Onto Owakudani...

We departed from Tokyo to Hakone on our private luxury coach. Our main objective of the day was to get to Hakone by taking a 20 minute ropeway from Togendai to Owakundani. Most of the area surrounding Owakundani is considered an active volcanic zone since its creation from the eruption of Mount Hakone some 3,000 years ago. From this point forward, it was going to be super cold. The one thing to look forward to while you're in this neck of the woods is the hot springs and hot rivers there, where sulfurous fumes still linger. One thing to note is that you can buy black eggs up here. They are cooked in the sulfurous waters of the hot rivers, so it comes out surprisingly hard boiled and fresh when you peel it.

It's a novelty, but I would totally recommend getting it if you're there. Owakundani also has splendid views of Mount Fujiin good weather. We managed to capture a few pictures while we were venturing away from the clouds.

From Hakone, we proceeded to Mount Fuji. Along the way, we were noticing the changing scenery, from thick vegetation to lowlands to rolling clouds. Once we had our lunch, we traveled up to the 5th station to admire the world famous peak. You can't climb Mount Fuji during the winter, but this is as close up as you would want to be anyway given the weather conditions. It's a hot spot for tourists, so you will definitely run into a crowd of people no matter what time of day you decide to go.

After the day was over, we stayed at the wonderful Onsen Ryokan at Yatsugatake, where it came equipped with a fully operational onsen. We took advantage of it, as we soaked in the therapeutic hot spring waters and feasted on an amazing traditional Japanese Kaiseki banquet dinner.