Another weekend and another trip planned.

Geoff booked the Romancecar train and I was excited. Red roses? Chocolates? Serenading? Hmm, no. Some clever designer realised that by removing the arm between two seats, he (it must have been a ‘he’!) could save space and money. And drawing inspiration from two-person theatre seats, the Romancecar came into existence in 1951.

We stopped in Gora for the obligatory coffee & cake –

This cake is a representation of the train we next travelled on – the Hakone Tozan Railway. This line is famous for three switchbacks so that it can make the gradient up the mountain. It was amusing to see the driver and conductor swop positions at each of the switchbacks. Water is sprayed between the wheels of the train and the track to prevent wear of the rails.

We then tried to cable car (more like a funicular train) but learned that it was closed at the top because of high winds. So we tried to buy a ticket to the stop before the station that was closed but were waved away from the counter by the ticket seller who told us there was nothing to see!

Three buses later we arrived at ‘nothing to see’ Lake Ashi

But in a way, the ticket seller was correct – nothing was open and no boats were offering trips around the lake. And it was impossible to walk around it either. I think we have cracked this staying-away- from-crowds lark …. you visit tourist areas before they have opened!

Another bus trip, a cable car trip and then the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) home. So speedy and so smooth. So if nothing else, we certainly maxxed out on a wide variety of trains & buses!

And I will leave you with my photo of the day …

A swan graveyard? Swans in quicksand? A swan plantation? Answers on a postcard please!