Or more like, buses, cable cars, ships and gondolas!
We woke up early on Sunday because we had an 8am train to catch to Hakone. After a rush job to complete packing, checking out, and walking to the train station, we got to the station at 7:50am! Whew!
I asked a station employee where we should be standing, and he pointed me to track 5. When it rolled around to 8:05am...I remarked to Sandra...hmm, the train is late. This was the first time our train was late. I asked the train employee on the platform, and in extremely limited English, indicated we had to be on a different platform. Obviously, that train had departed. Three lessons to learn here for Tokyo/Japan travelers.
1) Despite their best intentions, you can be given wrong information by locals.
2) Tokyo is the most English educated area in Japan - but odds are, the people you interact with will have very limited English skills. Most of the time, you're stuck at a dead end trying to figure out where to go and the first person you see is the person you're going to ask. That person, from my experience, most likely won't know enough English to give you the full story. But it should be enough to give you a general direction.
3) If you think a train is late in Japan, you're standing on the wrong platform or are in the wrong station. In the US, back when I was taking the subway, I would add in 'buffer time'. In Japan, you can schedule things around the train schedule.
Ok, back to regularly scheduled programming.
Luckily on the 'correct' platform, there was a train employee who understood what happened, and changed our tickets for the next

departing train. 8:30am. Not bad, missed our original train, and were only offset by 30 minutes.
The train ride was uneventful. I will say that, for a population that is on average, smaller than the US population, their train seats are a lot bigger! I could actual stretch out!
Arriving at Hakone, we dropped off our bags at the porter stand. As suggested by the people who helped book our Ryokan stay (the evening destination), this company will hold your bags and deliver them to your lodging in Hakone. This way, you can freely explore Hakone without worrying about packs. Hakone is a mountainous region near Mount Fuji.
We wandered around the area near the train stop for a bit and bought some omiyagi (gifts). There were a number of shops selling manju. Some were handmade, some were automated:
After about 30 minutes, we boarded a mini bus that took us to Lake Ashi. A 40 minute ride that wound it's way up and over the mountain, this bus ride helped me get a feel for how the Hakone region was organized.
We arrived at the Lake Ashai area around noon, and were famished! We're always famished...
I chose a homely looking place that advertised fresh soba. They also specialized in local fish katsu and tempura. While ordering, I acted like a dumb tourist. The menu had an extensive list - all in Japanese, and about 5 pictures. We unfortunately, picked from 2 of the 5 pictures. The fish katsu, and the tonkatsu don/soba combo. I had really wanted tempura but didn't want the full assortment that was pictured. It wasn't until after I ordered that I realized I could have ordered a Ten-don/soba combo. If only I remembered that I could phonetically read Japanese!
But you know what, the meal was still awesome. And despite missing out on what looked to be very good tempura, my tonkatsu was probably best tonkatsu I've ever had. I don't think I can order tonkatsu in the US again. I think it has to do with the pork. The pork was about a 1/2 inch thick, had a nice sweet pork flavor to it, and was very soft! Even though it wasn't crispy, due to the onion-egg sauce that makes it a -don, it was fried pork heaven! No farmed pig on corn meal here. You can taste the pork flavor difference.

Sandra had the fish katsu - about 12 long fishies fried whole. I made the assumption that they were fished out of Lake Ashi. Also a very yummy dish.

After lunch, we boarded the ship that would take us across Lake Ashi.

It was a very cold trip. I estimated the temperature to be about 40F + wind chill as the ship cut through the water.

The next mode of transportation on the 'recommended' route through Hakone was the skytram/gondola. A nice leisurely ride up the mountain, we got off in the middle to visit the sulfur mines where we tried black eggs! These eggs, instead of being boiled, are placed at the mouth of the sulfur vents. The natural heat cooks the eggs and turns the shells black. It is said that if you eat one, it will increase your life by 7 years. At $5.00US for half a dozen, it sounds more like a tourist ploy! And boy did we go for it.
Cracked open, the eggs were normal on the inside, and tasted no different than regular eggs. Most expensive eggs ever. But, hey, we're on vacation.
Eggs:

Sulfur Vent (taken from the gondola - click on it):

We got back on the gondola, took a cable car down the other side of the mountain to the Miyanoshita area of Hakone, and were right on time for our 3pm check in to
Hakone Ginyu. If you think our trip has been awesome so far, just wait until you see the next posts! Until then, happy eating!
**Note, all transportation costs mentioned in this post were covered by the Hakone Two Day Free Pass that cost us $50. It worked out like a self guided tour.