Hakone

Glenn and I went on a sightseeing tour on Sunday to Hakone. Hakone is SW of Atsugi but still in the Kanagawa prefecture about 2 hours away.
This tour was jam-packed, and a little long, but we still enjoyed it. I think we would have enjoyed it even more if the weather had been nicer. Hakone is known for being a great place to view Mt. Fuji, but it was covered in clouds the whole time we were there. At least it didn't rain.
Our first stop on the tour was the Hakone Shrine. This shrine was very pretty because it is in a park and surrounded by gorgeous, tall trees. The shrine also had a long set of stairs that led down to a torii gate in the lake. Hakone is a region known for its volcanic activity and lake Ashi was formed by volcanic eruptions. Later in the day we took a boat ride from one end of the lake to the other. On a pirate-themed boat no less.
After the Hakone Shrine, we went to Owakudani Valley which was the last point of volcanic activity/explosion in Japan and still has boiling hot springs. This area is known for their black eggs. The legend says that if you eat one egg you will live an extra 7 years, 14 years if you eat two. The eggs are just hard boiled eggs, but they turn black because they are boiled in the hot springs (hydrogen sulfide + iron in eggs = black eggs). Glenn and I each ate 2 so we'll be living longer now! (The inside was still white and yellow, fyi).

After extending our lifetimes, we took the boat cruise to the other end of Lake Ashi and visited the Sekisyo Checkpoint and the Detached Palace Gardens. The checkpoint was established in 1619 and was the gateway to Edo (Tokyo) from Kyoto in order to keep travelers and imports under control. The place we visited was a replica of what stood in the same place hundreds of years ago. Here I am at the lookout tower, keeping an eye on things:
At this point of the tour, Glenn and I were ready to go home, but finally we visited the gardens. This garden used to be a summer vacation spot for the imperial family. Now it is owned by the Kanagawa prefecture. Again, this would have been much prettier and more enjoyable in warmer weather, but I still enjoyed getting to see it.

Maybe Glenn is sad the tour is over...