The last weekend trip before leaving Japan was Hakone. Hakone is quite close to Tokyo, and it is a quite typical place for a weekend trip from Tokyo to enjoy the onsen on there, and get some fresh air. Of course, do not try to go there in autumn with the red leaves, unless you want to feel the crowd, and pay a lot for the accomodation.

The first thing you need here is the Hakone Freepass, which is basically a transport pass for the weekend for just 5000 yen, including the train (1 hour) from Tokyo. Quite cheap, especially when you realize of how it is organized everything there… Basically, you take a tour around the whole area (mountains and a lake) using different means of transport (train, bus, cablecar, ropeway and boat) so synchronized that you do not need to walk not even 100 metres in each connection… And people just love it.

I think by now you have discovered I did not really like it. I liked onsen (I always do), and I found quite interesting to see the smoky mountains and the sulfuric waters boiling in the ponds, due to the volcanic activity, as I had never been in a volcanic area before.

The lake was also a nice place, and the temples, the boat, and the cloudy-sunny day, also provided some nice shots…

… but it was not really a must from my point of view, apart from the although it is really popular due to its short distance to Tokyo… and probably due to the valuable black eggs, boilt in the hot ponds, which they say, give 7 years of longevity (I guess this is extra time) per unit… I got my 7 extra years, just in case. 😉