Izumiso 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 ...

... 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!

... 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 ...

... Przede wszystkich siedzi się na podłodze przy bardzo niskich stolikach, na małych poduszkach i obowiązkowo zarówno goście jak i obsługa chodzą bez butów (podobnie jak w ryokanie). Jedzenie tofu pałeczkami wciąż jest wyzwaniem (tofu jest bardzo miękkie), ale dawaliśmy radę. Stolik obok siedziała inna para, z którą wspólnie wznieśliśmy toast sake (bez stukania się kieliszkami) i w momencie kiedy pad ...

Meera and I successfully summitted Mt Fuji sometime around 7am this morning. We probably should have been able to see what our adventure would entail when we were trying to get tickets. To be on the safe side, we had a Japanese friend book the tickets and when she couldn't reserve them on the website, she called and found out that there were two seats left but on separate buses on the last departure from Tokyo. The returns seats seemed unavailable for anything after ...

... shuffled (as quickly as we could) to our respective changing rooms, feeling a bit stupid. The onsen itself was amazing and soooo relaxing, and was just like a huge natural outdoor Jacuzzi, and the water felt so hot compared to the cold air. I did spend a while waiting for Sam to come out of his changing room before realising there were separate onsens for men and women.

Afterwards, and back in the changing room I reluctantly donned my outfit once more and tried to leave ...

... 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 ...

... the things we never felt was over full. Unfortunately, after breakfast it was time to change back into our normal clothes and head back to the train station. For me, staying at the ryokan was one of the best things we'd done on the trip so far. It was one of the most restful places I have ever stayed and the service we received was fantastic. If anyone is planning a trip to Japan I cannot recommend highly enough staying at a ryokan and experiencing proper Japanese hospitality.

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 ...