Mike and I walked up from Hayakawa Station to Ishigakiyama Ichiyajo Historical Park, which is a great spot overlooking Sagami Bay, the Tanzawa Mountains and Hakone.

Andy and I hiked up from Hakone Yumoto Station to Mt. Sengen, down to Yu-no-hana-sawa Onsen, and then straight up through the forest to Mt. Kami. Lots of snow and no people. We finally walked down to Oowaku-dani and caught a bus just as it was getting dark.

The Sagicho festival involves the burning of last year's New Year decorations on 9 conical bonfires, followed by the dragging of o-mikoshi (portable shrines) in and out of the sea. The participants, dressed in fundoshi (loincloths) then kick and break the shrines, pile on to the remains, before being dragged around the streets of Oiso. Weird and wonderful!

This is a really nice hike over Mitake-san, in the north part of Miura Peninsula. At the top of the hill there are dramatic quarries which are now used for rock climbing. I ended watching the sun set across the Sagami Bay.

We sailed with Hiro & Yuko from Enoshima to Hayama on the afternoon of New Year's Eve, and set out before dawn to see the New Year sunrise. Beautiful!