Carry on up the mountainsKawaguchiko, Mount FujiMarch 24/25The trains here are great, they are all really big with big seats and lots of room, and they either have backs that move, or the whole thing completely swivels around like on Jo 90 (those of you who are over 40 will remember) so you can always face the direction you want.getting off at the final station was a bit bizarre as there is a Thomas the Tank engine theme park with rollercoasters and stuff. Not what i expected to find at the bottom of a mountain.As i walked out the station it felt really strange as it was virtually deserted and so quiet you could hear a pin drop. It was like walking in to part of disneyworld when it was closed. Everything was so clean and perfect and the air was so pure and the sun was shining, it was a very surreal moment. In fact, everytime i walked around the town, it felt sometimes as if i was the only one there. i rang the hostel as they offered a free collection service, and they were there within 5 minutes, and wow, what a hostel, check out the pictures.well Japan is full of volcanic activity, so there are alot of hot springs where the water is gorgeous, and they turn these in to relaxation centres called "Onsen", and there was one right behind the hostel.I had gone to similar things in the Mountains when skiing in the Czech republic, and there is a big pool where everyone goes to relax, and you sit or swim there like a swimming pool, with it all open, looking at the snow all around you and the mountains, so i thought this was the same................never assume.so i gets in and everything is in japanese, and i did not know where to go. i saw a blue curtain, but did not know what was behind it, so carried on and then saw a passageway that looked like the entrance to the pool.this must be it i thought, and as i started to walk up it this man walked around the corner with his wife just after me, and started shouting and waving.apparently i was about to walk in to the ladies changing room. oh dear. lucky he came when he did. so he showed me where to go, and as i am about to put my swimming shorts on, he whips all his kit off, puts a little towel over his shoulder and starts whistling as he walks off completely starkers.so i followed him and put my head around the corner and it was like a roman orgy, only with japanese and minus the women.anyway i am sure you get the picture.okey dokey, so minus the whistling, i go in to the orgy, which was just the inside bit which had a pool and all the showers, and on the far side was a door with frosted glass that you could not see through.so now i start to panic thinking beyond the door is the communal area, and i am just about to burst the door open and do a full on chippendale.i had read that the traditional spas do have men only and they are naked, but they are the very traditional ones, and i was assuming this was a bit of a touristy one.so with a deep breath i slid the door open, and was never so pleased before as to see so many naked men.obviously i had to look at their meat and 2 veg to verify this, so i could see them all looking at me thinking why is that western bloke staring at our knackers?well it gets better.there were only 3 pools and they were not much bigger than a traditional fish ponds, but raised from the ground with a small wall about a foot high.so in my haste to get in the water, i neglected my SAStraining of fully assessing the target before engaging andi stepped over the wall to find that the water was deeper than i had anticipated.......traditional etiquette is to"slip in to the water as gently as a lotus petal falling from the tree"....no chance, it was either become a eunoch by catching my tackle on the wall or to leap forward to clear it.how embarrasing, it was almost a belly flop, and my little pool fed water in to the next one, which was full of japs, so they got a tsuname as well, and i also nearly cracked my head open on the other side as well.not quite the lotus leaf.well after that it was nice and relaxing i must say.other than that, i caught a cable car up the mountain, found a nice bar that overlooked the lake and had a few beers. i could have stay there for much longer, but i had my return flight booked, and also had only a couple of days left on my rail pass, so i packed my bag and headed west to Hiroshima.next installment.......Hiroshima