I felt happy because I got up early without the alarm clock, so I could take an early bus to go to the Hakone volcanic area. In the bus I realised what I forgot to take with me: laptop (I wanted to continue with the travel diary. I fell some days behind), camera, charger (for my mobile phone) and water.
So I decided to take pictures with my mobile phone, to use my mobile phone as least as possible, to continue with the travel diary in the evening, and to buy some water on the road. In Gotemba I didn’t catch the next bus, so I decided to search for a supermarket. Two construction site workers helped me to find the right direction. I ate at the bus station, while observing how Japanese people make a queque for getting onto the bus.
I took the bus to lake Ashi, and then a sightseeing cruise around the lake. The ship looked like a pirate ship (but used a normal “Diesel motor” ). Then I took the ropeway to Owakudani. A sign indicated that people with respiratory issues should not get on the ropeway. I had just a small cold, so I I thought that I’ll be fine.
On the way to Owakudani I saw smoke rising behind the next hill. It looked really amazing, and I wished I had my camera to take good pictures. When I got out of the ropeway station, I smelled it: rotten eggs, lots of them! A big part of the hillside emitted yellow-greenish smoke.
In a museum in the next building I learned how the Japanese people prevent landslides (since some years switched to a method which anchors the hill using steel ropes), how they use the water of the volcano for the hot springs, and that the hot spring water turns eggs black. (They don’t know yet how this works, in case you need a research topic)
I ate some small things for lunch, and bought 5 of the black eggs (each for 100 yen). I wanted to eat them, but they were too hot, so I decided to eat them later.
Another ropeway brought me to Sounzan, and a cablecar to Gora. I didn’t want to pay the entrance fee to the park, so I just walked around a little bit, buying some rice triangles in the supermarket (as the eggs still had a too high temperature).
After checking the map without finding anything interesting, I decidedto go back to the hostel, which took longer than expected, as the bus ran into a traffic jam around Fujiyoshida.
Two Israeli guys, Agam and David, asked me whether I would join them for grocery shopping in a supermarket. We bought some (small and expensive) vegetables, micro wave rice, tomato sauce and corn. They told me that they had classes together ten years ago, and met again in the hostel by chance. Agam offered us Japanese plum wine.