Hakone - Day 3

This morning, we said goodbye for a while to the bustling Tokyo and set off through Japan. Our first stop was the city of Hakone. We took the train and then drove about 2 hours by bus. Hakone is a small town, primarily known as a spa resort and as the gateway to the sacred Mount Fuji. I have read and heard a lot about Fuji. It is the highest mountain in Japan, over 3000 meters high – a volcano that is covered in snow during the winter. Seeing Fuji is every traveler's dream. However, what I didn't know is that paradoxically, in winter, the visibility and the chance of seeing it are the highest! So we gave it a try.

In Hakone, we left our backpacks at the hotel and went straight to Lake Ashi. We took the local bus, and we were the only Europeans. We reached the little town of Motohakone, which lies right by the lake's shore. From there, we had a beautiful view of Fuji, accompanied by a red Japanese torii gate that perfectly complemented the scene.

We found out that you can take a boat on the lake. And since it was the off-season, there were many options. We sailed on the lake and admired the mountain from the water as well. After that, we returned to Hakone and set out for dinner. The local restaurants are very small; often you sit on the floor or on very small chairs, so we went into one of them. The town has the typical character of a mountain village – people stay here for one night and continue their journey the next morning.

For the first time, we tried the dish Tonkatsu – it sounds very Japanese, but it's actually a pork cutlet! It is served with rice, and in this version, there was also a side of curry. What touched me the most was the hospitality in this restaurant. With broken English, the waitress explained the contents of each dish, and she was overjoyed when we said it was very good. Now we are going to sleep; I can feel the wind on my face by the lake, the pleasant fatigue, and I'm looking forward to the next day.