We took the bullet train out of Kyoto and headed to Odawara where we picked up our hire car for the next few days. We then had a 30 minute drive to our Airbnb in Hakone which overlooked Lake Ashi. Part of the drive was through forest areas and there were lots of road signs telling us to beware of monkeys so we were hopeful we may see some.

^{Our Airbnb and hire car.}

Our Airbnb had two bedrooms, huge living area, outdoor hot tub, sauna and views over Lake Ashi. We had purposely picked it as it also had views over Mount Fuji but we were fully aware we may not see it due to the weather.

^{Inside our home for the next few days.}

We needed some food for tea so we drove down the road to the town but all that was open was a 7/11. We picked up some micro chips, pizzas, mini croquettes and ice cream to keep us going for the next couple of days. They also had some different snacks so we picked up a selection.

^{Crisp flavours we found at 7/11}

By the time we returned home the clouds had parted and we saw Mount Fuji and were also treated to a beautiful sunset.

^{Mount Fuji from our Airbnb.}

The following morning we got up and the weather was beautiful. There was a blue sky and spectacular views of Mount Fuji.

We had a busy day planned as we were taking cable cars up Mount Hakone (a volcano) and then doing a pirate ship ride on Lake Ashi. We drove to the cable car station and arrived at 9.30am. We took a cable car up to the summit and again we had great views of Mount Fuji from the cable car.

^{Cable car ride up Mount Hakone}

There was a visitor center at the top so Tom & Izzy got their books stamped and we took some photos of the black egg statue. You could also buy the black eggs in the shop but we didn’t.

^{Visitor center on Mount Hakone.}

We then took a second cable car which took us over the volcanic ground and into another town. We could tell that the weather was starting to change as the wind was really picking up. Tom & Izzy stamped their books again at the cable car station and then we returned back to our car on the two cable cars.

It was then time to do the pirate ship cruise on Lake Ashi. We only had the cheap tickets so were not allowed upstairs on the boat but it didn’t matter as the boat was really quiet.

^{On the ship!}

The cruise took us all the way across the lake and by the time we reached shore it was lunch time. We found a restaurant next to the cruise terminal and I had slow cooked beef, Tom had katsu, Izzy ordered chicken but did not like it as it was thigh meat and Stu chose a burger but it came in a sauce with an egg and no bread bun!

^{Our lunch!}

Once we had eaten our lunch we waited for the next pirate ship to take us back to the car. At this point we could definitely tell that a storm was coming as it had turned really cloudy and you could no longer see the top of Mount Fuji. We headed home, Tom & Izzy got in the hot tub and then the storm arrived!

Despite the weather Stu & I wanted to visit Hakone Shrine and the Tori gate at the lake so we left Tom & Izzy at home and set off. As we walked along the lake the waves were really strong and lots of dead fish had been washed ashore. It was only a five minute walk to the gate and although there was a small queue it was really quiet (probably due to the weather) so we were able to take lots of photos.

^{Hakone shrine in the rain!}

We then explored the temple and had the place to ourselves. By the time we returned to the gate everyone had gone home!

^{Exploring Hakone shrine in the rain!}

As we returned to the car the cloud had come down so it was really misty. We headed home as the next day we were travelling to the Izu Peninsular for the next couple of days.