She says: The amour of rejuvenation I feel right now is extraordinary. I'm not sure if it's the three sulphur boiled eggs I gobbled down yesterday in Hakone (they are supposed to add 5 to 7 years to your life, depending on which account you believe), the twelve or do hours if sleep I got last night or the incredible 45 minute shiatsu massage I just finished. I was, yet again, reminded that I am too big for Japan, as I was given the largest sweatpants to change into and they became oh-so-fashionable mid-thigh skin-tight capris, and I hung off the massage table in every dimension. But, my masseuse, who reminded me of a very cheerful ant in the way he good-naturedly scurried around gave it his all and worked off ab immense amount of stress and pain that I've been carrying. We found this place, "Massage Pino" across the street from our hotel on the fourth floor and decided to give it a shot. Through some sign language, we managed to book two appointments. I am THRILLED we did. Matt's still enjoying his from a Japanese version of James Lipton right now.

Our day in Hakone yesterday was at turns gorgeous and hilariously oddly "only in Japan".

We took the earliest possible Romancecar from Tokyo, then hopped on their local train, which takes several switchbacks up the mountain to the amazing Open Air Museum. We got there right after opening, which was perfect, as we were able to explore the beautiful grounds almost privately. There was a huge variety of sculptured, but our favourite was a several story tower that looked fairly unassuming from the outside. However, as soon as you headed into climb the spiral staircases inside, you find yourself surrounded by colorful stained glass. It's like being inside a rainbow. So cool. After four flights of stairs, you emerge to a panoramic view of gorgeous Hakone. Perhaps on a clear day, you could see Mt. Fuji. It was really foggy.

The Open Air Museum also has a free hot spring fed foot bath, which every museum should.

After an hour and a half of wandering, we were feeling a bit draggy and hungry, so powered up at the buffet in the museum's main building. I gobbled up the Japanese fare, while Matt had fried chicken, fries and a soft serve cone. He's a bit intimidated by Japanese food so far.

Our Hakone Free passes that we bought in Tokyo turned the whole town into what felt like our own personal amusement park. We could hop on any transportation without paying and had admission to most attractions. It was awesome.

To add to the Romancecar and local train, we next took a cable car, followed by the world's second longest aerial gondola (locally called a "rope way"),then a boat (which looked like a pirate ship, so I made up a theme song and dance, much to the amusement of the teenage onboard Pirate and an elderly Japanese lady who joined in) and finally a bus.

Halfway through the rope way journey, we stopped at the volcanic sulphur springs that looked amazingly post apocalyptic, with an accompanying smell to match. It was so hit, but Matt joined me on my pilgrimage for the famous black egg. You can poly buy them in packs of five, so we gave two away to some Aussies who we heard also worried about needing to buy a whole bag. Little did I know id regret giving away a single one! Although they were hot and difficult to peel, the bit of salt they came with made the hot eggs ultra tasty. I had no trouble scarfing down the three I had left. Poor Matt was left sweating and watching me eat. He did find a stall selling bananas and had one of those, though.

We got our one and only glimpse of Mt Fuji (just the tip) from the path to the black eggs. It would be incredible on a clear day.