When we arrived in Hakone, we were taken to Lake Ashi, where we boarded a boat and took a 15 minute cruise around the lake. We rode on the Mt. Komagatake Aerial Cableway, which took us from the lake all the way up the side of a mountain. By this time, it was beginning to get really cloudy, so although we were not able to see Mt. Fuji from the stop at the top of the mountain, we were able to experience "flying" through clouds via cableway. It was almost like standing in a thick fog (although that's what fog is, is a cloud at ground level!)

At the end of the cable ride, we took the bus to Odawara and waited for our Shinkansen, which was scheduled to depart around 7pm. In the meantime, we ate a "healthy" dinner at the train station - I ate a bacon and spinach quiche and a bag of BBQ chips for dinner, had some orange tea to drink, and treated myself to a Crunky bar for dessert! :)

We finally boarded the shinkansen to Nagoya, where we got off (and I waved to Gloria's town) to transfer to a Kyoto bound bullet train. We arrived in Kyoto around 11pm, and the four of us that were staying at the Rihga Royal Hotel decided that we would rather walk around the block to the hotel than pay for a taxi to take us there!

On the only time I could go to Hakone the weather was terrible. Gone were my hopes of enjoying some of the best views of Fujisan. Hell, I have a dastard luck when it comes to watch Fujisan. I still enjoyed my day in Hakone: bought the Odakyuu Hakone Free Pass and rode the Romance Car, mountain train, cablecar and boat. The  Hakone Open Air Museum was really good as well. At the end of the day I stopped by an outdoor onsen and had a nice massage. All in all it was rather nice despite the heavy rain that got me soaked in Owakudani and later developed into a cold, prompting my first visit to a doctor ever in Japan. The local treat in Owakudani are eggs cooked by the vulcanic activity underground and turn black. I never had such strange boiled eggs in my life! I can imagine how wonderful Hakone must be on good weather...

Started out this day at Fuji-Hakone National Park by heading to lake Ashino-ko with a ferry ride starting at Hakone-Machi, stopping at Moto-Hakone and stopping at the Togendai dock to continue on a ropeway ride through the Owakudani  valley.

The ferry ride carried a good dose of tourist kitsch with the ferry fashioned as a pirate ship complete with pirate-clad personnel.

At the Owakudani stop, there were sulfur hot springs bubbling up along the hillside.  The sulfur was quite pungent and hard-boiled are sold to tourists which have been cooked in the springs.  The sulfur springs actually turns the eggs' shells black although the eggs themselves taste the same.

 I woke up this morning grateful to have utilized the Hot Springs bath last night!  My shoulders didn’t hurt nearly as much as they had yesterday after carrying around my heavy backpack. Breakfast was good and gave me enough fuel to get through another day!

We started off with bad luck this morning as we accidently hopped the wrong bus! We were going in the completely wrong direction! This problem was fixed quickly however as we got off the bus and got onto a train which took us to where we wanted to go, the boiling valley. We also had to take another train and a ropeway car (a gondola) just to get there! But on the way we got some breathtaking views of Mount Fuji which could be seen as clear as day. It was really cool and much more impressive than it looks in postcards. I was surprised it was so big!

Whilst wandering around the boiling valley area we came across a Japanese superstition that intrigued us. Apparently if you eat one of the eggs that were hard boiled in the natural hot spring (which turns the shell of the egg black!) you would have seven years added to your longevity. Never ones to pass up adding seven years of health to our lives, we partook in the ritual. All superstitions aside that was probably one of the best tasting hard boiled eggs I’ve ever had!

We finished up with the activities in the valley and rode the gondola further down to the giant lake where we were to ride…A pirate ship?!?! I thought it was hilarious to be on a sightseeing tour in Japan, practically in the shadow of Mount Fuji, and be riding a ship fashioned to be a pirate vessel! Stranger things I’m sure, but this was one to remember. I think we had far too much fun pretending to be pirates than one should, especially when we were supposed to be taking in the beautiful scenery. To be fair though, I’m really excited about one of the pictures I took which captures Mount Fuji, the lake, and the red Torii. I can’t wait to get home and see what it looks like after working some magic in photoshop.

Eventually we had to get off the pirate ship, much to the disappointment of all I’m sure, and we returned to the Guesthouse. The return trip was much shorter as all we had to do was take a bus! By the time we got back, we were all hungry so we mulled over the restaurant choices and finally decided on one that looked good. Unfortunately, we neglected to take into account opening and closing times and walked all the way into town only to discover the place we wanted to go to was closed! Thinking maybe it would open at five thirty, we decided to kill some time and wander around. We didn’t have to wander far to find a cute little Buddhist Temple nestled in a forested area just outside of downtown. This place was very beautiful and peaceful. There were little statues scattered around the premises that appeared to be monks, I’m not sure exactly what they were for exactly, but we followed the examples of others and put one yen coins on them wherever they would stay. This temple also had a cemetery behind it and it was really interesting to see how different they are from western cemeteries. Japanese seem to honor the departed much more than westerners do, at least when it comes to keeping the gravesite clean. They sweep the plot, wash the headstone, and light incense for the deceased, while here we eventually forget and the cemeteries become overrun with weeds, so much so that some head stones one can’t even see anymore! I also thought it was interesting how small each plot was. This is because space is so limited and also because almost all are cremated. I thought it was a very beautiful place to be buried, as the cemetery rose up on a hill and over looked the scenic Hakone park.

Our restaurant still wasn’t open, so we decided to give up on it and made our way back to the guesthouse, hoping to find  somewhere else to eat along the way and eventually me and Nadean settled on these little things of instant rice! Two minutes in the microwave and you’ve got food! I thought it was a really great little invention and I hope I can find them back in the states because they tasted as if they’d been made the hard way! We had to ask one of the girls working at the guesthouse for chopsticks and Soy sauce and she asked us what we needed the Soy sauce for, thinking we must be cooking something else besides just the rice. When we told her that we were going to put it on the rice she was absolutely flabbergasted! She wasn’t offended or anything, she just thought it was really strange. We thought she was strange because that sort of thing is second nature in America! I suppose it’s just like how my family has grown up with a dish consisting of fried egg noodles and ketchup, so I put ketchup on noodles all the time but everyone else seems to think I’m crazy for doing it!

After dinner the girls once again occupied the hot springs bath. I had also taken a bath in the individual indoor one earlier—which was extremely nice! I want one in my house! Haha! Tonight the outdoors one didn’t seem quite as hot which was a good thing, and we all really enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere.

My allergies (I’m allergic to guesthouses I think because it was the same story whenever I stayed in a bed and breakfast in Ireland, but at hotels I’m fine!) got the best of me tonight, and all I wanted to do was go to bed after getting out of the hot springs. It’s hard to have allergies in Japan because it’s rude to blow your nose in public! I thought earlier today that maybe I should get myself a hygienic mask! Despite this, it will be a sad parting in the morning when we leave Hakone and head for Kyoto.

This morning we had our last “breakfast” in the New City Shinjuku Hotel! Sad! I’ll miss the French fries and rice��"this morning I ate three bowls of rice to make up for the fact I might not get to have that again! We checked out of the hotel but left all our bags there since we were spending the morning in Tokyo and heading out to the mountains that afternoon.

We had to take the local subway instead of the JR lines to get to our destination today, the Edo-Tokyo Museum, so that was a little confusing. But, we arrived safe and sound and were surprised to find out that the museum was right next to the national Sumo Wrestling Stadium! Unfortunately, the big sumo wrestling tournament was going on the next week and so we wouldn’t be able to see it even if we could have afforded tickets!

At the museum we had to take a really long escalator, I didn’t think escalators could go that high! It was funny, like the escalator to heaven or something. Inside the museum it was really cool because one side of the replica of the famous bridge was dedicated to the pre-opening of Japan and all of it’s cultural heritages while the other side was dedicated to everything that has happened since the beginning of the Meiji era. It was really great to see the differences laid out in that fashion and to also see how the pre-Meiji culture continued to exist even as Japan became more and more westernized. They had scale models of buildings which really added to the experience as all the buildings’ compounds had dozens of unique miniatures of the people scattered about them. From samurai to jugglers to fishermen to businessmen.  We were all congregating near the model of the Kabuki theatre around eleven thirty when a demonstration started! It was a short demonstration showing us the different maneuvers of the puppets. Japanese puppet theatre, Bunraku, is a very sophisticated type of puppet theatre which is much different than what westerners consider puppet theatre (like the Muppets which are hand puppets.) These puppets were mechanized to do simple tasks but were impressive nonetheless. I would like to someday actually see a Bunraku show.

After leaving the museum, we went to the heart of the Asakusa district and visited the senso-ji Buddhist shrine located there. I think there was some sort of festival going on at the time as the place was teeming with people! It was hard to go anywhere, especially when we kept wandering over to the wrong side of the walkway! I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to walking on the left side whilst I’m here! Anyways, I thought it was pretty cool to see how much the Shinto religion has seeped into the Buddhist religion in Japan. For instance some of the things you do at a Shinto shrine, you also do at a Buddhist temple, such as washing your hands and mouth out with water and dropping money into a collection box before bowing and praying, or ringing the bell. You can also get your fortune at both places. The temple was different from the Shrines we’d visited previously though, here you could also stand around a pillar where incense was burning and waft it onto yourself. You did this before entering into the actual temple. When we were there a service was going on, but we didn’t join in.

I was also surprised to learn that the shops that lined the corridor up to the temple were actually very traditional! Not really in what they sold, but the mere fact that they were selling things. Apparently shops had been located there for centuries, selling trinkets to pilgrims as they walked to the temple. We decided not to do any shopping today however as we didn’t want to carry everything around for the entire rest of the trip, but determined that we’d come back on our last day when we would be in Tokyo again.

The two of us, Nadean and I, ate lunch at a place called “Miami Garden” where we ordered a Magherita Pizza and garlic bread. It was nice to have a taste of home! It’s also a tradition of mine to try the pizza wherever I go, so it was fun to compare the quality of the Japanese made pizza to that of the US and Europe. Sufficed to say it was good, but certainly not the best.

Finally we started on the long journey to Hakone. First we had to venture all the way back to the hotel to pick up all of our luggage and carry it to the station (unfortunately we’d chosen to leave at the exact time when the Shuttle Bus wasn’t running, so we had to walk all the way to the station!) I was regretting bringing only my backpacker’s backpack, but I survived and that’s what counts! From Shinjuku we had to go to Tokyo station and hitch a Shinkansen train to Odawara. From Odawara we’d commandeer ourselves a bus. The bus was the real adventure as it took us at a blistering pace around the seemingly dangerous curves of the mountains. It didn’t help that it was dark and slick outside!  Everyone else seemed to be getting motion sickness, but I was fine! I always love driving in the mountains��"just so long as I’m not the one doing the driving! I also had my headphones on and was listening to some music which really fit what little of the scenery I could actually see outside. One of my favorite bands, Bedouin Soundclash, and their song “Dub of Kalmanden” which is a dreary sort of subdued reggae song that really emphasized the foggy and wet night outside, especially as we passed through the small, dimly lit towns along the way.

At long last we arrived at the Fuji-Hakone Guesthouse we were delighted to our rooms which were traditional Japanese styled! The futons were sooooo comfortable! The girls decided to sign up right away to use the outdoor Onsen, or hot springs bath. It was a really different experience to say the least! I’d never done anything like it before, but I was glad to try it out! The water was extremely hot though, and none of us could stay in for very long! It felt really good on our aching joints and muscles after a long day of travelling. I thought it would be nice to live near a hot spring and be able to get used to the heat. It would be a nice end to the everyday rigmarole.

It also was nice to be out of the big city and into a small mountain town. Things just move a bit slower, and everyone is more laidback and friendly. To end the night, we stock up on some food supplies and I wrote the postcard I promised to write for my friend in Durham, England. I hope there is time to go to the post office soon so I can mail it to him!

Just some extra pics of our visit to Hakone, at our hotel.

We soon left Tokyo and drove out to Hakone - more particularly, the Fuji-Hakone National Park. During the trip there were a lot of false alarms regarding sakura sightings - essentially the pink/white flowers that only bloom for a short period of time in Japan - when it happens, it is quite breathtaking, but the blooms don't last long. Apparently it's quite a big deal amongs tourists and locals alike to have sakura viewing parties - people hold spots under trees for days waiting for the blossoms - and then drink themselves silly. Quite funny - we were just a few days early for the blossoming so we only saw sporadic flowers, but it was amusing to see people so worked up over some flowers.

We had lunch next to Lake Ashi (beautiful, pristine lake surrounding Mt. Hakone) - we got to fry our own tiny little fish (caught from the lake) and pieces of pork and veggies. Again - quite yummy! After our huge lunch, my mom tried the wasabi ice cream - so brave!!! (it really tasted like wasabi). Then we boarded our boat for a little cruise. Nothing too exciting but gave me some time to digest all that food! When we stopped we took the Hakone Ropeway to get an aerial view of the Mt. Fuji vicinity - including the Owakudani Valley - with steaming hot springs, volcanic peaks, etc. One of the activities here is to try one of the eggs boiled from the sulfuric hot springs - turning the eggs black. It's said that eating one could prolong one's life. (I had two so I should live very very long). :)  This was a nice stop but quite smelly (sulfur stinks!) and I was glad to leave.

Afterwards, we headed to the Atami Resort and was welcomed with a lovely reception - traditional music and a pink "sakura" drink. The resort is a bit outdated, but takes you back into time - the rooms are styled in the traditional tatami fashion. It also is situated in an impressive manner, hangoing alongside a cliff overlooking the waves. The baths were fun - apparently the tradition is to bathe before dinner, after dinner and in the morning... after our formal keisikei (sp?) dinner, we were way too tired to take another bath.

Hey Dudes,
 
Holy Schmoley, we totally kicked Mt. Fuji's butt!  So here goes:

First we had to take a bus ALL NIGHT to get there and we were supposed to
sleep on the bus.  Yeah right! I slept for about a half hour the whole right.
So then we arrive and eat breakfast.  Of course this is Japan so we get fish
heads and rice for breakfast. (Not really, but pretty close to it.) Then we
start climbing.  We had no idea what we were getting in to because there
were only about 5 people on the trip besides us who were under 60 years old. 
So we thought it would be cake because all these old people were going up
there.  I later figured out that those old people went to the top of Mt. Fuji
to die.  I think they figured they ought to do the climb before they died,
or just die right there on the mountain.

So anyways, we started climbing and went halfway up the mountain.  That takes
between 2 and 5 hours depending how fast you go and we did it in 2 ( I know,
I'm a stud.)  Then you rest at this little hotel type thing until midnight
and keep climbing.  Let me tell you about this hotel.  They cram about 200
people in this little room where you sleep on the floor. The only way everybody
fits is if they sleep head to toe.  There's people coming in and out the whole
time and people snoring and basically there is no way you can fall asleep.  So
that was Day 2 without any sleep for me.

We got up at 11:30 to beat the traffic to the top of the mountain (which was
fine because I wasn't asleep anyways).  It was completely pitch black on the way
up. I'd say it was about 7 or 8 miles to the top and only about 50 feet of that
was lit.  It was also about 30 degrees outside and there were 50 mph winds.  We
were climbing so fast just to stay warm because all I had on was a sweatshirt
and jeans and a bandana on my head.  I honestly thought I was going to die on
top of Mt. Fuji though.  If the cold air didn't kill me,I thought a gust of wind
would blow me off a cliff and I would never be found. So then all I could think
about is how mad my Dad would be at my Mom for taking me to Mt. Fuji and killing
me.  That's when I realized, it's not the hike that kills you, it's the
elements... next time I'm bringing my headlamp and some Vortex.

But we actually made it to the top alright...3 hours too early.  So we're at the
top and none of the shops are open because we were so early, and it's still pitch
 black and freezing and windy.  So we're looking around for any kind of shelter
from the wind at least and we found this room that had a generator in it.  The
generator was giving off some heat and the room protected us from the wind so we
thought we were good to go.  Oh no. It turns out that this generator is burning
gas and there are fumes consuming the room.  So we have to leave to door open so
that we don't die of asphyxiation and so the wind and cold come into the room. 
All I wanted to do was sleep, but I was afraid that every breath I took would be
my last because the air was so thin and half of what I was breathing was gas fumes.
Of course just sitting there doing nothing, I fell asleep, and when I woke up I
didn't know where I was and I just started freaking out.  I realized everything
was okay and saw that outside people were showing up and the shops were open. 
I bought a bowl of ramen noodles for about seven dollars (a bargain at twice the
price for the state I was in) to warm up and me and we watched the sunrise.

That was the coolest thing I've ever seen in my life.  It totally made the hell
of climbing up and my several near death experiences totally worth it. We had to
climb down after that which wasn't too bad. It took about 2 hours, but it killed
my knees.  I've got my stick, which ended up costing about 40 dollars because you
have to pay to get it stamped at all the stations on the way up, but it was worth
it.  Maybe I'll let you touch it if you're lucky.

After the climb we went to a traditional Japanese hotel/resort in Nagano. All I
wanted to do was take a shower and go to sleep, but when we got into our room, there
 were no beds and no shower.  The beds, apparently were roll out mats, that were
suprisingly comfortable.  And the shower was at the end of the hall where all the
 women showered together.  Holy crap!! I was so not down for that.  Of course my
mother gets a big kick out of that and doesn't care who sees her naked so she jumps
right in.  I was not all about that though because I don't let anybody see me naked. 
I wanted to go in with my bathing suit though, because it was really cool. It looked
like somebody's really cool backyard with a cool pool and hot tub and stuff and it
was inside and outside.  I had to wait around for about a half hour for it to be
empty so I could take pictures of it.  I'll show you guys the pics when I get back,
they're pretty cool. One of the guys on our trip had a shower in his room though
so I used his, thank God. I was covered head to toe in dirt.

Then we went to a traditional Japanese dinner where we wore robes and drank a ton of
sake.  One of the Americans with us said, "Were else in the world can you sit in your
underwear and get drunk with a big group of strangers?"  Pretty much sums up our dinner
and it was the most fantastic experience. It was really delicious and we ate a ton
of food and got hammered. Kampai!

So that was my Mt. Fuji story.  Pretty crazy, huh?  I'm going to Osaka this
weekend and hopefully I'll have some less death-defying tales to tell you.  No
insane hiking this weekend, just more drinking and site-seeing.

Love you guys, glad to be alive, talk to you later...

Kathleen

In retrospect, this day could have been put to better use, but what is done is done. Was addicted to the idea of seeing Mt Fuji up close so I elected to do a day of travel. I took the Shinkansen back up to Hakone and bought a Odakyu Fuji Day pass entitling me to unlimited use of all possible modes of transportation around the Hakone/Mt Fuji area. From the train station, I ended up on the Odakyu "Romance Car" train-- Romance for it's plush salmon-flesh colored seats complete with lace antimacassers. This led to another smaller train that switch-backed its way up the side of a mountain through a sea of hydrangeas in bloom. Beyond this was a cable car that rose along the side of the mountain, which led to a rope way station. From the rope way station at the other end, one takes a bus back down to lake level to catch the last thing one would expect: the Louis d'Or-- piece of real life Disney. At this pass it became pointedly clear to me that I would not be Mt. Fuji that day--it was so cloudy I couldn't even see the other shore until we were out on the water. It is very hard to imagine that you can be at the foot of a mountain and not even be able to tell it is there, but apparently this sort of thing is common with Fuji. After the boat, it was a bus back to the main train station. After an hour I was starting to wonder whether I'd some how gotten on the wrong bus. It was worrisome because I was not entirely sure I would know what to pay if I had to-- it seemed there was a system based on distance being illustrated on a light board above the driver. I made my train by running and headed back south.

However, the day was not a total loss. The only other people foolish enough to attempt this endeavor on a cloudy day were a whole pack of Japanese senior citizens. This is my favorite demographic in any nation and it seems the feeling is mutual. Everyone was incredibly welcoming to me--asking me where I was from, how my trip was going, what I liked best thus far. Many of them had come to university in the United States (in the early 40's) but their english was still impecable. There was a general curiousity as to what I'd been taught about Japan in school... the specter of war is still there.

There are many hot springs all over Japan and they are worth a visit as its a great experience however, at first many people may find it daunting to get naked in front of strangers. It's really worth the experience I recommend being brave and just do it. Here are a few tips on how the process works. * First you enter the change area and there is a basket and or coin lockers to put your towel and clothes in. If you stay in a traditional japanese style inn (Ryokan) you may already only be wearing yukata (cotton robe)so you place your things in the basket or coin locker. * There are no swimming suits allowed however some people take a small hand towel known as a modesty towel used for privacy. * Next you enter the washroom area you will see rows of taps and small stools as well as a washbowl. * You sit on the stool and in front of you will find body wash, shampoo and conditioner. So you wash off using the tap and bowl or sometimes its a shower head and tap so you can use either. You mostly have to clean your body its not necessary to wash your hair if you dont want to. Make sure to clean up your area. * After you have washed off and rinsed down you can enter the hot spring bath the water tempertaure is normally between 38 degrees to 44 degrees. At first it can be very hot so enter slowly and dont move around too much the more you tend to move around the hotter it seems. If you start to feel too hot you can exit and sit on the side half in and half out this is okay. * When you have soaked enough and want to leave don't wash yourself down again if you want the water and the minerals to help your skin. * Exit the wash area and go back into the dressing area to dry off and put your clothes back on. *** NOTE - in most places there are hair dryers, chair and mirros provided, brushes sometimes so if you washed your hair you can dry it here. Taking a hot spring bath is a great experience and I highly recommend doing it. *

There is so much to see and do in Hakone National Park area its hard to know where to begin. I recommend purchasing the Hakone Free Pass or Hakone weekday pass which is even cheaper if you travel up there on weekday. The Hakone free pass is valid for 3 consecutive days and the Hakone weekday pass is valid for 2 consecutive days. You can purchase the pass at 3 major JR (Japan Rail) stations - Shinjuku, Machida or Odawara. The pass allows you to take the train up to Hakone, use all the transportation in the area and gives you discounts into some of the attractions. Its great value for money. The best way to see all of Hakone is to start with the Hakone round course. Once you arrive in Hakone start at the Hakone-Yumoto train station. Here are the details of the Hakone round course. * Hakone Yumoto station take the Bus to the Amazake-Chaya Tea house and get off here. Just back and to the left behind the tea house is the start of the Old Tokaido Highway. Make sure you go left and start walking along the Old Tokaido Highway. * Note the road can be a little uneven and steep in parts of it also you need to cross the main road at one point. * Follow this down to the end and you will come out at Moto Hakone. * To the left you will go down the street and see a big red tori gate if you go past this you can walk down Acient Cedar Avenue. * From here you can take the boat on Lake Ashi to Togendai. Get off in Togendai there are a few resturants around here. * From Togendai take the Hakone Ropeway to Owakudani. * Owakudani is a huge crator that puts out sulfurous fumes and in the area is a hot spring you can go to as well as try one of the famous black eggs cooked by the sulfur fumes. It is believed to be good for your health. There is a small souviner shop in the area. * From Owakudani you can take the Hakone Ropeway across the valley to Sounzan. * From Sounzan take the cable car to Gora. * Gora station area there are a few shops and also Gora Park is in the area. I recommend going to Gora Park its beautiful. * From Gora take the train back to Hakone-Yumoto station. This is the round course. It took from 9am to 4pm to do this. Either when you purchase the Hakone Free pass or Hakone weekday pass or When you arrive at Hakone Yumoto train station be sure to pick up timetables for all of the transportation so you can plan your day. Across the road from the Hakone-Yumoto station is a tourist information centre. I recommend taking food, snacks and drinks with you to have a long the way. There are shops, convience store and resturants around the Hakone-Yumoto station area. Otherwise till you get to Moto Hakone or Gora there isn't much else between where you can buy food. At the end of the day why not try one of the many Hot springs or even stay overnight at one of the Hot spring hotels. My recommendation is Kappa Tengoku which is a 3 min walk just above the Hakone Yumoto station or take the free shuttle bus just outside the Hakone Yumoto train station to Hakone Begonia Garden Himeshara Hot Springs. It's 1050 Yen for just the bath and 1450 Yen for the bath and the begonia garden. Kappa Tengoku http://www.japanhotel.net/kappa/ Hakone Begonia Garden http://www.hakone-begoniaen.com/ If you want to stay at a hot spring hotel I recommend staying at Hakone Tenseien there are 5 different hot springs in this hotel. I stayed at the attched part of the hotel called HIENKAKU Annex in the Garden view Japanese style room its cheaper than staying at the Tenseien hotel and will give you a traditional Japanese experience rather than a western style stay. I didn't take the breakfast or dinner and it was very reasonable to stay there around 6,500 yen per person per night if its during the week. http://homepage2.nifty.com/tenseien_eng/index.html http://travel.rakuten.co.jp/en/ I highly recommend Hakone as a must see while in Japan.

I recently stayed at this hotel in Hakone. Its part of the Tensien Hotel but in a seperate building next door. It is located about 12 minutes from the Hakone-Yumoto train station and you can take a taxi for around 1,500 yen. Returning back to the station is an orange bus that leaves from the front of the Tensien Hotel and cost 100 yen. The area around the hotel is very pretty and there is a waterfall at the back of the hotel. There are approximately 5 onsens in the hotel both indoor and outdoor. They are located in the Annex part and the hotel next door which you go into and can use the onsens located there also. They are seperate sexes so one for men and one for woman certain times are allocated for each onsen for men and womans use. Then they change at allocated times so you would have a chance to go in each of the onsens should you wish. The rooms are Japanese style and divided into two seperate areas a sitting area with lounge chairs and then the traditional Japanese tatami room. You are given traditional japanese bedding futons which you put out yourself. The hotel ammenties include: TV, Hot water and Green tea, Air conditioning, Heating, Telephone, Refrigerator, Hair Dryer, Soap, Shampoo, Rinse, Toothbrush, Razor, Shower Cap, Comb, Brush, Bathrobe (Japanese Style), towels. Your room also has private bath, shower and toilet. Also available in the hotel Restaurant, Night Club, Midnight Snack Corner, Banquet Hall, Conference Room, Spa, Japanese Outdoor Bath, Vending Machine, Game Center, and Table Tennis . The cost per person per night for the room was 6,500 yen which didnt included breakfast or dinner. I recommend buying some food and drink from the local convience store by the station and the room has a refridgerator so you can put food and drink in there. The room I had over looked a japanese style garden with pond and Japanese Koi fish. Although the building it self is a little old it is still clean and comfortable as well as affordable. I can highly recommend this hotel.

Well as an urban/european type of guy, I  didn't know about how great mother nature could be  untill I was introduced to Japanese "Onsen"
What more can I say ? just try it, and I promise  just like Stevie Wonder and me, you won't regret it .The one I ve been to has got a website but Japanese is needed though >>here's the link :

http://www.hakone-yamatoya.com/

For more pictures, watch mine  on my website :

http://etok.free.fr/nippon.html


I ll be glad to know some more so don't hesitate to share your  knowledge with me

The day's agenda included:

Multiple transportation experiences in Hakone...

• Trainride from Tokyo to Hakone
• Busride to Lake Ashi
• Walk along the Ancient Cedar Avenue
• Boatride through Like Ashi
• Cablecar ride on the Hakone Roapway
• Trainride to the Open-Air Art Museum
• Busride to the Yunessun Onsen
• Trainride from Hakone to Tokyo

Dinner in a Kaiseki-ryori

There is no shortage of wacky and wonderful experiences in Japan. Yunessun is an aquatic theme park in Hakone, close to Mount Fuji.  There is a multitude of traditional onsen hot baths, pools, restaurants, shops and salons here to guarantee a whole day’s excitement. I chose to spend time in the section where swimwear is required and headed straight for the outdoor pools filled with unusual liquids: coffee (to assist fatigued skin), red wine (Cleopatra allegedly bathed in it), green tea (to enhance the immune system) and Japanese sake rice wine (they say it increases the skin’s beauty, but I think it’s just for fun). Clearly reading my thoughts, a sign states in Japanese and English, “Do not drink”.
There are also a number of indoor baths and pools with different themes. I floated in the Dead Sea Spa and relaxed in the Ancient Roman Bath. I absentmindedly joined a queue for a pool filled with tiny fish. Suddenly, a group of us were instructed to sit on the edge of the pool and dip our feet in. The tiny fish swarmed around my toes and began to nibble at the dead skin. It was a little unnerving, but much more fun than a pumice stone.