Hakone, Kanagawa, Japan
Jackson and Abigail's 10 Fun Facts About Japan.
41. Everything is automatic with the Shinkansen toilet seats. They automatically go up and down for you upon a hand wave in front of the sensor. Same with the flushing. No need to get any germs. But we still wash our hands!
42. You have to take your shoes off before entering a store change room to try on clothes.
43. The city of Hakone has been designated as a Geopark by UNESCO for its unique flora and fauna.
44. For a country with few children, they have very child friendly toilets. Most toilet cubicles have a seat to put a young child in. There is often a boys area in the ladies toilets for mums to let their sons use. They also have an additional seat to flip down for young toilet users.
45. Whenever you have to queue, lines are painted on the ground advising which way to queue. And no one jumps the queue!
46. Hakone has been a famous spa destination since the start of the Edo period in 1605.
47. Hakone is located at the foot of Mount Fuji.
48. The majority of Hakone is located within the volcanically active Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park centred on the shores of Lake Ashi.
49. Mount Hakone hasn't erupted in over 2,900 years.
50. There is a belief that eating the Hakone Black Eggs will add seven years to your life. Read more below...
Mum took one look out of the window this morning and suggested to Dad that maybe we relax for another hour before heading out. For those of you who know our mum, you know this is an unusual statement.
We realised why when we headed out just after 8am (Dad said no to the extra hour indoors). It was freezing and raining. Us kids were excited to don our waterproof jackets and pants. We headed back up the mountain. The temperature gauge said it was 3.5'C. Mum wished she had her thicker thermals, fleece and Gortex about now. You can imagine Mum was less than thrilled to hear we had to wait 20 minutes before the first gondola started for the day in an unheated waiting area. She was, however, kept entertained by the seven men who spent the 20 minutes we waited (and likely longer as they were already there when we arrived, mopping an area of floor about five metres square. She couldn't help asking Dad how many Japanese men it took to mop a floor. She said we would need at least 30 to mop our house!!!
As we entered the gondola, the info sign advised that as we had predicted, Mount Fuji was not visible today. We were all glad we had taken a gondola ride late yesterday, even though we also couldn't see Mount Fuji, we did have clear views of everything else. Today, we could hardly make out anything at all and the steam from the volcanic valley merged with the clouds. So you can imagine our surprise when we crested the mountain and were greeted with a perfect view of Mount Fuji poking above the clouds. It was unbelievable. The other benefit about our early start on such a dreary day was that there was hardly anyone else there and no queues. That's right: no queues!!! We snapped away happily at Mount Fuji feeling very lucky indeed.
Down at Lake Ashi, we were ready to cruise in a pirate ship, or rather, a historic European battleship. The sun had come out and we had a pleasant wait and again were happy to be ahead of the crowds. The crowds managed to appear before the boat departed. Yes, the day trippers and tour buses had arrived! There were two options where we could disembark and we chose the first port of call as we were returning later to visit the next stop.
Views of Mount Fuji can be enjoyed crossing the lake on a clear day. The sunshine was short lived and the cold fog returned, and there were definitely no views of Mount Fuji. It didn't take long to explore Hakonemachi-Ko, where we chose to disembark. We passed our Intrepid Tour group friends again, as we were all ticking the same boxes!
There were many people selling the black hard boiled eggs, which are just normal eggs boiled in the hot natural spring water containing sulphur and iron for 60 minutes at 80' C. They are then steamed for 15 minutes at 100' C. Guaranteed to extend your life by 7 years, so they say!!!!
Abigail had spotted a photo of a suspension bridge in one of the brochures: the Mishima Skywalk. At 400 metres long, it is the longest suspension bridge in Japan. She voted that we take a stroll over it today. We all agreed and after a short bus ride, we were walking across the skywalk. Again, views of Mount Fuji can be enjoyed on a clear day, but no luck again. There were quite a few small dogs in strollers also crossing the suspension bridge.
Given there was a fenced off dog park at one end of the bridge, it appears to be a popular outing for dogs.
We had spotted some flying foxes criss-crossing across the valley as we walked across the bridge. At the other side, we were excited to discover there was an entire rope climbing and flying fox circuit. Jackson especially was dismayed to hear that you had to be 140cm tall to complete the course. He said he would like to return when he was taller. We did enjoy the longest chips / fries and yaki soba while watching others tackle the rope tree tops course. The chips were up there with the best we had ever had!
Our bus dropped us off in Motohakone-ko. It was still freezing in the hills. We walked through town to visit the Hakone-jinja Shrine. The cold wet weather combined with the fact that it was a Monday meant the crowds weren't bad. This shrine's location in the dense forest, surrounded by tall trees is simply stunning and has jumped to the top of our list as a favourite. The misty rain helped add to its allure. It also has an impressive set of torii gates in Lake Ashi. Sadly, these were surrounded by scaffolding.
Tonight, Jackson experienced his first traditional Japanese onsen. He was a bit worried about all the other naked men being present. He was fortunate that the cold damp weather meant it was just him and dad. He quite enjoyed the experience and said he would do it again if it was just him and dad!!
There are numerous open air art collections and many other art galleries in Hakone. We simply ran out of time (and the weather didn't help). If you have the time, you need a few days in Hakone. We will return when we are all taller!!
Helen
2019-04-13
Hi Travellers, Love the shots. Cute how Jackson has a sandwich for dinner. I bet we will have this scenario sometimes too. Did you guys purchase a JR pass? Hope you are really loving this experience and thanks for sharing. Helen. x