Hakone

Truely great place to visit, really close to Tokyo so you can do a weekend trip. Each season has different great activities… we went in autumn so we could see the red leave and the susuki field which was probably my favourite part. Going by car has its advantages but on the whole, train would be better for traffic.

This area has some great onsen and lots of neat areas to explore. I will warn you though, sections of it are very touristy. There are lots of little, faded ‘museaums’ that are pretty much collections of random stuff.

We stayed at a hostel called Kappa Tengoku Ryokan. The place had good and bad points. The baths themselves were fabulous. The yukata, futons and tatami mats were comfy. But, other than that, the place was a bit colorfull. The floors in the halls tended to be 70s linoleum that had been worn through in spots. I’d managed to avoid squat toilets until we arrived. The greeting we got from our hosts was them commenting on what big boobies my friend has.

Anyway, we got a huge, traditional room for not much money and we had a great time there.

very convenient daytrip from tokyo, fabulous selection of hot springs. and there’s a really yummy soba place.

My first experience to the hotspring….. naked….hahaha
hotspring is so nice… will never get enuf of it!!!

Stayed at the Fujiya. It was great!