All of our rooms overlooked the lake with majestic cedar trees and awesome Mt. Fuji appearing just as in all the woodblock prints we’ve always loved!

The sitting area you see in the distance had a heated floor!  Note the tatami floor mats (shoes left at the entrance).  This is what’s on your footsies in the room & there are special slippers you pad about in elsewhere.

Each room had an alcove with stunningly beautiful original calligraphic work.  I’ll have to ask Tom what mine says.

The awesome view…..

Yes, that giant snow cone is Mt. Fuji!

Dinner was great fun….stimulating conversation and fascinating dishes…..

Breakfast was equally awesome…..and I especially loved the fish!

The red chair was brought in for yours truly as it took two strong men to get me up from the ‘Japanese style’ of sitting!

  I stayed in one day and had the ‘special’ privilege of breakfast in my room.

It was great fun to make pots, and pots, and more pots of the heavenly green tea…..

And watch Japanese melodramas, cute stuff and occasionally CNN.

But the most amazing show was a TED talk….(Love TED talks)….this fellow apparently is the Yo Yo Master of the world!

I also got to witness the process for cleaning the rooms and I will tell you it does indeed take a village!  First a man comes in wearing a crisp white shirt, black pants (no shoes remember?) and proceeds to collect all the trash.  Exit man.  Enter second man (same outfit) and he makes up the futon or in my case….the bed!  Exit 2nd man.  Following is a succession of young women….the 1st vacuumed every inch of the room…..the 2nd dusted every single spot in the room and the 3rd got the bathroom detail.  I was mesmerized!