Hakone

Hakone reminds me of Cheddar Gauge or some such touristy but pleasant UK holiday hot spot and is packed with Japanese pensioner day trippers, odd couples (young woman + older man!!) and families. Ric and I felt very young and Western!

The route around town and across the lake to see Mount Fuji is easy and perfect for the old or lazy! We hardly had to walk an inch with our so-called Free Pass (about 20 quid) which got us on a train, then cable cars, then a boat and finally a bus back to the start. As the photos demonstrate we didn't actually see a damn thing at the top, just an awful lot of fog! Ah well, we got the idea.

The Japanese are experts in the art of facilities, ie. ensuring there a loos, vending machines, restaurants and gift shops absolutely everywhere, though not rubbish bins. You'd think there would be rubbish everywhere as a result but not so - the place is immaculate, even Tokyo! People don't leave a trace!

Our guesthouse, which was half way up the hill behind the train station in Hakone, has a natural hot spring to bathe in, or at least dunk - it's so hot! The place is a real sanctuary, though they booted us out pretty sharpish at 10am the next morning! Ric was predicatably mesmorised by the notion of loo slippers, or 'poo slippers'. I think I'd better get him some for back home.

I'm having a lot of odd convoluted dreams. Even dreams about having dreams.