The city of Gotemba is a good base for hiking Fuji and exploring the nearest area. Gotemba greeted us with a pouring rain, which we received as a gift from the typhoon Noru, which was just above Japan. Waiting for the for better weather to enter the volcano, we decided to go exploring the area, where the rain was not so bothersome. Our choice fell on the Hakone area, where there are several interesting attractions.

There are several hiking trails around the lake, we chose the longest – 6km to Sengokuhara, which ran through a wild forest and golf courses. We were very pleased with the choice, because the fog and rain gave the place a very mysterious character and the smell of tropical plants was unique.

When we go the whole trail another attraction is a small town and a botanical garden. The garden is quite extensive and you can admire many beautiful and colorful plants growing on Japan and even buy their seeds at a garden store.

The last stage of the day was to cover about 10 km to Owakudani where there are sulfur volcanoes. The smell of sulfur was felt from afar, unfortunately it was too intense that day and the entrance to the volcanoes was closed. However, this did not prevent us from seeing the volcanoes from a short distance, which is enough to satisfy our curiosity.

From Owakudan you can go down to the lake by cable car (which we did) to drink tea over the rippling water and have a snack before returning to the hotel.