Super Hotel JR Fujiekimae

... 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!

... 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!

... szczególnie dla Japończyków, gdyż skorupka jajka wrzucona do gorącej siarkowej wody, barwi się na czarno. Myślę, że jest to jedna z niewielu miejsc na świecie, w którym odbywa się masowa konsumpcja jajek na twardo.

Onseny – gorące źródła wykorzystywane są w basenach gdzie nago kąpią się Japończycy (oddzielnie kobiety i mężczyźni). Na szczęście małe ryokany ...

... at ever so slightly more than snails pace.

Trying not to pay attention to the pain and cold, we finally saw it – the real torii! FINALLY! We were thrust out of the line of bodies and rushed into a small temple where the monks were making hand stamped wooden pieces with kanji that we bought and translated into “Way to go Zoe and Meera!” although they probably just said “top of Fuji-san.” Then as fast as we were whooshed into the ...

... we headed to the Fuji visitor center for a bit and then on back to the base. Which ended up being a 3 hour long bus ride due to traffic. There was a screaming kid on the bus and so they played Madagascar 2 & Lilo & Stitch on the bus but nothing could quiet the kid. But overall I would say it was a really cool day!

Five million hours and as many trains later, we finally arrived at dusk in the beautiful Hakone National Park (the site of Mount Fuji) where after taking in the breathtaking scenery we caught the local bus up the steep road to our guesthouse. Following the ‘no shoes inside’ rule, we were proudly given our guesthouse slippers, and shown our room: a traditional Japanese ryokan (beds = Tatami mats on the floor with a futon on top, surprisingly comfortable) with ...

... br>13:30pm: Departed the 5th station, began climbing.
18:00pm: Arrived at the “goraiko-kan” , the last and highest mountain hut on the 8.5th station (along the yoshidaguchi trail).
19:00pm: Dinner (curry and rice)
20:00pm: Went to bed.

The Folloing Day

2:30am : Woke up
3 am: Left the mountain hut and began climbing to the top
5:30 am: Arrived at the top, wait for the ...

... assured me that I wouldn't need one. He claimed that his would be sufficient for the both of us. Looking at the nearly bright moon I hoped that he was right. We were following a clear line up a well marked the trail. Finally, hikers tend to congest at the steeper spots, and all their flashlights come together at the same time. The only other thing additional I brought was a hiking stick. You've got to have one of these for stability on the steep rocky ...

... We had a great view of Mt Fuji on the Shinkansen ride there but haze on the afternoon we arrived and dense cloud meant that we would have to leave getting up close to Mt Fuji for another time. Oh well, we knew all too well this was a bad time of year to view Mt Fuji and despite the disappointment of the non-existant views, we had a nice leisurely afternoon strolled out to the lake and along the main street.

... Two days there then mad rush travelling day back to Tokyo Haneda airport for flight to Saporro ...