Welcome to my 2nd Japan blog where this time I visited the famous Hakone while I had a short amount of time to go on holiday before my language school started.
Hakone
Hakone, in Japan's Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park west of Tokyo, is a mountainous town known for its hot springs resorts (onsen) and views of the iconic volcano Mount Fuji. Though unfortunately was quite cloudy so only caught glimpses of Fuji-san.
I will just say it was incredibly beautiful and the onsens were nothing short of amazing.
Getting there
It was about an 1 1/2 to 2 hours to get too from Tokyo in which you have to catch one of the oldest operational train systems operating in Japan. After flying from Osaka i arrived in the evening as the sun was setting. It is basically in the clouds which created a very serene.
Staying at a ryokan
A ryokan is a traditional Japanese hotel with Tatami mats that has an onsen in it. The onsens come in various forms at these places with either open baths which everyone shares (and yes in your birthday suit), rotunburo or open air baths which is exposed to the elements or you can hire your own private onsen as well if you value your privacy. I stayed at one which included its own private one but you can visit many others around town (even if not staying at them) and I definitely did, trying out all the unique variations that each offers. Of course I couldn't take many photos of inside due to privacy.
One of the more interesting and famous onsens in town is at "Yunnesun" where you can bath in novelty onsens including wine, sake, coffee, green tea or go for a swim in an onsen surrounded by an aquarium.
Touring Hakone
Touring Hakone
After having a super relaxing night soaking an having a few drinks with the staff (who were incredibly hospitable) when they had finished the next morning it was time to head to Lake Ashi and see one of the more famous Tori gates in Japan. It was super cold and actually snowed that night but that just added to the beauty. After catching a pirate themed boat across the lake I headed up a ropeway to Ōwakudani an active thermal spot, catching a glimpse of Fuji san on the way before heading back down the walkway down to Hakone Goro park and trying out a few onsens on the way.
Thank you for reading and catch #3 where I head to Tokyo and meet up with fellow streamer 
Loosemcgoose
