Terrific tour on a beautiful spring day with an excellent guide and private transportation - Eight of us began our half- day private tour with our charming and informative guide, Miyuki on the day’s first run of a 5-minute Nihondaira Cable Car gondola ride to the top of Mt Kuno to visit the Kunōzan Tōshōgu Shrine. It’s one of Japan’s national treasures with its vibrant colors and state-of- the-art construction in a perfect mountain setting. It is the original burial place of the first shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa Ieyasu. (early arrival at the cable car spared us very long lines later in the morning as multiple buses showed up with other cruise passengers .) A return ride on the cable car brought us to a plateau above the shrine for a visit to the Nihondaira Yume Terrace for views in every direction. Final stop - Miho Beach and Pine Tree Grove – part of the Mount Fuji UNESCO Heritage Site. A wooden boardwalk known as Kami no Michi (God’s Road) leads you to a beach spanning over 7km with more than 30,000 pine trees growing along the seashore, some of them over 650 years old. Morning haze lifted, revealing a spectacular view of Mount Fuji seeming to float over the volcanic black sand beach. This tour company was a pleasure to work with. Clear communications and a good value.