Trip to Hakone - Mt. Fuji

No trip in Japan would be complete without spending at least a day touring and viewing the magnificently picturesque Mt. Fuji.  This conical volcano has become a symbol of Japan and its soul, so says our guide book *hee*.  Standing 3,776m above sea level it is especially amazing during spring when snow has just about melted, except for the area covering the peak of the volcano.  Absolutely a sight to behold. *jaw drops*

To get there, we rode the tour bus from Tokyo to Hakone for about 2++ hours. 

First on the list of must-do is a pirate boat ride over at Lake Ashi.   Lake Ashi is the 400,000 year old volcanic crater lake that never freezes.  Awesome!  

Next is the cable car ride over Owakudani Valley  via the Hakone Ropeway.  The entire Owakudani or Greater Boiling Valley reeks of sulphurous fumes, spewing clouds of steam from the crevsses.  It was a bit rainy when we got there so there were some points wherein I couln’t tell the difference between fumes or fog. Hee

Once we got off the ropeway, we were ushered into a shop that sells black eggs.  This is apparently their delicacy over at Hakone.  The black egg is said to have been dipped into the sulphurous water and adds 7 years into the lives of those who try it.

We finally arrive at the 5^th Station of Mt. Fuji.  It was freezing cold!  Outfit for the day = Defintely not prepared. I was trying desperately to look for gloves to buy to prevent possible frosting of my fingers.  On the plus side, finally got to see snow for the very first time!  It was pretty exciting.  Hubby was so thrilled for me that despite the almost artic weather, we did another session of picture taking. *melts* the weather wasn’t so cooperative and Mt. Fuji seemed a tad shy at times.  But we saw glimpses when the fog eventually cleared up and it was pure awesomeness.

Stayed at an authentic Japanese hotel.  I loved it! The Hubby and I dressed in our kimonos that night for dinner.  There was an onsen (hot spring) inside our hotel.  But I didn’t want to just wear my birthday suit that’s why the Hubby and I took this time to explore the hotel and umm do more photo-hogging.