Reflet'S Club Hakone Gora

... town, we got off and walked through the picturesque cedar avenue to the next town, Hakone-Machi. From here we got on the sightseeing boat to cros the lake (Ashino-Ko) - a pirate ship nonetheless. I kid you not! We also managed to not get a glimpse of Mt. Fuji all this time (the whole reason for coming this way) because of the poor visibility and low cloud. At the other side of the lake we caught the ...

... 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!

Konichiwa.

We rose early to the stream babbling and the early birds chirping just outside our tatami room and had one last soak in the hot spring tub – wow what a way to start our day. The lovely hosts in our guest house prepared a breakfast for us and the other guests which fuelled us for the big day ahead. Forwarding our luggage to the train station we jumped on an early bus and headed for the hills around Hakone.

Hakone (and Kyoto), Kanagawa, Japan campbellot

... had baths with views of Mount Fuji- oh yea, we managed to get one of the 100/365 days when you can get a clear view of the Fuje- but it also had a proper outdoor bit with a bubbly spa pool, hot lake pool, ceramic bathtub pool and bamboo bath pool- spoilt for choice really and absolutely gorgeous after a long day hiking! We also got their taster dinner one ...

... Edo).

W okolicy jest stary punkt kontrolny (checkpoint), którego zadaniem było kontrolowanie przepływu ludności przez wewnętrzną granicę w starej Japonii. Szczególnej kontroli podlegały osoby opuszczające dawne Tokio (dawniej: Edo). Dlaczego? Powód jest bardzo ciekawy. Szogun przetrzymywał żony i dzieci samurajów w Tokio, podczas gdy mężowie służyli gdzieś wewnątrz kraju, z dala od rodzin. Była ...

... 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 ...

... their website). And I know the cuisine is authentic when a lot of the things I ate, were things I would be hesitant to do so back home!





In the morning buffet breakfast was served which consisted of a several Japanese and Western Style dishes, and although ...

... feel getting chill, I became worried of getting pneumonia (Luckily, we did not catch any afterall). All of us were drenched and felt so miserable when we arrived back to the 5th station.

Later at home:
There were many thunder struck near the house through the middle of night, we jumped out of our futons and were awake. It was very loud and scary. (Fortunately, we did not came across any earthquake during our stay)

... festival)is believed to be calming the eruption of Mt. Fuji by burning fire. The "Omikoshi" (the portable shrine) and "Mikage mikoshi" (literally means the great silhouette, referring the red Mt. Fuji) parades from Sengen Shrine to the city's Main Street to arrive at "Otabisho" (the goddess' temporary resting place ...

... crearla mientras camino, levantarme a las ocho y media es más que suficiente. Además, no puedo dormir más porque el penetrante sol, lleva intentando colarse en mi habitación desde las cinco de la mańana. Bajo a desayunar al buffet del Hotel porque más vale prevenir que curar y salir con el estómago lleno ya es un punto a mi favor. También aprovecho para tomar prestados unos panecillos con los que hacerme unos bocadillicos de jamón, pues todavía tengo una bolsa, herméticamente ...