To reach the sulfur springs of Hakone, I boarded a dinky cable car at the foot of the Owakudani Valley with six other visitors. The journey takes all of 30 minutes, quickly climbing to give sweeping views of the countryside. Fir-covered peaks stretched out in each direction; the shimmer of a lake was spotted. And then, suddenly, we crested over a hill and let out a collective gasp: there was Fuji, impossibly taller than the rest, capped, perfectly, by snow.
There was a flurry of excitement as we crowded to get photographs. The mountain demanded attention. As we pulled into Hakone’s hot springs, each of us gave furtive glances back at it, resplendent in the sunshine.
