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.