On a Friday night in November a group of us from work left early, taking a minibus to Izu Peninsula, more specifically the resort of LaForet. The views of Fuji san on the way were great, with the sun setting. After arriving we settled into our room and freshened up in the Onsen (natural Japanese hot baths) with the other women.
The men were in a separate building a short drive away and a resort minibus took us to join them for dinner. We had a very traditional Japanese dinner with entertainment provided by ourselves, viola playing, dancing and even some comedy (mostly lost on me as no translation!).
The food was amazing and served in a traditional tatami room. Many of my (Japanese) colleagues talked about how they had never had such a traditional meal so I was honoured to have had the opportunity. The night was a lot of fun.
The next day I went for a short run before breakfast and then a group of us visited Shuzenji Onsen 修善寺 nearby. It was lovely, lots of shrines and autumn colours and a fabulous bamboo corridor to walk through. We ended our visit with some great soba noodles for lunch before returning to Tokyo.
Mad Experiences Japan 