Hotel Rakuun Hakone

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 ...

... 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 ...

... which consisted of a variety of small soups, fish, sushi and rice dishes all with unique tastes, textures and colours, a great place to experience some traditional eats and relaxation.

Only there for a short time but it was definitely one of the highlights of the trip and a key souvenir spot! I've never seen so many cartoon fuji-chan souvenirs! Endless!

Hakone wreszcie pozwoliło nam odpocząć od świątyń i uciec od betonowego Tokio. Jest to popularny górski kurort położony dość blisko stolicy. Cały teren to wnętrze wielkiego, starego 40 km krateru wulkanicznego. Główną atrakcją oprócz samych gór są onseny – japoński gorące źródła i ryokany -tradycyjne japońskie hotele, zajazdy, których początki datuje się na XVII wiek ...

... 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 ...

... 3A allocated but moved myself to the vacant 1A when the train started to move. These front row seat row gave a 180degree view of the entire trip and the only thing blocking the view, was the glass window! It was a pleasant train ride, watching the dense city landscape transform ...

... down slanting sheets that it made us almost invisible ahead of us. At one point, Fredrik’s eye glasses were all clouded that he had to take it off; he was descending the steep hill half blinded. My water proof jacket began to absorb the water and my feet inside of hiking boots were all wet. My awesome gregory rucksack was also getting heavier as the inside (including my passport) was getting wet. When I started ...

... any place looked like a bus terminal or bus stop and were paniked. There was no sign and our cab driver had no clue where it was. Then i spotted a stair leading to the overpass, which kind of looked like a highway. At the top level, there was a door and had a tiny sign saying "Bus Stop" were hidden by the bushes on ...

... with a small towel and a smaller towel and a yukata each. The yukata is a cotton robe. Mariko brought us the giant size since we are much taller than most Japanese. The sink that we wash in is very low too and we are sitting on the floor typing this since the table is about 18 inches above the floor. Our knees are crying - Narina we will have to do significantly more exercises to get us use to kneeling for eating.