箱根 (Hakone)

Time to test the M3's road behaviour under speed. I managed to screech the tires of the M3 round the corners at Hakone area. It is a very predictable sort of mild understeer and when I power up, it turned into some oversteer. Nothing hairy or frightening at all...The chassis is very well balanced and gave very good feedback.




We spent 2 days at Hakone, in Kanagawa prefecture. Hakone is very famous for hot springs (onsen) and we stayed a night at the Dai Hakone Hotel, which is a Prince Hotel Group golf course resort hotel. The big lake in Hakone area is Ashinoko. It has a beautiful 18 hole course, but I did not play.

This is one view of Ashinoko. At foreground is the map of the surrounding mountains. The tallest mountain in that area is Kamiyama （神山）。

The roads around Hakone are superb. There are various Skyline （スカイライン）toll roads, the Ashinoko Skyline, Hakone Skyline and the Hakone Turnpike. All these roads are for pure enjoyment of driving or riding. Many people bring their sports cars and bikes to simply enjoy the roads. 　There are also the road hoggers and tourist buses.

This is a pit stop at one of the viewing points on the route. There were several cars I could chase on this trip. First was white E36 BMW, it had a carbon hood and roll cage inside but it wasn't an M3 for sure. Then it was a Toyota Mark II Tourer.

In Autumn, Hakone area is famous for the golden brown pampas. 　They turn into a nice hue of golden brown in the evening sun.

I spotted two groups of enthusiasts on this trip. First was a Nissan Silvia Varietta (convertible) group. Second was an Alfa Romeo group with 7 metallic green Alfa GTVs (yes all same colour) and a few Alfa 147 GTAs. On the way home, I ran into a Merc CL65 AMG, which went like a bullet, I chased it for a awhile, but the driver was really in a hurry, moving through the cars dangerously, so I stopped pursuing it. I later realised that the CL65 has a 612hp V12 unit with 1,000Nm of torque. It can run circles round my M3.

Our favourite soba shop in Hakone, "Shinshou" （辛勝） is the shop on the right. It is situated just right in front of Lake Ashi.

The famous pampas grass in autumn.

Next morning, we went to Owakudani, the area around a crater created in the last eruption of Mount Hakone 3000 years ago. Sulfurous fumes, hot springs and hot rivers can be experienced on a walk around the area. Eggs, boiled in the naturally hot waters, are said to prolong one's life by seven years and are readily available for sale.

The eggs turn black after its cooked (hard boiled) in the 80deg sulphuric water.

The black eggs cost $1 each and sold only in packs of fives. Even if it doesn't add 7 years to your life, it sure adds plenty to someone's bank account as most visitors buy a pack to try.