Day Seven - Mt Fuji Sightseeing

So much to see and do at this quaint little Japanese inn. The Quatre Saisons Hotel in Tonosawa, with an onsen (hot spring) is on a very narrow but busy road up in the mountains. We found it a challenge to actually cross the road as traffic was forever darting around the corners from both directions. And once on the other side, past the footpath, only a few feet of track. One would not want to be plump - we would get side-swiped by a car or truck. But perhaps the drivers are especially cautious of pedestrian traffic on this road. At one point, one car stopped and cars queued behind to let us cross. Otherwise it was Russian roulette for us.

We were required to take off our shoes at the door and put on the Japanese slippers provided. We were awestruck by the gorgeous view of rushing water outside our window and the noise of the swift flowing stream. Just as it had been advertised online. Last night we dined for the first time in their restaurant - fish and a host of Japanese delicacies on the side, along with rice, soup and seaweed. Our beds had lovely kimonos spread on the doona and in the cupboard were heavier kimono top coats for wearing to dinner if we wished.
This morning we arrived in the dining room to be greeted by our waitress who lit the little gas burners on our table for our pork miso soup to begin boiling. Our fish was grilled and accompanied by several pickles, tofu and mushy pickled plums (umeboshi - Lesley's favourite) to be eaten with the rice and crisp seaweed. So much to eat - we couldn't devour it all. As we sometimes eat Japanese

cuisine at home, Tony has already mastered ChopSticks 101 so he was fairly competent with his utensils. Can be quite a challenge to eat a flat grilled fish with nothing but chopsticks.
Lesley was happy to crack the raw egg over the rice, as by the time it reaches one's mouth it has fairly well cooked itself into the steaming rice. Delicious taste of yore! Why do we always cook an egg? Though today they warn us on cake mix packs not to consume raw egg - dangers abound. But millions of Japanese eat them every day. Something to ponder.
Ah, just read the onsen breakfast note for foreigners and they tell us they are 'onsen tamago' - hot spring eggs and have actually been held in the hot water long enough to render them edible with no ill effects. Looked and behaved like a typical raw egg to us.
Today we spent the day sightseeing around Hakone and had our first glimpses of Mt Fuji from Lake Ashi, a crater lake which looks quite serene. We boarded the 'pirate ship' and sailed across the lake taking in the beautiful scenery from all angles. Fuji is often covered with mist and cloud and we were lucky to see it fairly unhindered today. We had bought our Hakone Freepass to easily ride on all the transport options. From the ship, we saw the red torii gates to the Hakone-jinja shrine, which contrasts well with the blue of the mountains and lake and the green lush landscape.

We stopped for a good half hour at a little village, Ashinoko-chaya where we ordered coffee and cheesecake at a restaurant with a view.
Later we rode on the Hakone Sky Gondola with a 360 degree panorama view of the volcanic mountains all round. One of the stops on the way was Owakudani, a station between Sounzan and Togendai. This was the highlight of the day for Tony as he loves volcanoes. Owakudani is a volcanic valley with active sulphur vents and hot springs. Created around 3000 years ago it is a popular tourist site. They sell kuro-tamago (black eggs), a local specialty of eggs hard-boiled in the hot springs. The eggs turn black and smell slightly sulphuric. The Japanese believe that eating one of these eggs will add seven years to your life! They didn't look appetising so we decided not to try and we'll take our chances.
We rode on the Hakone Tozan Railway which is Japan's oldest mountain railway and winds around narrow and densely wooded valleys, over bridges, through tunnels and stops at small stations. It is a cog (or rack) railway where one or more toothed cog wheels mesh with the rail track. It is used for steep gradients above 7 to 10 percent. An interesting point is that it has three switchbacks where it reverses a short distance, then continues on another upward sloping track. Lesley remembers that Bob Mackie who loved trains really enjoyed the ride of this tozan (mountain-climbing) train when Laurie and Bob visited Japan several decades ago.
However, when it came to the Sky Gondola, Bob, like Des O'Regan was relieved when we heard that it was not up and running that day due to extreme winds. Instead, we took a bus to the next stop.

The upper section of the track from Hakone-Yumoto to Gora is more spectacular with hydrangea bushes along the track. Most had finished their blooming. We really enjoyed our day of sightseeing and instead of taking the bus back to our hotel, we took another train where we exited at a little station and found our way back along a pedestrian bush track to the roadway. From there we saw other views of our hotel across the stream.
We enjoyed our breakfasts and dinners immensely, including salty eel, and the service was excellent. Several guests wore their heavy kimonos as jackets over their cotton ones in the dining room. Several young Japanese couples seemed to like this option. We wore our kimonos in our room and sipped the hot green tea from the chawans (teacups) provided, as we took in the views outside. Lesley ventured into the onsen (hot spring bath) on another level of the hotel and found it to be beautifully maintained with fragrant soaps and shampoos, and hair dryers and soft towels for a luxurious pamper.