Hakone trip/ Mount Fuji!

At the start of this year I took a trip with my lovely mum to Kyoto and Tokyo (sorry this is a few months late...). During our travels we decided to try the Hakone round trip which I'd heard good things about, and which is supposed to offer great views of Mount Fuji.

You can see more detailed information about the trip here: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5210.html

Our quest began with a ride on the romance car from Shinjuku Station (Tokyo) to Hakone, which is about 1 hour journey. I definitely recommend paying the extra money for the romance car, as it is much faster than a local train and you get great views of the countryside surrounding Tokyo!

The round trip consists of various different means of transportation (all included in the day pass which you can buy at Shinjuku station), including a cable car, ropeway and even a pirate ship!

We stopped off for lunch in Gora, where we also had a wander around Gora Park with a stunning backdrop of forests and mountains...

Strange cabbage like flowers!

A traditional tea house!

The park also had a small greenhouse with many gorgeous plants and fruit trees!

A wild Izzy appears!

Next we caught the ropeway which took us up to Sounzan...

Unfortunately the cable car wasn't running due to recent volcanic activity, with only the last bit open to the public. Instead we had to take a short bus ride for the majority of this section of the route. However, when the cable car is open as normal visitors can make a trip to Owakudani, where you can purchase eggs cooked in the naturally hot water and are blackened by the sulphur. I'm so sad we weren't able to see this during our trip!!

From where we could go, you could just see steam rising up off the mountain side!

On the other hand, with our trip being in winter the sky was beautifully clear and we got some fantastic shots of Mount Fuji in all it's glory!

Next from Togendai to Hakone- machi you can take a pirate ship!! The pirate ship takes you across Lake Ashi, where you are surrounded by the stunning mountains!

                            

A hidden building in the trees!

Overall, the round trip can seem fairly pricey but I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for beautiful scenery and fantastic views of the iconic Fuji-San! I think we chose a good time to go because it wasn't very busy, I imagine in summer it can get rather crowded! Also the winter air meant clearer skies and better views!

Bye bye Mt Fuji!

I'm a little sad that I didn't get a chance to climb Mount Fuji during my time in Japan (even though I'm sure it is hard work!), but I feel this opportunity to see Mount Fuji made me realise just how immense and impressive it really is!

On another note, only 3 weeks left in Japan!! I'll try my best to get some more posts up before my departure!