Meanwhile, somewhere in Yokohama: Now you see it, now you don't

Every morning, on my way to work, I have to use a pedestrian bridge to cross over the railway tracks. The bridge is nothing special but the view to the left is. Once you look past the overhead wires, the Toyota signs and the greying buildings, you can see mountains in the distance, a reminder that there is nature out there, that the concrete jungle of the Tokyo metropolitan area is surrounded by green. That glimpse of the mountains is a momentary escape to the country. I’ve got to know that view pretty well over the last few weeks. I make a point of glancing to my left as I cross the bridge every morning, to take in my metaphorical breath of fresh air. It’s also, I suppose, a little bit of hiraeth, for Cardiff is overlooked by mountains too.

Anyway, imagine my surprise on Wednesday morning when there was a new mountain nestled alongside the ones that I knew. Not just any old mountain either, but Mount Bloody Fuji. Majestic, mysterious, magical, marvellous Mount Fuji. How? Where had it come from? Why hadn’t it been there before? I stopped and stared, rubbed my eyes to make sure I was not imagining it, and then took a photo. I wasn’t 100% sure it was Fuji but it looked like it and later I had it confirmed.

I had a spring in my step thinking for the rest of my time in Japan I would have Fuji looking over me when I walked to work, a spiritual guide. Except, on Thursday, it was gone. Disappeared,. Vanished.

I’d experienced this before of course. When I went to Enoshima and up the Sea Needle I'd been promised a view of Fuji. The info panel showed me exactly where to look for the great mountain, but it wasn’t anywhere to be seen. No wonder the Japanese see it as Magical and otherworldly if it keeps disappearing all the time.

It reappeared today. Today, I went to the top of the Landmark Tower in Yokohama to watch the sunset. Again the info panel told me where to look for Fuji, but the clouds and haze hid it from view. Hidden until the sun had disappeared from the sky that is, and then a silhouette took shape. At first, I thought it was just a cloud. But what a coincidence for a cloud to be Fuji shaped. I’m not 100% sure. So, I’ll let you decide.