Hakone

Craig:

It was decided that a trip to Japan would not be complete without staying a night at a traditional Japanese inn called a "ryokan."  We took the train about an hour outside of Tokyo to an area called Hakone.  Hakone is a quiet little mountain village home to a few of Japan’s natural hot springs.  Its main attraction is a sightseeing loop which uses many different kinds of transportation including a railway, ropeway, and pirate ship.  We took the first leg of the loop up to our Ryokan on a railway.  The train ride was very interesting due to the physical geography of the tracks.  The train tracks had to switchback up the mountainside stopping every once in a while to change track and direction.  We arrived at our accommodation just in time to take a quick nap before dinner.  Dinner at a ryokan is a very enjoyable experience which Bridget will cover in an upcoming blog post, but all I have to say about it is “incredible.” 

Our room was split into two sections, one comprised of mainly western furniture with TV and couches.  The other section resembled a traditional Japanese home complete with futon, tatami mat, and a table which must be knelt at to use effectively.  We also received a Japanese robe, called a yukata, to wear during the evening.  Bridget and I did not wear ours to dinner but had some fun later with them:

Most Ryokans have an onsen, which is a hot mineral water bath.  After dinner, we relaxed a little bit and then went for a dip in the hot waters.  It is Japanese tradition to wash yourself before entering the pool and good etiquette to not wear any clothes in the pool (men and women have separate areas).  The minerals in the water are very good for the skin.  We arose the next morning and ate yet another great breakfast.  I am a “bacon and eggs”  type of guy but quickly warmed to the idea of eating rice and miso soup for breakfast.

We started the morning by touring the Hakone Open Air Museum.  This museum is all (well…mostly all) outdoors and consists of sculptures and interesting structures.  The “mostly all” section is a very nice Picasso building which houses a large collection of Picasso ceramics, pencil drawings, and glass art.  If you are like me and thought Picasso only painted, then this would have been an interesting place to see. 

We finished the museum walk with a soak in some more hot pools and a climb to the top of a stained glass tower to catch the view of the whole museum. 

After the museum we began the second section of the loop by cable car and then by ropeway.  The ropeway took us over deep canyons forests and offered a great view of Mt. Fuji (the peak had some pesky cloud cover that would not go away).  At the top of the ropeway was Owakudani, famous for its black boiled eggs (eggs boiled in geothermal waters).

We then descended down the mountain by ropeway to board the pirate ship.  The ship took us across a lake to the bus station where we would finish the loop.  Here are some pictures of the journey. 

Making the trip to Hakone was well worth it.  We got away from Tokyo and saw a little bit different side of Japan.  Another big thank you goes out to Gary and Sanae for their fabulous recommendations.