My friend Chikako chan had been kind enough to organise a couple of higher end ryokans in Hakone and Kawazu with nice onsen options.

 The trip to Hakone by car was interesting, least not because the fear of getting lost in the midst of Kanji and Hiragana roadsigns, but also any local traffic peculiarities say such as speed limits. I may have had a conversation with the local fuzz at the side of the road. There was a lot of talking in Japanese by him (sounded like a standard script) and a lot of nodding, bowing and the occasional sumimasuen (excuse me), gomenaisai (sorry) and wakaraimasu (understand). I was only a few kph over the limit and driving a pretty standard car, must be the face.

Hakone was supposed to be eye shot of Mt Fuji, but the weather was not onside. The ryokan in Hakone was simply amazing. The complex was set within the mountain we were on and had views of luscious green trees and bamboo.

The ryokan was big enough to sleep a family with a mini Japanese garden.

They traditionally serve you dinner and breakfast in the room both with more food than I could manage and rather similar to a michellin starred tasting menu if not better!

 

The complex had a number of different onsens you could use all with different views. Not cheap, but considering what you get it would be the equivalent of a fine dining mean and night in a moderate hotel and in London.

Next morning a trip to another cable car this time to the summit of Mt Komagatake in the hope of catching a glimpse of Fuji-san. Unfortunately the weather again hampered the attempt.

The structure at top end of the cable car resembled an abandoned missile silo out of a James Bond film from the 70s.

A shrine a short hike from the top of the cable car was probably a bit more adventure than I had planned. The partially melted residual snow covered path was a little deeper than expected and there were a number of occasions a leg sunk in so deep I’m sure my scrotum touched snow.

A short stop over at Joren waterfall made famous by a classic Japanese tail/film and one of the 7 waterfalls in the region.

Lots of Wasabi cultivation in the region due to the fresh clean running water from the waterfalls, but I avoid the local wasabi soft (ice) cream speciality, more so because of the fear of the lactose fallout as I’m told when young and raw it doesn’t have such a kick.

Pretty cool spiral road down to Kawazu led to the next Ryokan which was famed for its outdoor onsen next to the largest of the 7 waterfalls.

 

It also had a man made tunnel onsen which was a bit like a steam room, but didn’t say in for long as it was pretty claustrophobic and felt more like caving having to duck through certain low ceiling points.

The room had a private onsen which was the nicest of them all. Mainly as it had a modern luxurious feel to it with a view of sakura in full bloom.

The sakura in Kawazu blooms very early due to its warmer climate and the festival that celebrates it brings hoards of Japanese tourist to view the few kilometres of sakura lined rivers all the way to the sea.

It coastal road itself is a beautiful drive. You get pretty high, pretty quick as the road snakes around the coast. Reminds me a little of the Great Ocean road in Oz except this road has numerous tunnels that cut through the mountains.

A great little off the beaten track trip that I’m blessed to have experienced.