Day 4

Hidey Hidey . . . . . Oh no Boo then!


Today dawned bright and warm . . .  perfect conditions for today's itinerary.  Only one place to go today:

• Hakone

Hakone is about 100km out of Tokyo and is a popular day out for both Tokyoites and tourists and today we were going to join them!


So, first things first . . . . up bright and early, get to the station and buy the train tickets. Easy . . .ah ha!  This meant having to go to Shinjuku Station to get the connection to Hakone.  


Shinjuku station has approx 2 million commuters A DAY - this wasn't going to be easy.  We managed to get to there from our nice local train, then all hell let loose.  You could be stuck in Shunjuku station for weeks and never find your way out.  There are shopping malls, restaurants and department stores IN the station . . .  so you can imagine how big the place is.


We needed to find the Odakyu Railways office as these run the line to Hakone but fortunately it was well signposted and we got there quite easily (even with Scott trying to distract me from all the shops).  There we got two Hakone Freepasses which for a bargain Y5,000 each entitled us to a return journey and access to all the transport available once we got there - whooo hooo!!!


With tickets in hand, we needed to find our platform so with our GPS, map and compass in hand off we went with a skip in our step . . . . . 


Now, the main reason for going to Hakone is to see the wonderful Mt Fuji.  Fuji-san.  You need to go to Hakone on a bright day so you'll be able to see him - so far so good.


The journey to Hakone would take about 2 hours, but we knew we were in trouble when the train was heaving.  Ahh - nothing to worry about.  These would be commuters going to work and will get off soon . . .  oh how wrong we were!  It seems today was still part of Golden Week and pretty much ALL of Tokyo were going to see Fuji san today!!!!!


So, once at Hakone, there are four modes of transport to get you round the various attractions:-

• Bus
• Sightseeing Boat
• Ropeway
• Cable Car

and we could use them as many times as we liked.


These were the first views we got of Hakone.  We are well up in the mountains now . . . . lovely

So, we hopped onto a bus and were squeezed on as the driver wanted to get as many people as possible on his bus.  It was going to take 40 minutes to get to the next part and Scott and I were squished like sardines standing at the back of the bus.  Fortunately, half way round, some people got off so were able to sit and check our bruises!


Arrived at the first stop.

At this point, we were hungry and thristy, so we stopped at a lovely looking restaurant for a coffee.  We got a coffee each and I had a pizza toast and Scott had Jam and Butter Toast (well it was more like a snack cafe and this was the extent of the menu).  Very nice - until the bill came . . . .  our little snack had cost us the grand total of Y2300 (around about £17). Scott still shakes when he thinks about it hahaha!!!


After Scott recovered, it was time for Phase 2 . . . .  the sightseeing boat

Oh yes . . .  a pirate ship!

But . . .  . before we could get on the boat - we had to queue (better get used to this).

Now, I was supposed to be able to get my first glimpse of Fuji san . . .  soooo excited!  
This was my first sighting of Fuji san . . . . . 

If you can find him, please let me know! It appears that, although it was a lovely bright sunny day, it was very hazy . . .  and that tends to spoil the Fuji viewing . . . . B*******!!!!!


Never mind . . . moving on!


Phase 3 of the trip . . .  the Ropeway

To get to this point took us about 45 minutes in a queue . . . . 


But, when we did get on it - the view was fantastic (apart from the fact that Fuji san was STILL hiding!

 He's out there somewhere!

 Queue of cars waiting to get up the mountain

So now we were at Owaku-dani Valley (Valley of great boiling).



Owaku-dani is a crater that was created during the last eruption of Mount Hakone about 3000 years ago. A lot of the area is still an active volcano with sulfurous fumes, hot springs and hot rivers.

Me and him climbing a mountain!

A quick walk up the side of a mountain (or volcano) got us to the volcanic bit where there are a load of steam vents and bubbling pools. The smell was unbelieveably horrible - really got to the back of your throat!!!!

See me . .  . at 1050 meters (from now on a walk to Grassmere will be a piece of cake!)

Once at the top, we bought some black hard boiled eggs which have been cooked in the naturally hot water, (the shells are blackened by the sulphur).  

Apparently, eating these eggs extend your life by 7 years . .  . we bought 5, so Scott and I are expecting to live till 110!!!


So, back down the mountain to find a queue for the Cable car . . . 

This is just the queue outside . . . .  there are thousands of people queueing inside as well!!!  Oh my God!  It was now about 4:15pm and the last cablecar went about 5:30pm . . .  don't fancy our chances much!


So, a little jiggling and agreeing to forego the Cablecar trip, we joined the shorter queue to back-track on ourselves . . . (ie back on the Ropeway and Pirate Ship, then bus back to the train station).


Great idea - initially . . .  we got on the Ropeway, then just managed to get on the last Pirate ship but there was a problem . . .  the last bus was in and we didn't get on it!  But, the Japanese people being as they are, organised some emergency buses to get all these stranded people off their mountain . . .  lovely people.


So, back to the station, cold, tired and hungry (we didn't have anything else to eat after the £17 piece of toast!) and another queue to get on the train home.  Got on the train and then got on another train and finally made it back to the Bunker about 10:30 . . .  completely shattered.


Another great day . . .  even though this one was bad on the feet and Scott's wallet!!!!!


So, note to self for next trip  . . . . . try to avoid places that Tokyoites escape to during their Bank Holidays!!!!!

Easier day tomorrow . . . .  off to see Totoro and the Studio Ghibli Museum.