Spoiler alert – my pic gives it away.

Today we had an adventure that turned out to be a very expensive lunch and a photo op at a truck stop. Not our best day.

Our quest – Mt Fuji and Hakone National Park.

The weather looked beautiful until we got up into the mountains and the rain started. It was not supposed to rain. So we went to lunch. It was a nice (American-style) lunch at a lovely Hyatt. We were scheduled to take a gondola over a geothermal area. That was canceled due to fog and winds.

So, we went to an art museum. The Pola Museum of Art is a private collection of Western Masterpieces, sculptures, modern art, and an exhibition about Art and Design in the Machine Age, focused on Paris in 1925. I particularly enjoyed the Lalique perfume bottle display.

It really was a lovely museum, but I was ready for nature, not art, today. In any case, it did turn out to be a highlight.  

The sun came out, but Mt. Fuji was still hiding. We had a pretty worthless, short boat ride on Lake Ashi, a crater lake formed 3000 years ago when Mt. Hakone erupted. It’s still a school holiday here, and even though it was during the week, the area was very crowded. Our tour leader managed to lose part of our group- it was a chaotic scene. I did feel sorry for her, she actually cried at the end and begged our forgiveness.

Finally, on our long ride home, Mt. Fuji began to reveal herself. Believe it or not, one of the best photo spots, was at a truck stop, behind a Starbucks.  (Starbucks are everywhere here).

She remained visible until dusk, even, ironically, from our stateroom balcony on the Azamara Journey.

PS – By the time we got back to our ship, we had a notice of a partial rebate for the day’s adventure.