Fuji Shibazakura

This year's first day of Golden Week began on the 29th of April. With T and Amber here for the holidays, we made sure to visit the countryside for a change.

Amber, now at 4, is a trooper; yet she still prefers to be carried over walking by herself (actually, this depends on her mood). At 4, she easily understand things if explained in childlike manner. And the best thing in travel with her at this age is that we carry less things because she basically eats the same food we consume but I still bring fruits kept in disposable containers for her.

At where better countryside to visit than somewhere with the Mt. Fuji standing tall and grand.
Spring time in Japan means a lot of flower festivals happening all over the country. This time, we went to Shibazakura Festival.

The stroller was a huge help. We have expected her not wanting to walk and of course, with the distance covered and time consumed, she slept at some point. 

The flowers were at its 80% stage of bloom. It would have been better if they were at its peak but considering the possible crowd at that time, we were happy by the sight of Mt. Fuji looking over the flowers.

Pink all over. Not really my favorite color but anything flower brings a smile on my face.The countryside can be really boring but it's really good to be away from the city life sometimes.

the tourist obligatory selfie.

This structure was a new one. It stands permanently just outside JR Shinjuku Station, our point of reference during the whole trip.
How we did it?
We bought a JR Wide Pass ticket (10,000 JPY) at Narita 2 airport. It covers 3-consecutive days all over Kanto region and JR operated trains. Not only that, it allowed us to get reserved seats without additional cost. Children under 6 are free of charge. A little costly but worth it. It was actually a saving considering we use JR trains a lot.