (Japanese)
Lake Bake Cafe
Hours: Open from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Closed on Wednesdays, and the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month.
Address: 2585-85 Oishi, Fujikawaguchiko-machi, Minamitsuru-gun, Yamanashi-ken 〒401-0305
Access: From Kawaguchi-ko Station, take the Red Line
(R) bus to Kita-Hamaso (#21 / 北浜荘前, 25 minutes, every 15 minutes, ¥490), and walk down the road for 2 minutes. The restaurant is 180m (600ft) on the left.
Website:
(Japanese)
