Well, we’re off to Korea. Back on Sunday with lots of pictures and stories to tell.
Take a look up at the top of the screen. I’ve started adding photo galleries of the highlights in any given area. (See the location tabs next to “home”). I’ll do my best to keep them updated.
Have a good weekend!
… so you may be wondering what we actually did in Hakone. With two full posts dedicated to *getting there* (scroll down if you missed those), you’re probably curious what all the fuss was over.
Hakone seems to be the equivalent of a state park here. There’s a lot of nature, which unfortunately also means a lot of people (though we did have a few moments where we felt like we were the only ones in the area). The scenery was just breathtaking – even a cityphile like me can appreciate the views, though I am happy that we didn’t end up actually hiking *up* any of the mountains.
After a modest breakfast of tamago onsen, some sausage that Wally brought with him from Alaska and a few leftover bits of candy, we set out for the lake. Our cabins were at the northern end of Lake Ashi, and there were some sights we had in mind at the south end of the lake. So we took a boat…
Which was more like a kitchy pirate ship. And you know, jon and i love kitchy pirate ships as much as the next guy, so we had a good time.
The snow stopped early in the morning, but the clouds never really broke in the right spots for us to see fuji. I imagine it was beautiful – maybe someday we’ll get back.
Mostly out of curiosity, I ordered a cup of “hakone milk”. It was definitely different than good ol’ Wisconsin milk. Maybe different cows? As a coping strategy for eating/drinking new things, i think it’s best to not think of them as something that you know, and expect their tastes to be familiar. I think that’s why people get grossed out. If I tried this milk thinking “mmm… milk.” I would have been really creeped out by its completely different taste. If you approach new food without expectation, you’re more likely to be satisfied. Totally drinkable, but certainly not milk as I know it.
At the base of the lake there was a checkpoint. In old Japan, you weren’t free to travel across the country as you pleased – you needed to carry the appropriate papers and present them at checkpoints throughout the country. While I’ve read about these, I’ve never actually seen photos of one, so it was really interesting to see how it worked.
There was also a reenactment of life in the barracks set up, so we could learn a bit about how the soldiers lived and what their things looked like. All in all, a pretty cool experience. I’m glad we made it over there.
Oh, and here’s jon dressed up like a lady again. I kind of love these.
We also had tea at the Detached Palace Gardens. It is supposed to be, hands down, the best viewing spot of fuji. The thick green tea we drank out of bowls was good, but the view was wasted on us. The gardens were great because there was NO ONE there. It was one of the only spots that it was possible to forget where you were.
…After the gardens, we walked through the ancient cedar avenue. 120 Cedars were planted in the Edo period on either side of the main highway. Given a couple hundred years to thrive, the trees became very impressive.
At this point in the day we began our ascent back home, planning adequate time for a layover to take in an onsen (hot baths). We hopped on a bus that was quite possibly the most adventuresome bus ride I’ve ever experienced. The first half of the 45 minute trip was laden with switchbacks, taking the curves at carsick-inducing speeds.
But once the mountains flattened out a bit, we realized the ride was just starting to get interesting. The town it went through was so small that they only had a 1 lane road. A 1 lane road, that is, for two directions of traffic. And while the town itself was small, it happened to be a majour thoroughfare for traffic between where we were and where we were going. We almost hit another bus. Several times we had to pull over and wait for oncoming traffic to stop, back up, and let us through – we were, after all, bigger.
Once we got to our destination, we headed to the onsen. Have you ever been to hot springs? Big, public outdoor hot baths heated by natural springs? Onsens are kind of like that except you don’t wear a bathing suit, so most of the time they’re separated into boys and girls. This may have been the most relaxing 2 hours of my life.
I’m not good at relaxing. I’m uptight. This is a known fact. It took me about an hour just to talk myself into quieting my thoughts and enjoying the surroundings. I would imagine that some people are self-conscious and that is the source of their anxious mind, but I’m just… always on edge. The second hour…. let me tell you, once I got the hang of this “relaxation” thing, I rocked the shit out of it.
Once we left the onsen, we headed back into town and tried to find dinner. Mind you, it is now SEVEN pm on a Sunday night. We found exactly one place open. The decor was kind of creepy, and the menu options were limited, but it sure did beat eating rice balls from 7-11.
So that’s hakone. I hope you enjoyed our adventure.
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