#Ashi-No-Ko

Sleeping on the tatami floor was surprisingly comfy. We actually slept better than in a lot of hotel beds. Breakfast was Japanese too: fried fish, miso soup, rice, boiled egg in dashi, yoghurt with fruit, silken tofu, green tea. Much to the annoyance of our fellow travellers, there was one thing missing though: coffee.

We took the bus to Lake Ashi. There we visited the Hakone Shrine; we’d seen its red torii on the water back in 2010 during our ride on a pirate ship. Speaking of which: of course we took a boat like that across the lake this time too.

Then it was off to Kamakura, where we visited Hase-dera and the Great Buddha.

And then we headed to the final stop of our group tour: Tōkyō. Our hotel is in the Asakusa district, right by Senso-ji. Back in 2010, this is where our first tour around the country began.

Back then, the Tōkyō Sky Tree was still under construction. Now it’s finished, and we couldn’t resist going up to the upper observation deck of the tallest TV tower in the world. The entrance fee is ridiculously expensive. We paid ¥3,800 per person, which included access to the fast-track queue and the upper observation deck. But the view of the metropolis from up there is unique and makes you quickly forget what you forked out at the till downstairs.

It was a long day today. We were travelling by bus and only arrived at the hotel in the Fuji National Park late in the evening. So late that we almost missed dinner.

In Kamakura we saw a huge bronze Buddha sitting outdoors. You could even go inside the statue. The next stop was the Hasedera temple. Then we headed to Lake Ashi, where we took a boat trip on a pirate ship.

The final stop was Ōwakudani with its sulphur springs. There they have kuro tamago. These are chicken eggs that are boiled in the hot sulphur water and get a black shell as a result. Eating one of these eggs promises seven extra years of life. The view from up there was breathtaking, but so was the stench of sulphur.