Mount Fuji is located in Hakone National Park. Apparently, the top of the mountain is often shrouded in fog but if there is one place to catch the best view of the magnificent peak, it is from a ferry boat on Lake Ashi.
The Hakone Shrine is located lakeside. The shrine buildings are hidden in the dense forest, but are well advertised by its huge red torii gate one standing prominently in the waters of the lake.
Japan is a volcanically active country so it's not surprising to learn that Hakone is an active volcanic zone where sulfurous fumes, hot springs and hot rivers can be experienced. I've put it on our Hakone itinerary to visit Owakudani ("Great Boiling Valley") which is a volcanic valley with active sulphur vents and hot springs.
Aside from walking around the volcanic landscape, a "must do" when visiting Owakudani is to try the kuro-tamago, a local specialty of eggs hard-boiled in the sulphur water of the hot springs. The minerals in the water color the shell black as the eggs cook. The boiled eggs turn black.
Apparently,they smell slightly sulphuric but taste like an ordinary egg on the inside. It is said that consuming the eggs will increase longevity - one egg will add seven years to your life! For some reason, it is said that you may eat up to two and a half for up to seventeen and a half years, but eating a whole third is said to be highly unadvised. Hmmmm....given my love of eggs, I think I'll just end up with a belly full of egg as it will be hard for me to stop at just two and a half :-)
Factoring in the train ride from Tokyo, we won't be spending much time in Hakone as we have to leave early the next morning for Takayama. It's going to be hurried visit but we're going to cram in as much as we can and if we have to forgo anything in our visit, it will be the shrines and the museums. Lots of those to see on the rest of our trip. Hakone will be all about nature. Mount Fuji, Lake Ashi and Owakudani.....here we come!
