Trip Around the World

Hakone is a major tourist area in the Tokyo region located near Mt. Fuji. We reached Hakone by the express 1 1/2 hour "Romance Train" from Tokyo. The Japanese know how to do trains...

We bought a fare card that enabled us to ride all the modes of transport in the area for three days, including buses, trains, funiculars, cable cars and ships!. We reached our hotel by bus, the venerable Fujiya Hotel

and rested for the evening. The next day, we explored the area, starting with the Hakone-Tozan Railroad.

all the way to Gora where we switched to a funicular...

and then to a couple of cable cars to reach the top of the mountain at 3000 ft. The mountain is the result of a volcanic eruption and still spews boiling water laden with sulfur and other minerals.

This water is also used to feed the local hotels for hot baths and a thriving wellness industry. A local custom is to cook eggs in this boiling mess. The eggs turn black and are said to add 7 years to your life if you eat one and 14 if you eat two!

From the top of the mountain, one can catch glimpses of the elusive Mount Fuji, which appears and disappears throught the clouds in an instant.

One the other side of the mountain lies lake Ashi, where we cruised the lake on a replica of an old ship.

In the afternoon of the third day, we also visited the great Hakone open air museum

and then ended up taking the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto with top speeds of 160 miles per hour...

See you in Kyoto...