Little Happenings in Life: Japan Trip Day 4

Japan Trip Day 4

(21-10-2008)

Breathtaking scenery from our hotel room.

And therefore, Dear decided to pose for some photos.

''Silly Thing'' t-shirt from our Hong Kong trip '07.

Getting ready for our hotel breakfast.

Our breakfast

Hakone is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, less than 100 kilometers from Tokyo. Famous for hot springs, outdoor activities, natural beauty and the view of nearby Mt. Fuji, Hakone is one of the most popular destinations among Japanese and international tourists looking for a break from Tokyo.

Mount Fuji

The clouds and poor visibility often block the view of Mount Fuji, and you have to consider yourself lucky if you get a clear view of the mountain. Visibility tends to be better during the colder seasons of the year than in summer, and in the early morning and late evening hours.

Mount Fuji fresh air for you??

First attempt to jump for me to take a photo shot. FAILED.

Second attempt FAILED again.. And he gave up.

Owakudani Boiling Valley - Sulphurous boiling ponds.

The notice there showed that the temperature of the pond is 80℃ high.

Eggs, boiled in the naturally hot waters, are said to prolong one's life by seven years and are readily available for sale.

They boil the eggs in the hot volcanic waters and the sulphur makes the shell turned deep black.

There was a unpleasant smell due to the volcanic vents, not from the eggs. And it's just the shell that takes an odd colour. The egg underneath is just a normal, hard boiled egg.

Us enjoying the hard-boiled eggs.

Our Japanese set lunch

Followed by vanilla ice cream as dessert.

Big big slipper

Japan's main island Honshu is covered by a network of high speed train lines that connect Tokyo with most of the island's major cities and Fukuoka on the island of Kyushu. Japan's high speed trains (bullet trains) are called shinkansen and are operated by Japan Railways, often abbreviated as JR.

Japan was one of the first countries to realise the problems of the car. With very dense city centres such as tokyo and being such a densly populated country, it was realised the motor car was not the way foreward.

The Bullet train could be thought of as the worlds first high speed train. Services started in 1964 with speeds at 210km/h or 131mph, the fastest trains went at the time, and many countries (including the USA) still have no trains running at this speed.