A day that just kept giving….

We were lucky to have been able to take any photos here as when we passed later there was a huge queue of people waiting to ‘capture the moment.’ Giving the impression to the folks back home that this is a quiet place of tranquillity and contemplation as opposed to teeming throngs wondering how to achieve the best selfie.We went up the mountain to the cable car and the road was blocked and we were told would be for some time. It had felt quite ominous as we climbed up the mountain range as a snake slowly slithered across the road in front of us, so slowly and without a care in the world that we had to stop. It was brown with black markings so could have been an adder or a mamushi which is even worse, safe to say I was very glad of the fact I had the car between me and it. It has made me wary.So plan B was put into place and we drove to Hakone ropeway and managed to get a Hakone pass that saved us huge amounts of money with many things free and lots of discounts elsewhere.

When visibility is good you are supposed to have panoramic views of Mount Fuji but I can imagine that happens very rarely. As a result at the bottom of the ropeway you can have your picture taken with a sunny backdrop of Mount Fuji for a price.

However you do get really great views of Lake Ashinoko and other mountains in the area. Going up in the cable car we saw blankets of bamboo covering the mountainside. The cooler air at the top was a godsend.A short walk away, on the actual peak of Komagatake, stands the Hakone Shrine Mototsumiya, the original original one and I can see that if Mount Fuji were visible this would have been a very spiritual place.

This is what the view should look like, there was an old photo in the departure area at the top, probably the last time it had been glimpsed as the mist generally covers it.When we came back down we could hear really loud drumming so went to investigate. It was amazing, four talented young people and two adults.Taiko is an ancient Japanese form of percussion using large drums. The drums range in size from roughly a snare drum (“shime”), to drums as large as a car (the “o-daiko”). The most common drum size in taiko is the “chu-daiko” which is the size of a wine barrel. It is incredibly loud and energetic, I was mesmerised.

We then were able to go on the boat tour which again was part of the pass. A few facts I learnt on the trip – only because it was repeated a lot by the commentator. The lake is 20 miles in circumference and never freezes as it never gets 4 degrees. Also the lake is a crater lake formed between a tricone volcanic ridge. A geographers dream! For me it looked pretty and it was cool – a bonus.

It stopped off at different points around the lake and there was time to pop into shops etc. Brilliant as we were able to have a cheeky ice cream!Hitting dry land again from where we began meant we had time for the aquarium (also included in the pass). A lot of it was good but some parts, the seals and turtles not so, I later messaged them.As we were leaving the aquarium there was a Osaka conservation tent with huge beetles. From what I could gather it was about trying to break barriers between these bugs and humans.

It was HUGE!After this we decided to have a break. At Christmas my mum. Gave us 4000 yen and we really wanted to spend it on something special. With that in mind we went to Kowakien Yunnesan, an onsen theme park. A benefit is you can use wear swimming costumes and it’s mixed. It should have close 5000 yen but managed a reduction.I didn’t take my phone in so have downloaded photos. We soaked in a wine onsen, a coffee one and a green tea one. Odd experience to say the least. There was a more traditional area outside
With three different temperatures of water where you could sit back and soak up the views. It was great. Another part had a cave system with tropical fish. There was lots more but a very memorable way of spending Xmas money!I spoilt it by loosing my bra! God knows why. I searched high and low to no avail. So had to ask at reception. Lots of sign language and embarrament later it had well and truly walked!