West Inn Fujiyoshida

... 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 ...

... 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 ...

... 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 ...

... 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 ...

... autobusom. Hora Fudzi je aktivna sopka vysoka 3775 metrov a v lete sa da na nu peso vyliest. Trva to nejake 4 hodiny ak si poriadne pohnete, ale zevraj to moze trvat aj 7 hodin. Nam vsak pocasie az tak velmi neprialo a hmla na takzvanej 5. stanici - ktora je najvyssie polozenym miestom kam sa da este ist autom - bola taka velka, ze nebolo vidno ani na 10 metrov, takze sme z hory nic nevideli ...

... 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 ...

Ahhhh Fuji-san

I pre-booked the Romance Car Train prior to arriving in Tokyo, and managed to reserve the Observation Carriage – which really is a fancy name for the front carriage. The Romance Car commences at Shinjuku station and arrives into Hakone-Yamato. I had ...

... to drop off a rental car.
14pm: Took a fujikyu line to “Otsuki “station.
15pm: Took a JR chuou rapid Tokyo line from “Otsuki” to “Hachiouji”. Heavy rain outside.
16pm: Took a JR yokohama line from “Hachiouji” to “Fuchinobe”.
16:45pm: Arrived home
18-20pm: Dinner at home with my family.

We were over optimistic in a way. By the time we ...

... thatched roofs, tatami mats, cooking (fire) holes, and so on and so forth. Inside these houses were shops, cafes, interactive displays and so on, it was great. here, Miyu and i did ceramiic painting, which was a lovely and relaxing way to spend part of the afternoon! I have been making a real go of trying everything i am given. I have reallly been enjoying japanese food. Soba udon, miso, tempura and most everything I have tried, i had ...

... big 3". Early dinner was had at the park's somehow western-themed MOS Burger, where we both indulged on exclusive "Fujiama" burgers - yum. That was after we'd ridden the ferris wheel again to get photos and videos of our "big 3" and we had visited the park's exclusive "Thomas Land". Yes, that Thomas, the Tank Engine. Who can blame the Japanese for being a little train crazy anyway? It was a cool little place filled with kiddie rides but they had managed to recreate the ...