Arrival and Hakone Weekend

The flight over was long but uneventful and we arrived over 30 mins early. Tokyo was HOT and HUMID which I felt from the moment I got off the plane.

I got through immigration & customs quickly. My bags were some of the first off the plane. Found my cell phone rental place and learned how to text. Got a ticket on the Skyliner train to Tokyo and was able to manage my two suitcases and backpack without too much trouble.

While riding the train, Triss & I sent texts back and forth--he was heading down on the Shinkansen. He arrived at Ueno station just 15 mins after I did. Aiko (Alan's finacee) arrived about the same time and we all headed off to check into Sakura Hostel. We then headed off to dinner at Dennys and vistited for awhile!

We said goodbye to Aiko and headed back to shower and sleep with the AC running. At 11PM someone started pounding on our door waking both of us out of a deep sleep. I think they had the wrong room and we just went back to sleep without opening the door.

The next morning we headed out to Shinjuku to buy a Hakone Free Pass, which is not free but is the best bargain going. For about $50 each we had a two day pass that provided all transportation for Hakone--trains, gondola, ship, and buses. We had a 90 min train ride to the Hakone station where we switched to the scenic Hakone Tozan Railway that goes on switchbacks up the mountain. We got off at a station near the ryokan where we would be staying and took a taxi to get there. It was too early to check in but they took our bag and got us all checked in. We used our passes to catch a bus into Hakone machi (town), ate lunch and wandered around the shops. It was cooler in the mountains and then got windy, clouded up and sprinkled a little but was still pleasant.

We walked to the Hakone Check Point and Museum which controlled people travelling between Kyoto and Tokyo during the Edo Period and then along the Avenue of the Cedars--a small remanant of the road that was lined with cedar trees to shade travellers. I'll have pictures up in the gallery. More info about the area here: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5205.html

We got back to our ryokan about 5pm. Dinner was served in our room by our maid at 6PM and all the courses were brought in over the next 45 mins. I was still fighting jet lag and so headed off for a quick shower and soak in the small inside bath (hot springs or onsen). Our futons were laid out when I got back to the room about 7:30PM and I went straight to bed and never heard Triss come back from the baths. We both woke up early the next morning so I went to the outdoor bath around 5AM and had a nice soak. At all the onsen we have visited there are separate men's and women's baths but you do have to adjust to the idea of soaking with other people. There is a lot of etiquette involved in proper bathing. All your washing is done away from the bath. You sit on a stool and use your long wash cloth to wash from head to toe and rinse off. When you get into the bath to soak your wash cloth should never end up in the water so most people fold it on top of their heads. When leaving the bath to go back to the changing room for your towel, you should use your washcloth to remove as much water as possible.

Breakfast came at 8 after which we packed up and headed out to explore some more. We took the train to the Hakone Open-Air Museum and wandered around the grounds for a couple hours. The highlight of this place was the "foot onsen"--a place to soak your feet in hot springs water after walking around.

Back on the train and at the next stop transfer to the cable car for a 9 minute ride up the mountain to the Ropeway gondolas for a 30 minute ride over the mountain to end up at Lake Ashi. You can get off part way through and take the Owakundani Nature Trail (Great Boiling Valley) through sulfurous steaming fissures but I had twisted my knee so we didn't stop.

At Lake Ashi we grabbed a hot dog and then got on one of the ships that take you across the lake and back to Hakonemachi. There was a pirate aboard our ship and I was determined to get a picture of him with Sheldon, Knit Picks' mascot and world-travelling turtle. The pirate was there to have pictures taken with tourists by a "professional" and then you buy them at the end of the cruise but Tristan went up and in Japanese asked him if he would pose with the turtle for me. I think the shock of having a couple of "gaijin" ask about a stuffed turtle caught everyone off guard so he let us. The photographer was laughing his head off as were most of the onlookers but we got our shot and didn't have to pay anything. It was quite fun. On a side note, while I was taking pictures in the gondola ride I got Sheldon out and a young Japanese couple saw what I was doing and they got a little stuffed dog out and took his picture so we weren't the only odd ones on vacation!

Our day had been quite full so after collecting our luggage at the ryokan we headed back to the station to catch the train into Tokyo. This time for an additional $9 each we upgraded to take the RomanceCar train. A bit more plush and with assigned seating it seems to appeal to older couples despite the provokative name. The train we caught was an express with only one stop before heading to Tokyo. The seats still weren't big enough for two of us to sit side by side comfortably so when no one else boarded we moved up to some empty seats and turned one set around so 4 seats were facing each other. Triss and I could sit opposite and put our tired feet up (shoes off!). The conductor came by asking for our tickets as we weren't in our assigned seating. Triss gave a quick explanation, the conductor corrected his paperwork and we were comfortably headed back to Tokyo.

I'll work at getting the pictures up and post more tomorrow.