oishi park

Our tour guide's lovely smile made for a joyful day 😂, and the trip went smoothly.

Our tour guide this time was Zhang Peiwen. The whole day's itinerary and time management were excellent. Taking the children on a tour that included a jungle bus ride and animal feeding was a fantastic experience. During the ride, the zoo guides provided detailed explanations, and our guide helped with translations and shared many interesting anecdotes. At the attractions, the guide even taught the children some Japanese and took the whole bus of kids to local shops to experience buying mochi in Japanese. Throughout the tour, the guide shared many recommended attractions and restaurants, and provided very detailed explanations of each place. I would definitely join another tour with this guide next time, and I hope to have the opportunity to join her tour again.

Seeing Mount Fuji depends on luck. A week in advance, we closely followed the visibility forecasts and finally decided to book a tour five days later, on the day with the best visibility of the entire week. However, after payment, we couldn't reach the required number of participants, and we were worried every day that it would affect our planned itinerary. We finally managed to form a group the day before the activity – quite a close call! Our group consisted of only four adults and one child, so we traveled in a small vehicle, not a large tour bus, and there was no tour guide, only the driver. The driver spoke English and Cantonese, making communication easy. Because we couldn't talk while driving, he didn't introduce the various attractions along the way, only informing us of the later meeting time upon arrival. The day before the activity, a cold front hit Tokyo, and it snowed, so all the attractions were covered in snow – a pleasant surprise, a bonus! At our first stop, Hirano no Hama, there was no reflection of Mount Fuji because the lake was frozen over. Our second stop was on the other side of Lake Yamanaka. The swan boats were out of service due to strong winds, so we could only take small boats. Bicycles were also unavailable due to icy roads, so we opted for a walk. Luckily, we encountered a swan by the lake that we could feed and take photos with. Our third stop was Oshino Hakkai, which was very crowded, and you might have to wait a while to get a photo at the popular spots. Our fourth stop, Oishi Park, was a bit desolate, as none of the flowers were in bloom. We could only browse the shops, eat ice cream, and take some photos.