Hakone, Japan

There is so much to see and do in Hakone and it’s kind of a hidden gem to foreigners as it’s not advertised or maybe overshadowed by other regional Tokyo attractions. Our first stop was taking the gondola up the side of the active volcano and through the sulfur fields. A little smelly, but treasure awaits at the top for anyone that can push through.

Lunch was the first thing we did when we got to the top and I was pleasantly surprise to find a local Japanese microbrewery had a pilsner available. Even though it’s all the rage now in Tokyo, craft beer hadn’t caught on just yet. It was so good!

Next we had to try the ( 黒い卵ことの有名) local Hakone specialty, the black eggs! At first glance you would assume they were highly polished stones.

The geothermic activity from this specific volcano creates hot springs with very high sulfur content, so when they boil the eggs it turns the shell black. There was a lot more stuff to see and do at the top, but I was so engaged that I forgot to snap a few more pictures.

Next on our trip was the Hakone Shrine (箱根神社) that sat overlooking the Haya River through the forest.

Very peaceful break to stroll around and work off lunch from earlier.

One of the Komainu (狛犬), lion-dog, that guards the entrance to the shrine. I only got a picture of one, but they always come in a pair of two. One with their mouth open and one with their mouth closed. My Japanese friend said the one with the mouth open is the female, because it’s always talking. Ha Ha!

Here is the shrine’s Torrie gate marking the entrance of sacred ground. I believe these are strictly used at Shinto Shrines. The Japanese will clap twice and bow before crossing into the shrine. I’m not sure if this is meant to cleanse themselves before crossing or to thank the shrine/spirits and announce oneself as coming in.

Like much of Japan, Hakone is very mountainous with lakes caught between the ranges and where there are mountains….

You will no doubt find a very cool car scene nearby! Our last stop of the day was the famous Mazda Turnpike! This is basically a down and back race track. You pay a toll to go in and you can drive as fast as you want through the mountain passes, there is no speed limit. I think the cost was 700 yen ($7). I just caught a very clean Porsche 911 coming off as we got there.

There was an eatery there as well, but we didn’t go in. I was too excited to get the skyline on the turnpike.

I had just completed my JUN stage I build on the GTR and was excited to finally have a chance to open her up./p>

Since it was the middle of the day on a work week, there wasn’t a lot of cars just hanging out on the parking lot. However, this BMW’s owner was pretty cool and I chatted him up as much as possible in Japanese.

Here is a clip of our first run down the mountain, going downhill with myself, my son, and my father in law really put the 24 year old Skyline brakes to the test. It was instantly apparent that they needed an upgrade as my next project.