Ravie Kawaryo Ito

... here they call it a ropeway) from Togendai to Souzan with a brief stop at Owakudani to see the volcanic sulphuric steam. Again, this was supposedly a fantastic vantage point to see Mt. Fuji - but not today.

On reaching Sounzan we took a cable car down to Gora, from which we jumped on a local train heading back to Hakone-Yumoto. From there another hour spent on a different train heading back to Tokyo ...

Today we had a great day exploring outside of Tokyo at the Hakone National Park. It is about 80 km outside of Tokyo. We took a bus to the park where we took the ropeway (gondola) up to the area where there are sulfur springs due to the volcanic activity in the area. We had beautiful views of Mt. Fuji, who had had her first snow the night before. Once we got to the area of the springs, our guide told ...

... seven years to your life – we decided to take our chances.

This ropeway took us up over the peak and then back down to Lake Ashi; a volcanic lake over 700m above sea level. We jumped on a sightseeing cruise across the lake and back aboard a mock 18th century sailing ship (very cute – check out the photos). Back over the ropeways and down to Gora we jumped on a very cute little switchback train which snaked and ...

... system, we had no trouble making our way to Tokyo station and got our first taste of the bullet train. It is smooth, sleek, and fast; and like every train we have been on in Japan it is clean and efficient to the max. When the timetable says it is leaving at 12:06, it leaves exactly on 12:06 to the second.

It seemed that Tokyo stretched on forever, and it is just one huge megalopolis beyond Yokohama to the south. As suburb after suburb whizzed by we ...

... szczególnie dla Japończyków, gdyż skorupka jajka wrzucona do gorącej siarkowej wody, barwi się na czarno. Myślę, że jest to jedna z niewielu miejsc na świecie, w którym odbywa się masowa konsumpcja jajek na twardo.

Onseny – gorące źródła wykorzystywane są w basenach gdzie nago kąpią się Japończycy (oddzielnie kobiety i mężczyźni). Na szczęście małe ryokany ...

... and they assured us we would be off the mountain by then so took them. It turned out later that the return reservation was more of a "suggestion" than anything else.

Meera and I arrived in Shinjuku, Tokyo to pick up our tickets and got on our full buses to Fuji 5th station at 7:30p on Saturday night. Along the way, I got to see fireworks and this mysterious line of lights going up into the sky that I later learned was the huts and climbers already on the ...

... the day’s adventures we just chilled out in the evening.


Rising early the next day, we were able to see the stunning Hakone in day light. After a breakfast of croissants, we caught the local train up the zigzag railway, which took us past the breath-taking scenery of the national park and up into the huge mountains. We then caught a cable-car over the serene Lake Ashi, the part of the journey where, if you are lucky you can see mount Fuji. Unfortunately ...

... to the ryokan, one must enjoy the natural onsen or hot spring baths that are scattered all over Japan. These are just thermal water, some with different chemical or natural elements that help, relieve or soothe the body. It is a long time tradition in Japan and it is ...

... this practice. He knows my pain. I made it out ok, though, not too worse for the wear. We woke up at 6 am, threw the last of our things into our backpacks, and headed out. The train ride was three hours long, but the trains here are rather comfortable, so I slept for two hours until we were clear of the concrete jungle of Tokyo. Ito lies southwest of Tokyo on the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture. As we came out of yet another long, dark tunnel, we were treated to ...

... views of the mountain peak.

We then drove on to Hakone and took the cable car across to the Owakaduni Valley volcanic area with its steam vents and boiling water pools. Being a volcanic area it had the customary smell of rotten eggs. You could also buy "black eggs" which were eggs boiled in the sulphur-rich water which turned the egg shells black.

After taking the cable car back we got back in the bus and drove on to our final ...