To get up into the area, you take a train that does several switchbacks in order to navigate the steep slope. You can get off at various places to visit some attractions. The Hakone Openair Museum is a fantastic sculpture park up in a beautiful setting.
The sculptures were interesting!
It has a lot of beautful maples, and an extensive collection of Henry Moore pieces.
At the far end of the park is something more places should have...a foot spa! You could rest for as long as you liked while soaking your feet in a hot-spring fed bath.
Some of the artwork was interactive, like this garden area with sunken paths, and a gigantic play area for the kids.
More artwork:
Back at the train station, I encountered this bit of advice that seems good in general: "Do not touch doubtful things."
Moving on, you then take a funicular further up the mountain, and then a ropeway with fantastic views.
At the top of the mountain you get a gorgeous view of Mt. Fuji. Unfortunately the sky was almost the same color as the mountain and it was a little hard to see...almost like a ghost.
Notice the steam at the bottom of that picture? The top of the mountain is an old volcanic crater that still is spewing gas and scorching areas of the ground. The ropeway goes right across the crater; then you can get out and walk up closer to the volcanic area.
All the sulfur gasses were really stinky! But there is a very local delicacy...black eggs, hard cooked in the hot spring water.
I'm not sure what it is in the water that turns the eggs black, but they are beautiful, with some marbling of different shades of black. I was a little dubious, but after you peel off the shell, they look and taste like any other hard-cooked eggs. But they were very very hot!!
After taking the ropeway down the mountain, I took a bus up to the Mt. Fuji area to spend the next day at the Fuji-Q Highland amusement park.
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