Food Travels by CK: Hakone/Tokyo

HAKONE

Owakudani's geo-thermal hot springs and gaseous emissions

Owakudani is a volcanic valley with active sulfur vents and hot springs in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture. Most if not all of the mountain walking trails were closed when we visited. This was due to the higher activity of toxic fumes, gases and hot steam!

Mt. Komagetake is a stratovolcano 1,357-metre high lava dome. A stratovolcano is a conical volcano built up by many layers of hardened lava, tephra, pumice, and volcanic ash. Similar volcanoes are Mt. Versuvius which buried Pompeii in 79 AD, Krakatoa in Indonesia which erupted in 1883 (causing global average temperatures to drop by 1.2 deg C in the following year, and weather patterns continue to be chaotic for years and temperatures did not return to normal until 1888), Mount Saint Helena of the U.S. in 1980, and Mount Pinatubo of the Philippines in 1991. Stratovolcanoes are known to be highly destructive to both lives and properties. Contrasting this, our Jeju's shield volcano. (Courtesy of Wilkepedia.)

Mt. Fuji viewed from Owakudani.

Owakudani's welcome center

Most mountain trails closed for safety reasons.

Hard boiled eggs cooked by the volcanic steam.

Owakudani eggs

Lake Ashi (or Ashinoko), Hakone

Lake Ashi aka Hakone Lake is in the Hakone area of Kanagawa Prefecture. Its a crater lake that lies along the southwest wall of the caldera of Mt. Hakone.

Aerial view of Lake Ashi from the Hakone Ropeway

The ropeway cable car station on top of mountain.

The mountain is one of the central volcanic cores within the Hakone Calderia - see above signboard.

Mt. Fuji from the window of ropeway.

It's both sunny and cold!

The temple at the top of this summit.

Visitors take the ropeway (like a funicilar operated by cables ascending and descending as counterbalance) up to the summit to catch good views of Mt. Fuji.

Lake Ashi's Hakone Shrine (Mt. Komagatake, another stratovolcano)

The Hakone Shrine Torii on Lake Ashi.

Starting from Hakone ropeway, we drove in clockwise direction around Lake Ashi, before ending up at our hotel.

Lake Ashi is a crater lake. The houses, cafes, roads and social amenities around Lake Ashi reminds me of Lake Cuomo in Italy. However unlike here, Lake Cuomo was formed by the cutting of the glaciers from the last Ice Age.

We headed back to our hotel via the above green scenic route back.....with more great views of Mt. Fuji...

South-east slope view of Mt. Fuji

The majestic symmetric cone that is Mt. Fuji

Looks hungry and cold tethered outside a shop.

the food arrives.

Mt. Fuji is an incredible backdrop!

Mt. Fuji is 3,776-meters high. It is a stratovolcano, with layers of hardened lava flows forming the grounds around it...

Mt. Fuji and its vicinity (Courtesy of Google)

When we departed from Hakone for Tokyo, we drove towards Lake Kawaguchi. Driving from Hakone to the north side of Mt. Fuji, we caught great eastern slope views of Mt. Fuji....

We had lunch break at this restaurant (with Mt. Fuji in background), in Fujiyoshida, where there is also a Donki discount shop.

Fujiyoshida is in Yamanashi Prefecture, and the city sits on hardened lava flows. Fujiyoshida city is considered as the gateway to visitors / climbers to Mt. Fuji.

Lake Kawaguchi, Yamanashi

Mt. Fuji is surrounded by 5 famous scenic lakes. Lake Kawaguchi is the most easily accessible. Kawaguchi is on the north side of Mt. Fuji. We took the Kachi Kachi ropeway up the mountain for a picturesque view of Mt. Fuji and the lakes. This roadway opened two years ago.

Lake Kawaguchi is located at the border Fujikawaguchiko, Minobi and Yamanashi Prefectures. It is the second largest of the 5 lakes. The lake is at altitude of 800-metres, and is listed on the World Heritage List as part of the Fujisan Cultural Site.

5 lakes

Lake Kawaguchi

Lake Kawaguchi's shores host lots of small seacrafts for visitors to explore the lake.

Standing on the gangway into the lake.

Up at the Kachi Kachi ropeway station

Queue for the ride up

Rabbit shrine at the top.

View of Lake Kawaguchi

Driving over Lake Kawaguchi.....

Before we take leave of Mt. Fuji and its vicinity, I recalled watching a movie about a "suicide forest", Aokigahara a.k.a. "Sea of Trees", a 30-sq km of forest on the north-west flank of Mt. Fuji. The forest grounds, consisting of hardened lava floors laid up by last eruption in 864, is porous and absorbs sounds making visitors feel a sense of solitude, and cut-off from outside world with its dense vegetation. The forest has reputation as home to "ghosts of the dead" in Japanese mythology - and is a popular suicide site!! (Courtesy of Google).

The Little Prince (by Antoine de Saint-Exupery) museum, in Hakone

The museum is devoted to The Little Prince character. It was created as part of the worldwide celebration of the birth centennial of author Antoine de Saint-Exupery. The museum explores Saint-Exupery's life and features a French townscape and gardens, set in the lush beauty of Hakone.

There is also a small chapel in the grounds popular with couples wanting to do their wedding photos.

Our transport

We rented this Toyota RAV4 from Haneda airport to take us to Hakone Hisui......

Hugo looking upbeat.

This was the first time I have sat in a car driven by Marcus -- more than 250-km in total! Marcus proved himself adept at driving on unfamiliar roads with GPS, so that old folks like me can take a "back seat" and relax all the way!

Hakone Hisui (Harvest Club), Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture

This is marketed as an upmarket hot springs hotel with a bathhouse and gardens with a pond. The location is 250-0631 Kanagawa Prefecture, Ashigarashimo District, Sengokuhara 837. The hotel is one of many owned and operated by Tokyu Corporation of Japan. Tokyu is a large Japanese conglomerate running trains, office buildings, hotels, ski resorts, etc. Niseko is also substantially owned by Tokyu also.

Night lights illuminating the Hisui grounds

Hakone is about 90-km south-west of Tokyo.

The lounge

Having a pre-dinner beer in the lounge

Hakone Hisui onsen

The entrance area view of the onsen

Inner garden featuring a petrified tree stump.

The male and female onsens are switched daily - so don't enter the wrong one!

The outdoor onsen

Changing room

Feeling totally at home!

First dinner at Hisui

First Breakfast at Hisui

Western breakfast

Scooping rice from the pot

Japanese breakfast

Grilled sea bream

Second dinner at Hisui

The dip the sea bream and three additional condiments

Grilled yellow tail

Dessert

Second breakfast at Hisui

Japanese breakfast with grilled sea bream

Western breakfast

It's time to leave our relaxing and restful sojourn at the onsen.....

The doorman can't wait for us to leave...

TOKYO

Tempura Fukamaci, Kyobashi

The location is in Ginza, at 2 Chome 4-2 Kyobashi, Tokyo 104-0031, Japan. The taxi took us to an office block but we finally found the restaurant on the street behind the office building but one block away.

Japan streets have no names so have to use house or building identification numbers as reference.

This tempura is a famous father and son (or sons) 11+4 seater restaurant. We last visited it more than 5 years ago. The dinner cost plus sake was JPY 58,500 and it's cash terms only.

Father and son

Sea cucumbers' eggs

Puffer fish (melts in the mouth) and prawn heads

Left prawn dipped into ponzu (citrus soya) sauce; and right prawn dipped into dashi (fish flakes) sauce.

Gingko nuts

Master chef uses flour and the second dip looks like flour batter mixed with water and egg. The second dip is kept cold on ice bucket.

White bait

Small onion

Sea urchin wrapped in Shizo leaves.

Shiitaki mushroom

White fish

Lotus root

Squid or calamari

Asparagus

Sea unagi

Condiments for the rice finale

Last dish - rice with prawn fritters

Alternative serving is same prawn fritters in clear soup

Dessert - Japanese Niikata pear compote in sake with berries and jelly.

The master chef (father) and son.

We like their tempura very much for its light-textured batter. Their secret is in the very fresh ingredients and their very fine batter!

Our last visit to Fukamachi in Dec 2008.

Kushiwakamura yakitori

This is located at 1-19-2 Kamimeguro Meguro Tokyo 81-3-3715-9292. The restaurant is just next to the Tokyo Christmas light up extravaganza of Naka-Meguro.....

The beautiful Christmas lighted trees of Naka-Meguro!

Kushiwakamura is like all yakitori restaurant - its friendly and informal, and gets rowdy and the food in not expensive. Our meal costs us about JPY 22,000 and they take credit cards.

Our yakitori dinner venue

The sake is served in bamboo cut-out cups!

Egg plant

Disney Sea

Its a Sunday and Christmas eve in Disney Sea, a big mistake to come. Even the outdoor food and drinks stands have long queues! The restaurants queues are about an hour to get in, and the ride queues are even longer, 2-3 hours for the popular rides like Tower of Terror, Journey to Center of the Earth,...!