Alcyon Ito

On Monday we wanted to go to see (or at least get close to) Mount Fuji. Apparently the warm sunny weather we experienced the previous day was unusual for this time of year. As a result the day was freezing, overcast and we had occasional rain. After a subway journey to Shinjuku station to figure out how to catch the train to Hakone, we bought the 2 day Odakyu Hakone Freepass and jumped on the train to Odawara ...

... weird, but once you crack them they just look a regular old hard boiled egg. They give you some salt but no pepper!
After that we took a cruise on Lake Ashi which is a lake made by a volcanic eruption thousands of years ago. It was a little rough on the lake due to a windy day so we rode in the enlosed part of the boat.
Lunch was at a local restaurant and we tried some interesting foods ...

... has very friendly staff and lots of visitors from all over the world. After a short rest and a much needed shower, we found our way to a curry house and enjoyed the kind hospitality of the owner (and some yummy Japanese style curries). Our beds beckoned and we rested our travel weary bodies.

Tomorrow we check out some sights in Kyoto and are looking forward to the wealth of historic sites that Kyoto is home to.

Sayonara.

... the bullet train for now and jumped onto a packed train heading for Hakone Yumoto. This area has been for ages a holiday destination for Tokyo residents – it has hot natural springs, dormant (and not so dormant) volcanoes, mountain settlements and views of Mt Fuji. Just our luck, this weekend is a holiday weekend in Japan as they are celebrating national sports and health day (yeah seriously).

There are holiday makers and day trippers everywhere; the ...

... to miejsce gdzie można przekonać się, że wulkan wciąż tętni życiem. Właśnie stąd wypływają gorące źródła. Odór jest niesamowity, w powietrzu wyraźnie czuć zapach siarki. U ujścia źródeł, w scenerii spowitej parującym gorącym powietrzem wydobywającym się gór wulkanicznych, można skosztować gotowanego jajka. Okazuje się, że jest to ogromna ...

... 8221; we made a bee line for a nearly empty bus and gave the bus driver our fair. By 11:40am we were on our way back to Tokyo and thanking our lucky stars that we didn’t have to spend the day at the base camp after not sleeping a wink.

So it seems the Japanese saying is correct. “Everyone should climb Mt Fuji once, but only a fool would do it twice.” I am glad I did it but have no desire to do it again (nor do my extremely sore knees).

... onsen as inconspicuously as possible. Very unfortunately, I somehow managed to become lost inside the changing room, attracting lots of attention whilst I desperately tried to locate the exit. I eventually asked a nearby family but they didn’t understand me and directed me to the toilet instead. After a while they finally realised what I was asking, and showed me the exit, but not before they kindly tied my Kimono up properly for me :) We were feeling pretty exhausted ...

... range was limited, there was enough food to provide sustenance for the day’s activities.

The room inclusive of meals was around 40,000 yen per night which weighed very much on the expensive side – imagine the Grand Hyatt or Four Seasons Tokyo for a similar ...

... be. We all started climbing at around 11:00pm. It was soooo cold and dark, but our plan was to make it to the summit by sunrise. We had to rest a lot because the altitude was starting to get to everyone, and making us all a little lightheaded. It was not an easy climb at all, but by 3:30 we were at the 8th station, and we made it to the very top of the mountain to see the sunrise. It was really, really beautiful, but freezing up there, so after ...

We had breakfast at the hotel and were then picked up for our tour to Mt.Fuji. The first stop was at a service station on the way down to Mount Fuji to allow people to get a drink and stretch their legs. As it was such a clear day you could see the peak of Mt.Fuji from the service station.

A few minutes later we were on our way to the viewing area on Mt.Fuji. Due to snow we went to the second level from the bottom but it still had ...