Japan 2016.Day 13: Hakone mini break....

Today, we took a mini break from Tokyo and visited Hakone, a beautiful mountainous hot spring town. We rode on Japan's oldest railway, the Tozan line, which passed through stunning scenery with three switchbacks. Then, we took the cable car, which was a carriage pulled up a steep incline by a large cable. Upon reaching the top, we were provided with masks and then took the rope walk (which was a cable car) to Owakudani. It's a walking and hiking area around a crater caused by an eruption of Mount Hakone 3000 years ago. Unfortunately, all the trails were closed due to the volcanic gases, so we had to wear masks throughout the visit. 



Upon reaching the top of the mountain, it felt like we had stepped into an apocalypse as we looked over the edge at the active sulphur gases spurting out of the earth.


Later we made our way back to our hotel. It was amazing!!!!! The rooms were traditional Japanese style, very sleek and minimal with an outdoor pool with 40-degree water fed from a natural hot spring.







We were served an incredible meal, which was definitely an experience in more ways than one. It took 2 1/2 hours, and we tried some food that we had never come across before.
















And finally our dessert .......not before a soak in the tub and a bed on the 
floor. It was a perfect ending to a perfect day. evening.




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