Hakone

After a local train (Nikko – Utsuomiya), two shinkansen (Utsunomiya – Tokyo and Tokyo – Odawara) and a bus (Odawara – Hakone), we finally made it to our guesthouse, at which point I promptly crashed with a headache and a churning stomach. じゃあ、しょうがないね。Word on the street is that everyone else went out for dinner.

Yesterday morning we had an early start – 8 a.m. departure to catch a bus back down the mountain (be still, my churning stomach), onto a cable car that took us up another mountain, then onto a ropeway (chairlifts in an enclosed ‘gondola’, as one of the others called it – like the ones at Taronga Zoo), which took as to the summit.

The smell of sulfur was almost overpowering at times, and it sort of reminded me of something out of Lord of the Rings, with all the steam and rock and mist. The main attraction up here are the black eggs (黒玉子) – eggs cooked for an hour in the sulfur, then sold to curious travellers and superstitious folk who believe the ‘seven years longevity’ claim that gets bandied around. I’m sure they make a fortune from the local retirement villages…

After eggs were consumed (by people who were not me – eggs, ugh), there was a quick wander around the souvenir shop and then it was back on the ropeway and down to Lake Ashi (芦ノ湖) for a cruise across to central Hakone (箱根町). It was reasonably enjoyable, despite the cool, cloudy conditions… at least until it started raining. Clearly, the weather gods were not smiling on us.

We disembarked on the far side of the river, wandered up through the cedar forest and then split up for a free afternoon. Mum and I spent the time with Nic (from Perth) and Jen (from Calgary) – first at lunch at a little homestyle restaurant (cheap and tasty fare), then across the road to Narukawa Art Gallery (成川美術館). It was a small collection of Japanese impressionist-style works, located in a building on the side of the mountain, with an amazing view out of the lake. We had coffee and cake in the cafe, as this had the best view in the whole place.

After we finished up there, we headed to what was probably the main even of our day, the Open Air Museum (彫刻美術館). It had an amazing collection of more modern art – including a Picasso Museum – and a number of sculptures, including some Rodin. Arguably the best part was the interactive installation art/kids playground.

It might have said under thirteen, but that didn’t stop a heck of  lot of over thirteens from getting in there and trying it out. Good times were had by all.

There was a fair bit we didn’t get to, thanks to closing time, including a foot spa (which would have been gratefully partaken in, with the amount of walking we’ve been doing lately. Ten thousand steps a day hasn’t been a problem – we’re racking that up by lunchtime most days.

Due to a slight problem with Nic’s Hakone FreePass (it got caught up with the money she gave me for the museum entry, and ended up in my wallet), we missed the last bus back to the ryokan and had to take a taxi. I’m pleased to say that price-wise, they’re on par with Australia. I guess the reports of ‘exorbitantly expensive’ are coming either (a) in comparison to public transport or (b) from Americans, whose taxi fares are significantly cheaper than ours. We split it between four people, so it was only 500円 each, and faster than the bus, too!

That evening we ate out at another tavern-style restaurant. The food was tasty (美味しい！) and the serving sizes very generous. I was still pretty full from lunch, and couldn’t get through all of it.

And there our one and only full day in Hakone. This morning it time to pack up and head off to our next destination – Takayama.

P.S. Mum would like it mentioned that it’s rude to read and not comment. Just sayin’.

Tagged as: japan 09, Travel