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Hakone

Drink with a Japanese geisha at an online drinking party

Now you don’t even have to be in Japan to spend time with a geisha. 

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Hakone onsen ryokan offers crazy cheap “Gimme a flippin’ break from the coronavirus” room deals

Less than $US40 a night gets you two luxury meals and a room with a private rotenburo bath attached.

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Japanese candy shop bans all Chinese customers over coronavirus fears

Owner also claims his store has been “ruined by Chinese people with bad manners.”

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The 10 best Japanese hot spring resorts locals want to go back to again and again

These onsen town trips are so good they deserve an encore!

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Blood-red Evangelion hot spring bath to open in Japan for fun, relaxing terror

East Japan’s premier hot spring town, the real-world Tokyo-3, wants you to bathe in LCL.

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Meat Festival at Yunessun hot spring resort features creamy soy milk bath!

Here’s your chance to soak in a large refreshing hot bath of soy milk.

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Weird Al Yankovic visits Japan, takes hilarious travel pics around the country 【Photos】

The comedian makes us laugh at famous tourist spots from Tokyo to Kyoto. 

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Chocolate hot spring bath opens in Japan, allows swimsuits, mixed-gender bathing

An onsen like no other in the Tokyo area’s premier hot spring resort town.

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Japanese man travels 100 kilometres (62 miles) from Tokyo to Hakone on stilts

An epic solo ekiden that few believed possible.

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Rent-a-kitty Rooms! Twitter user liveblogs ryokan inn with a special ‘rental cat’ option

A Twitter user caused a ker-fluff-le with adorable photos from her lodgings in Hakone, where you can pick a cat to accompany you during your stay.
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Foreigner visiting Japan? Don’t forget to get your free-to-use smartphone from Kanagawa

One more reason to visit beautiful Kanagawa, just a 30-minute train ride from downtown Tokyo.

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Cool traditional Japanese inn lets customers tidy up their room with a click of a button【Video】

Thanks to several items outfitted with self-parking systems, we get a glimpse into the future of Japanese hospitality.

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Black Eggs and Ham, in Japan they am

Would you, could you eat these eggs from Owakudani?

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Friezas continue their yearly tradition of cheering on runners in Japan’s New Year’s relay race

It seems we just can’t ring in the new year anymore without this cheering squad of Friezas! Is the Dragon Ball Z overlord actually…benevolent!?

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Hakone volcano erupts on small scale

Ōwaku Valley, a part of Mount Hakone with high volcanic activity, has been showing more signs of an impending eruption recently.

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Hear the Evangelion theme song as you drive over Hakone’s Ashinoko Skyline “musical road”

A “musical road“? What the heck is that?

The Ashinoko Skyline is a private toll road in Hakone which boasts panoramic views of Lake Ashinoko and bordering Mt. Fuji. Just in time for Golden Week in Japan, a stretch of the Skyline will be converted into a musical road which plays the theme song from anime Neon Genesis Evangelion, “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis,” when driven over by a car. Nothing like a catchy melody to enhance your scenic tour!

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Mixing anime with travel — the ultimate girls’ Evangelion trip is happening in May!

If you have even a passing interest in Japanese pop culture, you’re probably aware that Neon Genesis Evangelion has been a long-standing hit anime series with a huge fan base. It’s been 18 years since it originally finished airing on TV, but the anime still has a strong following, with many female fans. Now, Japanese travel agency Musee Travel has come up with the perfect break from reality for such female Evangelion lovers — the “Evangelion Hakone Trip for Girls“!

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Japanese drifting experts use public road in hair-raising “hill climb” up Hakone mountains 【Video】

While the Hakone Turnpike is usually enjoyed by slow-driving families catching a glimpse of the natural beauty of the area’s mountainous landscape, some Japanese drifting enthusiasts last month turned a portion of the public toll road into a white-knuckle race to the top.

Shutting down the two-lane road, the drivers zoomed through the windy (and thankfully empty) roads, reaching speeds that would land normal citizens a pretty hefty fine. It may not be the first time a high-performance car has been seen on Japanese roads, but it’s pretty amazing that the Ministry of Transportation would approve this flashy display of speed, horsepower and roaring engines.

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Take a tour of Tokyo-3 on an Evangelion bus

In 2012, Odakyu Hakone Highway Bus Company, which operates bus service to the mountain town Hakone, ran a Neon Genesis Evangelion-themed bus. Hakone corresponds to the anime series’ Tokyo-3, a new version of Tokyo built there after an apocalypse demolished its predecessor. The bus service’s popularity has led to an Evangelion bus revival.

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Hakone Opens an Evangelion Themed Souvenir Shop, Hopes They Don’t Get Overrun With Fans Again

Following the opening of Evangelion Store Tokyo-01, and with the release of the third installment of the reboot series, Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo, a new Evangelion souvenir shop is scheduled to open in the town of Hakone on 14 July.

Hakone, which serves as the backdrop for the Evangelion story (where it’s renamed as Tokyo-3), is happy to be home to the second official Evangelion store, called “Eva Shop” but is also hoping they don’t get a repeat of what happened two years ago.

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