I really wanted to get out of Tokyo for a day. The city was too much for me. It is as I say too packed with people and everywhere you go it’s a consumerists environment. I wanted some open space with no skyscrapers in sight. I wanted to see mount Fuji but this time of year it’s cold with possible snow. Kyoto was also on my list but was a little too far for a day trip. Besides everyone suggested staying there for a few days to enjoy the shrines. Maybe next time. My best bet for a day trip was a 2 hour train trip to Hakone. It was suggested that on a clear day Fuji was a good sight from here.

Hakone is a small mountainous town that the locals seem to flock to to get away from the hustle and bustle of metropolitan Tokyo. After an 80 min train ride I ended up at the base of Hakone. It was a rather fun trip up to the lake. Tourists get to ride in different modes of transportation (train, cable car, gondola and boat ride). At the top of the gondola you get your first glimpse of Mt. Fuji from the hot springs. It was pretty cloudy that day so I saw Mt. Fuji for roughly about 5 mins before it hid itself behind the sweeping clouds. The hot springs were interesting to see. The smell was awful. It smelled like someone farted and it lingered on forever. I walked around for about 20 mins checking out the different springs and taking photos before I got tired of the smell. The next cable car took us down to the lake where I got to cruise around on a pirate ship a la “Pirates of the Carribean”. It was cool and very touristy. Standing on the deck was a great feeling as the cool air breezed by. It took roughly 20 mins to get to the other side of the lake. There wasn’t much on the other end. Just a few souvenir stores and restaurants. I boarded a bus back to the bottom of Hakone and started the long trek back to Tokyo. Not too bad a day.