Hakone
Today, a very different hotel and view: a smaller, less flashy hotel, the Highland Resort, in Yamanashi Prefecture with a stunning view of Mt. Fuji which was cloaked in clouds when we arrived but not any more.
We drove about two hours to Hakone, for a quick ride on a cruise boat across Lake Ashi. Very refreshing to be out in the countryside after Tokyo. Narrow roads winding around densely vegetated low mountains lined with purple hydrangea. Then we drove another hour to Yamanashi (I don’t know what town this is). Directly in front of me as I type in my room is the dark conical shaped Fuji, with a thin line of fluffy clouds near its base and below, dense green forest, mostly pine trees. To our left ( but out of view from where I sit) is a four-lane highway strip with among other things a Big Boy restaurant and in the back of the hotel is an amusement park, complete with a roller coaster. There’s an onsen here too which I hope to use. (My body is aching after my massage yesterday.)
p.s. Morning after: Did use the onsen. Becoming a fan. It’s a relaxing way to end the day. The governor of Yamanashi welcomed us at a banquet last night, followed by a rousing performance by about a dozen traditional drummers and then a young guy playing a traditional guitar that sounded a bit like a cross between a sitar and a banjo.
TakeBetsywithyou 