Ito Yamatokan

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 ...

... about the "black eggs". Supposedly if you eat a black egg which had been cooked in the sulfur springs you will have 7 years added to your life span. So Jeremy and I said that sounded great. The eggs are put into little baskets and dropped into the sulfur springs to boil. Talk about stink - the springs were awful, and the eggs made it worse. Anyway, when they come out the shells are totally black ...

... Fuji – any photo you have seen does not do it justice. It is amazingly huge.

The second ropeway went over a sulphide mine – they call it hell valley – and the rotten egg smell filled our noses. We bought a black egg, which is an egg cooked in the sulphide water which turns the egg black and gives it a slight smokey (dare we say "*****" smell). Although an acquired taste; local legend says that eating one will ...

... guided into the house hot spring bath. Charged with natural minerals and heated from inside the earth, the hot springs (Onsen as they are called over here) are famed for the relaxing and rejuvenating properties. We can all testify that these claims are right on the money.

We soaked in the waters and all our travel aches, pains and weariness seemed to just disappear. We’ve reserved the huge tub here again early tomorrow morning and are already ...

... 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 ...

... We made decent time until we turned onto the mountain road to the station – red lights as far as the eye could see. The car park at the station was full and it took about 20 minutes to get the buses maneuvered around the line of cars and up to the station. We stepped off the buses around 10:15pm amid a throng of people with the same goal as us – climb overnight to reach the top at dawn.

Some background – there are a number of ...

... views of the surrounding mountains and forest. We decided to take advantage of the nearby village onsen (a communal outdoor hot spring bath, found everywhere in Japan). Upon finding slippers and a yukata (traditional Japanese gown) in our wardrobe we followed the cue of the other guests and got dressed. After receiving some confusing directions from the guesthouse manager (who spoke limited English, and in retrospect, did seem to be laughing at us) we soon became lost, dressed ...

... Just for reference, it was the 3rd visit in three days that I got to finally seeMt.Fuji!! And I was wowd!

Cable Car:-



Ropeway Cable Car:-



Mt Fuji!!!!



Crusing on Lake Ashi:-



Having a bath? Japanese Style

Hakone, Kanto, Japan alanchu

... grind. But now I felt refreshed and ready to tackle the world. In reflecting on this story, I hope you all can fully appreciate the bizarre experiences of our trip. Good Italian food is hard to come by in Japan. Soul music played on records is virtually nonexistent. Straight, transvestite, extremely-talented, jazz-playing keyboardists are even rarer still. Especially in a tiny seaside town. All in a matter of a day. I hope I've made my point. It's just too bad the pictures were deleted.

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 ...