Hakone

We visited Hakone with Fiona's parents, to see Fuji-san in all its winter glory. It was as shy as it is reputed to be, but the peak did peek out briefly as we rode the cable car over a ridge towards Lake Ashi. In the mountains, the hot sulphur bubbled out of the earth and hordes of Japanese tourists ate sulphur-boiled black eggs. Down on the lake, the absurd "pirate ships" were every bit as kitschy as promised.