Hakone is a day trip away from Tokyo located in the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park most known for the hot springs and views of Fuji. According to Google, the best time to view Mt. Fuji is in winter but after a rainy day yesterday I had low hopes that it would be clear. I was hoping for maybe a tiny slice of visibility so I could see the top of the peak at least.
Hakone was about an hour ride on the Shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo. Like most people I had heard about the bullet trains but to see them go by was something else. It's hard to register how fast they go when you are in one, but standing on the platform I blinked and the train had flown by. They really are super fast. If you take any other train to Hakone it takes about an hour and a half while the bullet train brings the time down to thirty minutes. Once again Japan has it figured out. The trains are insanely clean too. I was afraid to eat and after I made sure to wipe down my entire space I was so scared to leave even a crumb.
The bullet train didn't take us all the way to Hakone. It took us to Odawara station from which we boarded another train and bus which eventually took us to the Hakone Shrine. Hakone is covered under a Hakone Free Pass which gives you access to the train to Hakone, the bus, pirate ship, ropeway, and the cable car. If you do it all it is a giant loop. I was excited to be able to sail on Lake Ashi and see the views of majestic mount Fuji!
Today was not a good day for Hakone. It had rained yesterday and while there were pockets of blue sky, it was very overcast and threatening to rain. When we arrived, it had already started to sprinkle so we headed straight for the Hakone Shrine. The Hakone-jinja Shrine sits on top of a hill and is most known for its floating gate. The actual shrine was pretty small but had some cool dragon fountains. The floating gate has become a landmark of Japan and people queue just to get a photo under it. Surprisingly, I had no intention of standing in the queue so I let it be. I was intent on getting to the pirate ship.
I was concerned about the pirate ship as I didn't see any on the water. I saw a fancy glass ferry that wasn't covered under my pass. I inquired where the pirate ship was and the lady informed me it had been stopped for the day. I then inquired how I was supposed to reach the ropeway if not by boat. The next response I received was that the ropeway had also been stopped due to high winds. So all in all Hakone seemed like a flop! No pirate ship meant no ropeway which meant we couldn't eat the black eggs that are famous at the boiling point of Odawara. I tried not to let the news dampen our spirits and suggested instead we get a hot bowl of soup.
One of the foods Hakone is known for is soba noodles. For lunch we sat down at a small restaurant called Tsuchiya. The restaurant was run by a Japanese grandma who didn't speak any English but was just too cute! Suyi flexed the little Japanese he knew and she was overjoyed he knew a few words. I still don't know how the grandma keeps her shop alive as she only has two tables in her restaurant. It felt like a very homey experience being served by her. Suyi and I both ordered the shrimp tempura soba noodles. I really enjoyed the broth as it felt so good on a cold day like today.
The only other thing left to do was to go to a hot spring. Since Mt. Fuji is an active volcano, there are many hot springs in the area. For a traditional Japanese hot spring, you must go naked. Swimsuits are not allowed. Since Suyi did not feel comfortable going naked, I looked up hot springs you could wear a swimsuit at and found one called Hakone Kowakien Yunessun Hot Spring Amusement Park.
The hot spring was not a hot spring at all. There were several different themed pools similar to a hot tub except they were not truly hot either. The first one we started with was a wine bath. This pool had a strong smell of wine and the water was a red color. There was even a wine bottle to make it look like the wine was pouring and pouring out. We stayed in the wine pool for some time fooling around and taking funny photos. The next pool we visited was situated under a large mosaic dome. I don't really know the vibe they were going for here but I got a Middle Eastern vibe. That pool was initially very crowded with many kids. Since families can't take their kids to the traditional nude hot springs, they bring them here. I guess the hot spring was titled amusement park. We bathed in the water for a couple hours to get our money's worth but it was not a hot spring at all. I really wish I had gone to a traditional one. Next time!
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