Hakone Lake Ashi: Wed 27 Sept 06

For the Autumn Holidays, Julie and I went to Hakone. As soon as we arrived from Tokyo (the trip took 2 hours by train), it was pouring cats and dogs. So we waited a little and finally 3 hours later, arrived a beautiful sunny day. We went to Lake Ashi hoping to see Mt. Fuji, but sadly, it wasn't visible throughout our whole trip (or more like I couldn't recognise it without the famous snowcap). Lake Ashi is quite famous, especially the shot of the lake with the red 'torii' gate.

A snapshot from the 'Pirate Ship'
The whole day was packed with riding all sorts of transportation, we began with the train from Shinjuku to Hakone, then took a bus to the B&B (checked in, waited for the rain to pass) and then took a bus to the lake. There we got onto a Pirate Ship ferry, then onto a Ropeway up the mountain. There the volcano was still active, steam from the hot springs were spurting out everywhere and the air stank of sulfur. After eating the famous 'black eggs' of the mountain, we took a cable car down the mountain, and another train back to the station. Then another bus back to the B&B. The route took around 5 hours.

At night, we jumped into the hot spa of the B&B (similar to a hot spring). I thought I would test this out first before trying out the real thing, but I didn't even last 5 minutes! I was out of there by 10. It was too hot, and I was getting dizzy and lethargic. It was also my first experience having to strip bare naked with strangers ( just us girls laa...) Aiyo, malu betul, but I got over it fast. We have to shower first before getting in. Once that was over, I slowly dragged myself up to bed for a good nights sleep. On the way up to the room, I stopped by the vending machine to get some chips. The vending machines in Japan sell almost everything! From socks and towels to microwaved ready made pasta. They're one of my favourite things about Japan.

For more pictures: Click on the link 'Hakone' under links on the right column