Shy Fuji san

We spent two days in lovely Hakone, one of the best spots to view Mt Fuji. Usually best in the winter when the sky is clear. We caught a brief glimpse of the shy mountain (which is absolutely massive!) before the clouds ruined any chance of a photo. A cable car ride into the hills allowed us to sample one of the black eggs of Owakudani, cooked in the sulfurous thermal springs for 15 minutes. (Perhaps someone with a background in chemistry can explain to me why the shell turns black). We spent the rest of our time checking out an open air museum with a range of impressive sculptures and the world`s largest collection of Picasso ceramics. The switchback mountain train provided awesome views and the cutest scene of little Japanese school girls being woken up bt their teacher to get off the train.

Today we are in Takayama. Maddi has likened it to Japan`s version of Sovereign Hill, but it is impressive to look around a very traditional peasant village. We head off back into the old town to sample the wares. They are famous for making miso paste, sake and the local hero is siru bobo, a little doll who is all red with no face (very cute indeed). The ryokan we are staying in is an old farmhouse that has been refurbished. Huge timber posts and head hunting cross beams - a work of art, but not for those over 170cm tall! We had a traditional dinner in the ryokan (very dishourable to eat anywhere else outside the ryokan) and ended up doing traditional dancing with a group of locals from the next room. Bit like the nutbush but older! Bear in mind we were all wearing our supplied kimonos, so we looked the part. Sayonara