After another Lawson breakfast, we caught the bus past the pampas fields to Togendai, and got on the replica "pirate" ship to Hakone Machi. It was raining a little but not cold, so we visited the old Sekisho (checkpoint) where they used to stop people bringing guns into Edo (Tokyo) and women running away from feudal lords (says so on the info board). From there we followed the very picturesque Cedar trail for 30 mins to the next town of Moto Hakone, where there w...

The next morning, we ventured to the local "Lawson" convenience store for yoghurt, croissants, juice and coffee, and took them back to our room. It was a humid, foggy morning - quite beautiful. We watched the gorgeous scenery from our bus ride to Gora and Chokoku-no-Mori and the Hakone Open Air Museum. There has been no expense spared on this place, and our info pamphlet describes it as creating a 'harmonious balance of nature and art with views of the surroundin...

The Odakyu train from Shinjuku Station in Tokyo to Hakone Yumote left exactly on time as one gets to expect from the Japanese transport system. We'd paid a little extra for the "Romance Car" plus a 3-day Hakone Free Pass - all of which meant a smooth ride of just over 90 mins. The 3-day Hakone Freepass allows for transport of every variety - train, funicular, bus, sightseeing ship or cable car - so worthwhile if you intend on getting out and about. From Hakone Yu...

It was raining pretty heavily in the morning, so we donned coats, grabbed an umbrella and headed to the subway and Roppongi for a look around. The complex of Roppongi Hills is over a decade old, but is still considered a forerunner of modern Tokyo city design, with apartments, offices, galleries, restaurants etc rolled up into a couple of buildings. There was a great sculpture by Louise Bourgeoise of the Maman spider at the bottom of the Mori Tower. Harriet had b...

A few friends had told me about the amazing Ghibli Museum in outer Tokyo - dedicated to the animated movies of Hiyao Miyazaki- and warned me that you need to book well in advance to get in. We booked through JTB online around 2 1/2 months before leaving and think they were sold out for our preferred day not long after. Being prepared sure had its reward. Spread over 3 floors, with a garden and giant robot statue on the roof dedicated to an earlier movie "Castle i...