Hakone

The trip to Hakone, a resort region in Japan, was initially perceived to be a relaxing break from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. Little did I know that it would be a 36 hour whirlwind of excitement...

We started at the Hakone Open Air Museum, which really had some sweet eye candy. It was a park where all sorts of different artwork could roam freely in their natural habitat, protected from poachers and predators.

We had an insane game of tag through this maze.




This was a really neat structure in that from the outside, the stained glass was not illuminated and appeared a dull brown. Only upon going inside could you appreciate the vibrant colors.

Next, we traveled to the natural hot springs at the top of the mountain. Here we climbed in quest of an egg hardboiled in the sulfuric springs that promised an additional seven years of life.

Okay, so we didn't go all the way to the top. And we didn't have to climb. We followed a trail to the brown building less that half of the way up the mountain. And it wasn't so much a quest as it was paying 500 yen for six eggs. But the part about the seven years is true, or so the legend goes.

Here, the guy is checking on the eggs cooking in a crate in this pool. After they are cooked, the shells of the eggs turn black.


They tasted like regular eggs, but were a whole lot more enjoyable because the air was rank with the scent of sulfur.


For those less adventurous (or just lazy) eggs are shipped down to a building at the foot of the mountain via this cable car. Raw eggs are shipped up for cookin' in the same manner.


Sunset in Hakone. Mt. Fuji is on the right side, but cloud cover impeded visibility.

That night, we had a huge feast in a room of our own. This led into karaoke, although there weren't many English songs available.

One song that we did know, however, was the theme to Titanic. Thank you, Celine Dion.

On Sunday, we visited the first Western style hotel in Japan. Really had a nice feel to it, but it was little wonder why we didn't stay there, as one night runs for about 900 USD.

Each of the rooms had their own flower theme. We were shown the Cherry Blossom room. Patrons to the hotel have included Mr. John Lennon, and Alabama's own Helen Keller.


Japanese fish are apparently amphibious - they actually would beach themselves atop the rocks or other fish for food.


Taking a dive in the garden pool in the back of the hotel.


The garden was full of radiant autumn colors.

We visited Hakone Castle after the hotel, where we played some dress up. For only 200 yen, you can become a samurai or Japanese princess. The rental place made the mistake of lending real metal swords, and the samurai drew a crowd as they re-enacted battles of long ago.

Finally, we visited a shrine with 1000 steps. Naturally, races ensued.

The slippers on the left side of the picture represent patrons of the shrine. The bigger the donation, the bigger the pair of slippers. It was easy to spot who the "big spender" was.

Hakone was one of the most enjoyable weekends I've spent in Japan. The people were all great, as was the food, sights, and accomodations. I don't think that anyone who went on the trip came away with a single complaint.

The Yasukuni Shrine

With our Japanese Culture class, we traveled to the Yasukuni Shrine today. The shrine is notorious for the controversy that surrounds it. Analogous to Arlington Cemetery in the United States, the shrine is dedicated to all those who have died fighting in the name of the emperor.

The shrine rouses controversy as, in honoring the spirits of those who have fallen in battle in the emperor's name, it subsequently honors about 1000 Prisoners of War who were executed for war crimes during World War II. Furthermore, "14 Class A war criminals . . . were quietly enshrined as the 'Martyrs of Showa,'" and the controversy truly erupted when this was revealed to the public by the media. Nations who had suffered under Japanese military aggression, including China and Korea, saw the shrine as a symbol of Japanese militarism and conservative national pride. In response to the outcry from such countries and Japanese peace groups, the emperor stopped visiting, and his successor has not visited to date. Strong opinion is expressed by many groups for the emperor to continue visits.

Prime ministers have not, however, restricted their visits. Current Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has visited five times, despite the fact that visits by Japanese prime ministers to Yasukuni has led to "official condemnation by neighboring countries." Their visits are seen as an attempt to support Japan's past militarism. Additionally, the way in which historical events are presented in the shrine's museum have been called into question.

Events such as the Rape of Nanking are denied, and Japan is constantly portrayed as a victim of circumstance, particularly due to Western influence. "A pamphlet published by the shrine says: 'War is a really tragic thing to happen, but it was necessary in order for us to protect the independence of Japan and to prosper together with Asian neighbors.'" The pamphlet also defends "Japanese POWs executed for war crimes" saying that they were '"cruelly and unjustly tried" by a "sham-like tribunal of the Allied forces."'

On a lighter note, the Shichi-Go-San (7-5-3) Festival is just around the corner, at which children aged seven, five and three dress up traditionally and go to the shrines. This being the case, we spotted little ones like the one below dolled up all over the shrine grounds.

Well, that was a refreshing break. The kamikaze plane presented below was dropped off a larger airship and was only equipped with enough fuel to propel it for nine seconds, presumably enough for the pilot to make it to his target and take his own life. There were other examples of suicide workings as well. What we at first thought was a torpedo because of its slenderness was actually a single-manned submarine that was to be guided into enemy ships. Also, a small sculpture depicted a technology that was in testing when the war broke out, and was never perfected. A man in an aquatic suit would wait in the water for enemy ships, whereupon he would stab an explosive attached to the end of a bamboo pole into the vessel, killing himself and hopefully dooming the men on board. The plaque said that many soldiers' lives were lost in the development of this method.

The controversy around the Yasukuni Shrine is obvious, and though many suggestions have been made to make it more politically correct, Japan has made very few concessions. Visiting such a blatantly contentious site was quite compelling.

Reference: Wikipedia