April 7, 2014
April 7, 2014
We woke early today. Right away, Aimee tells me she wants take a soak again. And she was the one who was so against nude public bathing. I guess she is going native.
We had breakfast served to us in our room. I guess I was expecting something simple. Instead it was like last night, elaborate courses of many small items, most of which we would normally not eat, especially in the morning. I am beginning to realize why Japanese restaurants are not common in the US. Of course we had fish, raw and cooked, but also soft-boiled egg, miso soup, meat on a stick, fruit roll, pickled veggies, tofu, rice, and tea. Aimee ate the rice. Again there were items we couldn’t quite identify. I was eating some white dish that looked a little like wet rice. I made the comment to Aimee to try it because it had no taste. She took a long look at it and she said the rice had eyes. I told her that was probably pepper but upon closer examination, the rice turned out to be tiny infant sardines.
After checking out, we were happy to see no clouds in the sky. That is so important for today’s exploration of the nearby National Park. From Hakone we take a forty minute train ride to the mountain town of Gora less than five miles away. The train isn’t slow, we just gained elevation the hard way. Three times the train switch-backed uphill by reversing direction and heading up a different track. At Gora we loaded onto a funicular train to go higher yet again. We are still not at the top so we take a cable car up over the ridge of Mt Hakone. As we crested, we were blessed with a glorious view of snow-capped Mt Fuji. What a beautiful mountain, probably the most perfect on earth. We were in the cable car with a group of young Korean girls who screamed when they saw it.
If I needed reminding that Fuji not only looks like, but is an active volcano, all I had to do was turn around. I am standing on the edge of Owakudani, the smoking crater of Mt. Hakone. There are dozens of sulfur-smelling steam vents below me. I hope I can get out of Japan before one of them blows again.
Instead of returning the way we came, we take a cable car downhill to Lake Ashi. There we board a replica pirate ship for a cruise to the other end of this crater lake. After we disembark we walk to the Hakone Checkpoint. In feudal times, the ruling Shogun (military dictator) would ensure peace with the other Daimyos (Samurai lords) by making them reside part of the time with him in Edo (Tokyo). When they went home they had to leave their wife and eldest son in Edo as hostages. The Tokaido road connecting Edo with Kyoto climbed this narrow Hakone Pass. A checkpoint was setup here to make sure that no wives were smuggled home. The wooden structures of the Checkpoint were rebuilt to show what it looked like. Afterwards we walked a stretch of the Tokaido road thru a grove of massive old cedar trees.
Finished we take a bus back to Hakone. We stroll the town and then have Tempura and Sake (rice wine) for lunch at a traditional Japanese restaurant. Our next destination is the Japanese Alps. To get there we take two local trains, then a bullet train (past another view of Fuji) to Nagoya, and then a long express train north, arriving in Takayama just before dark. This last leg up the granite gorge of the Hida River was beautiful. I would think I was in the American West except for the cherry trees and bamboo forest lining the tracks. And of course the many houses. We arrived 40 minutes late. Shocking! So far the trains in Japan have been extraordinary. Normally you can set your watch by their departure and arrival times.
We are staying at another ryokan tonight. Since Aimee is the big soaker now, we take a bath before retiring. The onsen at this ryokan is tinier and doesn’t have the scenic view of the previous one.
We had breakfast served to us in our room. I guess I was expecting something simple. Instead it was like last night, elaborate courses of many small items, most of which we would normally not eat, especially in the morning. I am beginning to realize why Japanese restaurants are not common in the US. Of course we had fish, raw and cooked, but also soft-boiled egg, miso soup, meat on a stick, fruit roll, pickled veggies, tofu, rice, and tea. Aimee ate the rice. Again there were items we couldn’t quite identify. I was eating some white dish that looked a little like wet rice. I made the comment to Aimee to try it because it had no taste. She took a long look at it and she said the rice had eyes. I told her that was probably pepper but upon closer examination, the rice turned out to be tiny infant sardines.
If I needed reminding that Fuji not only looks like, but is an active volcano, all I had to do was turn around. I am standing on the edge of Owakudani, the smoking crater of Mt. Hakone. There are dozens of sulfur-smelling steam vents below me. I hope I can get out of Japan before one of them blows again.
Finished we take a bus back to Hakone. We stroll the town and then have Tempura and Sake (rice wine) for lunch at a traditional Japanese restaurant. Our next destination is the Japanese Alps. To get there we take two local trains, then a bullet train (past another view of Fuji) to Nagoya, and then a long express train north, arriving in Takayama just before dark. This last leg up the granite gorge of the Hida River was beautiful. I would think I was in the American West except for the cherry trees and bamboo forest lining the tracks. And of course the many houses. We arrived 40 minutes late. Shocking! So far the trains in Japan have been extraordinary. Normally you can set your watch by their departure and arrival times.
We are staying at another ryokan tonight. Since Aimee is the big soaker now, we take a bath before retiring. The onsen at this ryokan is tinier and doesn’t have the scenic view of the previous one.
posted by Mike and Aimee at 1:49 PM
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