Owakudani Black Eggs, the Pirate Ship and the Fuji Peace Park

Four stops out of Shinjuku, on a bus with premium seats, leaving at 8:00 am sharp. That last word is the operator's: latecomers are not refunded. Owakudani comes first, a volcanic valley still active, where the ground steams and the sulphur reaches you before the view does. The rock, the smoke and the colour of the earth look like nowhere else in Japan. The local speciality is the black eggs, boiled in the geothermal water, and eating one is supposed to add seven years to your life. The ropeway over the valley is optional. Then Lake Ashi, crossed on a sightseeing ship built to look like a pirate ship, with Mt. Fuji at the far end of the water and a shoreline that changes with the season. Hakone Shrine stands on the lake, with the Peace Torii out in the water in front of it and Kuzuryu Shrine alongside, which people visit for love and good relationships. The approach runs between cedars. Lunch is at Moto-Hakone Port, where the guide will point you at the places worth eating in. Wakasagi smelt fried whole, Hakone soba and seasonal set meals are the things to look for. The last stop is the Fuji Peace Park, a hilltop most tourists never reach, with a white stupa and the mountain behind it. The meeting point is in front of the Seven-Eleven at the NTT Nishi-Shinjuku Building, and the guide carries a white Local Guide Stars flag. Be there ten minutes early.