Reflet's Izukogen Ito

... an hour on this train we switched to another bound for Hakone-Yumoto. Once we arrived we changed to a bus heading for Moto-Hakone. The further along the journey we went the colder it got. Unfortunately the bus we got on took us on the indirect (and possibly less scenic) route (about 40 mins), but it was irrelevant as the weather was so bad you couldn't see much, certainly not Mt. Fuji!

Arriving at the ...

... taro root and soba noodles. It actually was all pretty good.
A shinkansen (bullet train) took us back to Tokyo. By this time I was just out of it, seeing as I still had not been able to sleep. Thankfully last night I got a full nights sleep so feel much better.
A reception and dinner last night wrapped it up at the hotel.
All the Japanese are so nice and polite. We are having a wonderful time!

... its way back down the mountain to Hakone-Yumoto. Making our way back to Odawara we had another ride on the bullet train – this time a super express over to Kyoto (an ancient capital). A kind gentleman on the train pointed out Mt Fuji again for us (they take such pride in this majestic mountain).

Finally arriving at Kyoto we had a short walk to K's House, our hostel. More like a small motel than your average hostel, this ...

... were clogged up and into it all appears a family of five from Australia with luggage enough for a month's stay. As usual though, everyone was friendly and helpful and despite waiting in line for ages with all the locals we boarded a small bus for the climb up the mountain. We twisted and turned up the winding mountain road and had had just about enough; wondering why on earth we decided to come here anyway. The stunning views were some consolation but the best ...

... 261; własne niewielkie onseny, które mogą być wykorzystane prywatnie (co jest praktycznie niemożliwe w dużych hotelach). Właśnie z takiego tradycyjnego zajazdu - ryokana skorzystaliśmy. Dzięki temu mogliśmy zakosztować kąpieli pod gwiazdami bez towarzystwa innych ludzi.

Właściciele polecili nam jedną z pobliskich knajpek. Różniła się nieco od tych, do których na co dzień chodzimy w ...

... walking stick stamped if you so desire.

So in addition to the mob that got off the bus with us, all the mountain huts were full with people with the same general goal – arrive at the summit at dawn. When all was said and done, it felt like we had climbed the mountain with our closest 20,000 friends. The climb was exposed lava face of varying types. It was pretty solid for the first bit but then turned into a narrow boulder-strewn climb. It was a ...

Five million hours and as many trains later, we finally arrived at dusk in the beautiful Hakone National Park (the site of Mount Fuji) where after taking in the breathtaking scenery we caught the local bus up the steep road to our guesthouse. Following the ‘no shoes inside’ rule, we were proudly given our guesthouse slippers, and shown our room: a traditional Japanese ryokan (beds = Tatami mats on the floor with a futon on top, surprisingly comfortable) with ...

... that one bathes in the NUDE! Luckily I had my own private in-room hot spring so here I come!!! But the water temperature was a bit too cool ~32degrees so I decided to gather some courage and visit the communal baths. They were of course sex separated. The whole process is ...

... on a rooftop section outside in good weather. This was our first outdoor dining in Tokyo and mom and I had a great lunch set with some cured meat, fish tempura, some kind of quiche thing, some bread, some chicken, cheese-less onion soup, and more- all in tiny portions on fun plates for about 1800 yen. Chris had soup curry with rice that was very yummy and 1200 yen. Both sets came with tea and ice cream for dessert- a good find overall ...

... Lake Ashi for a boat cruise. The cruise once again had views of Mt.Fuji and also a temple by the lake complete with torii on the water's edge.

People then had the option of taking the bus back to Tokyo which could take three hours or taking the Shinkansen fast train back to Tokyo. As we had a rail pass we took the train at no extra cost and were back in Tokyo within the hour. It was exciting to take our first ride on a Shinkansen!