Don’t know what a 52 Fuji is? Check out this page.

As mentioned previously, just showing up at a Fuji with a vague idea of having something to do simply was not going to cut it in this new era of the 52.

It was a good decade on from the original concept and a lot had changed: there was a lot more information on the interwebs than there used to be; I had a portable GPS device in my pocket; and my Japanese had reached the approximate level of a 5 year old who didn’t talk.

Everything had to be a bit more organized, I thought. I had to put a bit more effort into my research. Possibly even some polish on my plans.

I already had one such plan – a trip down to Shikoku during my winter holiday to visit the four original tenshu scattered in various locations over the island. There was scope for working in a couple of Fujis on the way back, but they certainly didn’t seem particularly exciting.

First on the list was Fujie, a little station in Hyogo on the (possibly-named-after-a-Yellow-Magic-Orchestra-concept-album) Sanyo Electric Railway Main Line. Fujie was pretty uninspiring looking to be honest. Also, a bit of a pain in the bum to get to, with very little in the way of reward once reached.

Take a look for yourself –

But Fujie was part of Akashi city, which seemed much more interesting.

I’d wager this is a place that doesn’t really ring the recognition bell in the old cerebral cortex for most people.

This is a shame as it does have some pretty cool claims to fame:

• it’s home to the world’s longest suspension bridge, the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, which connects Honshu to Awaji island.
• they eat takoyaki differently round here.
• Japanese Standard Time is set to the meridian which runs through Akashi.

(I liked the whole Town of Time angle. Sounds like something Rod Sterling might have come up with. Or a classic Doctor Who serial, Patrick Troughton running around a time-locked twee English village, fighting the Master.)

A bit of hunting and I even discovered there was a kind of Time Trail to follow, courtesy of the Akashi tourist board. So after making my (less than thrilling) pilgrimage to Fujie, I decided to wander around Akashi:

FUJIS LEFT AT THE END OF DECEMBER 21st, 2019 : 21/59