My school is open just four days a week. That gives me a lot of time to explore Japan and enjoy hobbies too.
At the end of May I took a trip to HAKONE . My wife’s family including her mother, sister, sister’s son and daughter and their spouses and children joined. We left on Sunday and returned on Monday evening.
If you haven’t yet taken a trip via the Japan Railway’s SHINKANSEN train, you have a treat in store for you. The ride is so fast and smooth, you can barely tell you are moving if you don’t look out the window. And if the weather is good, your view from the cabin will be fantastic. Be sure to try one of the lunch boxes for sale at the station or on the train. They offer a good variety of delicious choices.
Take Time to Explore
From ODAWARA we took the HAKONE TOZAN DENSHA up the mountain. We experienced the three switchbacks needed to reach GOHRA. From there we took a cable car and a ropeway which crossed OWAKUDANI valley. The view was amazing and luckily on this particular day the sulfur fumes were blown away from our gondola as the wind was in our favor. The view of OWAKUDANI valley is really out of this world!
Mt. Fuji was spectacular as it seemed to be floating on a cloud. At the upper terminal of the ropeway we tried hardboiled eggs cooked in the hot spring known as “black eggs”.
Amazing Level of Patience
Unfortunately we had to cut our visit short and rush back to ODAWARA to catch our SHINKANSEN back to SHIN-OSAKA Station. Boy was that bus was packed! It being a weekday I kept wondering if it was like that every day. If so, those poor people who use that bus for their daily commute must be some of the most patient people on the planet. It takes a lot of time for all us tourists to come up with exact change for the fare. To make matters worse we had two strollers and a wheel chair that partial blocked their path to the exit.
All in all it was a very fun trip but I think I’ll rent a car in HAKONE next time to get around to the local sites more easily. Oh well, live and learn I guess!
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