A visit to the Mt. Fuji World Heritage Center in Shizuoka was a very good place to start.

We saw creative displays of the history of Mt. Fuji’s iconic status.

Including examples of the famous engravings of the 19th century artist Hokusai and his depictions of Mt. Fuji.

A photo at the viewing plaza showed us what the view should look like when the clouds don’t get in the way. We weren’t going to see Mt. Fuji on that day.

We did see a nice reflection at a nearby shrine.

Sunday morning found us attending a service at Niriyama Church.

A very small church

Nearby we visited the historic Egawa House, the home of Egawa Hidetatsu, an important 19th century political leader from a distinguished family in this region.

Then we went for a walk in a bamboo garden, connected to the Shuzenji Temple, a 9th-century Zen Buddhist site.

Shuzenji Temple at Izu City

The people crossing the bridge over the Funabara River reminded me of the etchings of Hokusai and Hiroshige.

Anna leads us to a small shop where a local craft artist creates magic out of straw.

It requires concentration.

And then magic happens.

On another day we drive to the MOA Museum of Art, overlooking the seaside city of Atami.

I am awed by the woodblock print artistry of Hiroshige…

…and Hokusai, with Mt. Fuji often in the background.

Hokusai (notice the pet turtle in the left foreground?)

The trend now is projecting the art, total immersion experience.

On another day, a street festival in Mishima.

A prize!

On another day, we visited the Imperial Villa at Numazu.

Imperial Transportation

The Dining Room

Robot waiter and a neighborhood restaurant.

Finally, even though we had not seen a clear view of Mt. Fuji, it was time to head to the airport via the bullet train…

…and the monorail.

We got there with plenty of time to spare and spent a couple hours watching planes take off from the Narita observation deck.

Back in the USA@LAX.

We looped around the candlelabra antenna on Madison’s west side and skidded into Madison. It’s good to be home.