What a great way to see Mt. Fuji!

Our cruise ship docked overnight in the port of Shimizu, in the vicinity of Mt. Fuji, which we could see out of our stateroom.
We met our guide, Kiyo, and our driver, Mr. Ted just outside the port.
The car was a large and classy Toyota Crown with ample room for my husband’s rolling walker.
They took us out of the city and started by stopping at a bend in the road where one can get the best pictures of Mt. Fuji plus tea plantations.
This is the kind of thing a tour bus just can’t do.
We then went to a tea plantation and learned about the process of tea picking and making and sampled (and bought) tea that had just been picked the previous week.
We were then taken to the Nihondaira Observation Tower for stunning views of Mt. Fuji. From there it was onto the Ryuge-ji temple which dates back to the Shogunate period, with lovely gardens and a charming small temple where one can have tea and matcha chocolate.
Our guide was kind and informative and the driver top-notch.