Japan: Hakone

Hakone, the rural side of our trip. I had high hopes for Hakone and I must say I was a little disappointed, I think partly though because we didn't have the time to spend here that is necessary to enjoy the area. It took us most of the day to travel from Osaka to Hakone, so day number five was frittered away on train, bus, and foot, but it was a chance to relax. We stayed in a ryokan here, which is a traditional Japanese inn similar to a bed and breakfast, but they also serve dinner. Ryokans were first established in the 1600s to accomodate the feudal lords who had to travel to the capital every 2 years and always had their full entourage with them. They have continued on and are today primarily a 'cultural experience'. You sleep on a futon (pallet) on the floor, eat meals at a set time. There are different ryokans with different rules, some are very strict and others will not take foreign guests at all. At some they will come make up your bed at a certain time and come back in the morning to put it away, you don't decide the times! At ours we had to make our own beds and we got to choose a time from a list for dinner and breakfast.

our room; see the futons?

Many traditional hotels and all ryokans also have public hot baths; the ryokan we were at also had a natural mineral spring outside. I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to engage what is deemed a must-do activity in Japan. So I put on my hakata and grab my towel and walk down. I have to admit it is a little strange to walk outside at your hotel in nothing but a long thin robe, especially when it's about 50 degrees outside! I figure out which is the ladies bath, enter, and place all my things in the basket. You wash off before entering the tub, since it is a communal tub. They provide dispenser soap for this. At first I got in the hot tub inside, then decided I should really go all out and use the spring outside. It was awesome! Very picturesque. A stone lantern, plants, a cobbled stone tub; constantly running, hot soothing mineral water, all in the frigid air. There was a privacy fence all around and a roof over most of the area. I really did enjoy it. Now I know why they call it a must-do. The water was so hot that I could only stand to stay in for about 10 minutes, so I would get out and stand in the cold air to cool off and then get back in. Fantastic!

At breakfast the next morning they put our plate in front of us and Matt looked at me. There was a fish on it, completely cooked, but a whole fish. Rice and a poached egg accompanied this to be mixed together, along with tofu and some vegetables and other things I don't know. In Japan they do not have specified breakfast foods like Americans do. They eat pretty much the same thing at each meal. (They do this in Korea too and from what I gather it's typically left over dinner foods.) So fish for breakfast. The rest of my family was not impressed with this. Matt swore the egg was duck egg and wouldn't eat it for some reason. I thought it was really good! I adapted well and ate everyone's fish that morning. (On morning number two we had the best salmon I've ever eaten, and once again I got to eat everyone's!)

After I consumed breakfast and everyone else finished grumbling, we set out for a day of landscape viewing. The biggest attraction here is Fuji San. Hakone is where you go when you want to see Fuji, but not hike Fuji. I would love to hike Fuji, but while the trail is not supposed to be difficult, it is very long. With a 4 year old and 2 year old this is impossible. After deciding on a plan of action for the day and figuring out the bus situation (which was challenging), we arrived at the ropeway and embarked. This was the disappointing part. The landscape views were not what I had expected. Why I had certain expectations I can't say, but this was not it. We did see some steam escaping from someplace and when we got to the first 'checkpoint' on the ropeway route we got out to investigate. It is called Owakudani, which mean "great boiling valley". Here's why:

It's pretty cool to steam and snow in the same place! I thought at first it may be a hot springs hot spot, but no. These are sulfur vents, though there are some hot springs around. You can buy and consume eggs boiled in the sulfur water (the shells turn black) which are supposed to add longevity to your life; eating more than 2 1/2 is taboo. We didn't do this. You had to hike out a little way too it and we chose to be happy with our photos and continue on.

You can clearly see the sulfur, and it does indeed smell like rotten eggs!

After this stop we continued on the ropeway and ended up in Sounzan, a quaint little town that feels far more European than Japanese, although this is on purpose. We walked around a bit but there's not much to tell here. I wanted to go to the Hakone Open-Air museum, which showcases sculptures outside, but it is very large and we didn't have the time to spend here and do the other things we wanted to do, although now I really wish we had gone!

We went back over the ropeway to board the kitschy pirate ship replica that ferries you across Lake Ashi. It was kind of neat. Carrie thought the plastic pirates were cool, although I'm not really sure how she knows what pirates are!

Lake Ashi

We arrived at the other side and disembarked in another quaint village and looked around a bit. Mostly souvenir shops around. All I got was this picture, but I like it!

Not much to say about this place either. I believe it's mostly a tourist resort area. We were hoping to get a better view of Fuji here since our first view of Fuji was obscure at best.

That bright white spot in the center is all of Fuji San we got to see. They say that winter is the best time to see it, when the skies are clearer, but I don't know that I 'd want to stay here in winter; April was pretty chilly!