Tokyo Three

On our third day, we took a day trip to an area outside of Tokyo called Hakone.  It's a mountainous area near Mt. Fuji.  The pretext for the trip was a visit to the small town of Hatajuku, where they make a very special kind of wood mosaic work called Yosegi Zaiku.  Because the area abounds in a wide variety of trees with different colored woods, the craftsman who work there are able to create beautifully colored patterned wood objects out of the natural colors of the wood.   I collect these things, and the others very nicely came along on my quest.   The trip is a fascinating one, and involves a number of modes of transportation.   We started on the "Romance Car" special train to Hakone Yumoto, and from there we took a small bus up a very windy mountain road to Hatajuku.  (I was reminded of the Swiss Postal buses, which do similar things.)   After Hatajuku, we took another bus to a small town on the shores of Lake Ashi, where we boarded a pirate ship (!) for a trip on the beautiful mountain lake which features views of Mt. Fuji.

I have to say that Mt. Fuji is a truly awesome sight; it towers over the adjacent landscape, and has a nearly perfect shape.

And the end of the lake, we left the pirate ship and boarded our next mode of transportation, an aerial cable car.  This cable car takes you over the mountains to an area called Owakudani ("Great Boiling Valley"), which features volcanic activity, including steam and sulphur vents.  In fact, the area is so active currently that access is closed, and part of the cable car is shut down.  You are allowed to go nearby, but you have to stay inside and given emergency breathing masks.

And some practical advice:

So we went back down the cable car part way, with a last view of Mt. Fuji, and boarded a bus to meet up with our next mode of transportation, a cable controlled rail car which took us on the steep descent to the mountain town of Gora.

Gora is a spa town (the whole area is filled with hot springs).  We wandered around the town a bit, and saw a beautifully planted park.

Then we boarded an old fashioned mountain railway, which went through many small towns and switchbacks, before arriving back at the main line at Hakone Yumoto.  On the train, Vera and Lynn engaged a group of school girls in practicing English and Japanese.   And then back to the "romance car" for the trip back to Tokyo, and a late night dinner in Nagano.   It was quite a trip for one day.