Powell 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 ...

... 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 ...

... first stop on the bus – still going up the mountain – was Gora where we boarded the cable car which took us up at a very steep angle to the top of the mountain (or so we thought...). We then jumped on the first of two ropeways (a gondola hanging from a cable strung up to hundreds of feet above the ground). The views over the foothills, countryside and mountain peaks were just breathtaking. We caught our first glimpse of ...

... to ask Santa for one of these for Christmas (not sure how he’s going to manage the hot natural spring though!!!). Rejuvenated, content and excited about tomorrow when we venture further up the mountain and play on four other forms of transport, we are all just about ready to hit the futon.

Folks you really have to come and check this place out. Anyway, that’s it for today. Thinking of you all in Oz as we ponder coming back here again...

Sayonara.

... swoista gwarancja wierności podwładnych Szoguna. Stary checkpoint pokazuje jak przeprowadzana była kontrola i co robiono z osobami nielegalnie przekraczającymi granice.

Na drugą część doliny popłynęliśmy trochę kiczowatym „pirackim" statkiem. Z jeziora Ashi można podziwiać widok otaczających gór i powoli czuć mało przyjemną woń Owaku-dani czyli „doliny wielkiego wrzenia ...

... 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).

... 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 ...

... like the one they have in Hong Kong that takes you to the Peak) and then a quick interchange for the suspended rope way cable car ride. It was on the ropeway car ride that one can have a spectacular view of Mt.Fuji …… that is assuming the weather conditions are ...

... community bond with each other. Keep in mind here that Japanese society is a little restrained. My fellow JETs are laughing hysterically at this understatement. So somewhere in the society they need an opportunity to let loose. Enter the institution of the enkai. Due to a fluke in the weather, I ended up with my first enkai at each school scheduled on Thursday and Friday night. I endured them both by fending off the rounds of shochu, a Japanese liquor similar to ...

... 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!