Vaucluse Dreamer

The stay in the carpark by the beach was perfect, and the sea lulled us into a deep sleep, well before 9pm. We’ve discovered that another of the joys of being in the van, is that we can go to bed early and get up early, without guilt. I think the bright lights of Tokyo, next week will come as a bit of a shock.

Waking this morning, we pulled down the blind, to a glorious view of the sea, just behind the van. The bank of cloud wasn’t what we expected, and the way that the van was rocking in the wind, we quickly changed our plan for another bike ride today.

Just before 8, the car park owner came around, and we paid for another day here, as it was just such a peaceful and beautiful place to stay and we really don’t want to feel we’re approaching Tokyo, too soon.

The end of the trip, and more importantly, the end of our time in the van, is coming very quickly now, and we are struggling to believe that we have been here over 5 weeks, already.

We always imagined that the 6 weeks would feel like an eternity, yet the days have felt like minutes, and the weeks have slipped past like days. I’m so pleased that I have kept track of where we have been and what we have done, on the blog, as we are already struggling to remember everywhere we’ve been and everything that we have seen.

Today, we decided to have a quiet day. The weather is due to turn very wet overnight, and we would rather drive in the rain, than spend a nice day behind the wheel.

So, with the cloud and wind putting another ride in doubt, we found a walk at nearby Yokohama Park, where we could walk to the summit and take in the views of the Ago Bay.

It was a nice walk, along well-established paths, which took us through Hydrangea and Iris Gardens, before we started to climb through the woodland (up yet more steps)

I can only imagine that this Park area must be beautiful in Spring, as the road and path were lined with cherry trees that must look spectacular, when the blossom is out.

It wasn’t a long walk, but was very lovely, and before long we emerged onto the first viewpont, which gave us glorious views across the Ago Bay.

The bay is dotted with about 60 islands, and is a beautiful sight from above, with the sun sparkling on the water. It is home to pearl cultivation, and we could see the oyster rafts in the water, between the islands.he cultured pearl trade started here in the late 1800s and the area still appears to produce a third of Japan’s pearls.

From this viewpoint, it is also possible to see Mount Fuji, on a clear day. Unfortunately, it was a little bit too hazy today, to be able to see it, which was a shame, as it snowed last week, so already has its iconic white crown.

We enjoyed the view and continued on to the summit of Mount Yokohama and another viewpoint, where we spent a while watching the black kites that were circling above us, before heading back.

It was then a quiet afternoon by the beach, walking along the sand, picking up shells

And simply watching the waves and trying to plan for the next few days.

You can Watch a video postcard from today, here

It seems impossible that we have to drop the van back on Monday morning, then just 2 nights in Tokyo, before we head home.

This has been so much more of an adventure than we ever imagined it would be. We have loved every moment, and every moment has passed far too quickly. We may not have done the Japan Trip that most people dream about. We haven’t visited Kyoto, Osaka or Hiroshima, and will do a whistle-stop tour of Tokyo’s main sights, but we don’t feel we have missed out.

In fact, we feel that we have gained so much.

Time now to enjoy the last few days