Well, July 4th was not so much a celebration of the US's Independence Day for the Goldbaums in Japan! There were no fireworks or American flags waving about! What we did do was take the cable car up a the Hakone Volcano. It's last eruption was 3000 years ago when it made Lake Ashi, the lake along which our hotel was situated. We saw the volcanic steam arising from the inside of the volcano and soaked later in the hot spring water that is heated by the volcano. It was pretty neat to see! The hot spring water was great too! A little too hot for the kids, though.
Later that day, Noah and I decided to take an exploratory walk along Lake Ashi on a beautiful, secluded and very elevated path that led to a shrine.
I think the path would have gone on forever along the Lake, but we only ventured for half an hour as it was late in the afternoon, very damp, and the bugs were starting to come out. Plus we had to get back for dinner. We saw a huge variety of plants that were unique to Japan (at least we'd never seen them in America) and some plants that looked very similar. We collected samples, and when samples were out of reach we took photos. We had an awesome time being naturalists for a day in Japan!
Well, July 4th was not so much a celebration of the US's Independence Day for the Goldbaums in Japan! There were no fireworks or American flags waving about! What we did do was take the cable car up a the Hakone Volcano. It's last eruption was 3000 years ago when it made Lake Ashi, the lake along which our hotel was situated. We saw the volcanic steam arising from the inside of the volcano and soaked later in the hot spring water that is heated by the volcano. It was pretty neat to see! The hot spring water was great too! A little too hot for the kids, though.
I think the path would have gone on forever along the Lake, but we only ventured for half an hour as it was late in the afternoon, very damp, and the bugs were starting to come out. Plus we had to get back for dinner. We saw a huge variety of plants that were unique to Japan (at least we'd never seen them in America) and some plants that looked very similar. We collected samples, and when samples were out of reach we took photos. We had an awesome time being naturalists for a day in Japan! 
Wow - beautiful pictures.. And amazing plants and scenery.. Glad you're taking every opportunity to explore all of these interesting places and things! Thanks for keeping us posted on your adventures - we are checking it frequently!! Enjoy!
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