I ALWAYS IMAGINED MT. FUJI LOOMING above Tokyo like Vesuvius over Naples when, in fact, it is 50 miles or so from central Tokyo. We didn’t exactly want to climb it, just get a peek at one of Japan’s icons and Lonely Planet mentioned Hakone as one of the best places. So we boarded the direct “Romantic Special” from Shinjuku Station, hoping the weather would cooperate.
Our first — and, as it turns out, only — view of Fuji-san was from the train. When we finally reached Hakone we learned that not only was the mountain socked in but we would have to pay $30 more and travel another hour to the viewpoint. You just can’t believe everything you read, especially in the new iteration of Lonely Planet.
