A day in the mountains

After another jet-lagged night fighting sleep we woke up late. We had planned to take a trip out of Tokyo to the mountains and so had to make a quick exit from the hotel in order to make the train in time.

Paul navigated his way through Shinjuku station, which is the busiest in the world, to find the ticket booth and the train - called the Odakyu line which runs both commuter trains and the prestige Romance express. A day pass, called the Hakone Freepass covers the train journey we were about to take plus all the local transport through the day.

The journey took us through the suburbs of Tokyo south to a place called Hakone-Yumoto. This is the gateway to the Hakone mountain area widely used as a holiday destination by the locals. We didn't stop long here - only time enough to catch a two-car mountain train which slowly winds through the forest, reversing direction a couple of times just to get up to its destination Gora. We stopped at Gora for a quick bite to eat - the guide book had said there is nothing particular to see there and so we wandered on to the next form of transport; a funicular railway up the first part of the Sounzan mountain and from there quickly onto the Hakone Ropeway, a cable car with spectacular views of the mountain and its surroundings.

At the half way point of the Ropeway is an opportunity to stop and see the remaining volcanic activity at Owakaduni with hot sulphur vents and springs. A strong smell of sulphur hung in the air and the hot springs are also used to cook a local delicacy - black eggs. So, after a bracing stroll up to the springs and back we headed for the second part of the ropeway this time heading down the other side of the hill to Lake Ashi and a boat trip with a difference. A pirate ship. Yes really. Boat trips across the lake are run with modern boats built as pirate ships; there doesn't seem to be any reason for this.

The scenery from the boat was beautiful - the lake is 11km in circumference and so pretty large and is very good for fishing black bream and trout. On a good day you get a beautiful reflection of Mount Fuji - it wasn't a good day so we were not given that sight. The trip takes 1/2 hour and after getting off Paul's tour guide skills kicked in and he navigated the bus network to take us on a bus trip back up the mountains to a little station to get the mountain train again back up to Gora and then back down the mountain again.

We got our train back to Tokyo and were glad of the rest the hour long journey gave us. Once back at Shinjuku we were placed right back in amongst the commuters going back home and to get their dinner. We walked round a station food court seeing if there was anything that took our fancy. Amazing that most of the restaurants made you pay up front at the entrance via a ticket machine and then you are seated and given your food. As it was all in japanese we gave this a miss and went to Shibuya to see if we could find something we could understand more. This is the home of the famous crossing - you stand at the crossing and once the green man shows up you cross with a thousand other pedestrians. Amazing !! We went away from the crowds a little bit and found the TGI Fridays that Paul had eaten in previously - we were very happy - especially Emma who could eventually eat chicken fingers and fries instead of noodles.

After our dinner we made our way back to the station and took in the colourful sight of the crossing again - still busy even though it was 9pm. We eventually got back to our hotel 13 hours after we left - a beautiful day full of sights and the beautiful peaceful mountains. We can understand why so many make the day trip there.

We need to recharge our batteries now - so hoping sleep will come a little easier tonight. It certainly should.Read more