Anyway, back to the trip…
Our second city in Japan was Hakone. When planning the trip, my mother purposefully placed this city between Kyoto and Tokyo to build in a bit of a rest period. The atmosphere of this city is much more relaxed and was a very welcome change of pace after the busy (but fun) three days traveling to and exploring Kyoto.
Day 1
Arrival: We arrived in Hakone in the afternoon, after riding the Shinkansen (Japanese bullet train) in from Kyoto station. The trip was about 3.5 hours and took us to a neighboring city, Odawara. Once we arrived there we purchased a 3-day unlimited pass which not only afforded us unlimited access to buses and trains but also discounts on entrance fees to various sights within Hakone and the surrounding areas. From Odawara it was about a 30-40 minute bus ride to our BEAUTIFUL hotel, The Fujiya, which is one of the first resort in Japan and has hosted the likes of John Lennon and Yoko Ono as well as political leaders from various countries.
Many of the sights and activities we wanted to engage in were closing once shortly after we arrived so our first day we spent most of our time in and around the hotel.
The Fujiya has a beautiful garden that takes about 25 minutes to walk through and the sunny weather provided a perfect opportunity for us to grab our cameras and work on our photography skills. Here are a few of my favorite shots:
We then walked to Naraya Cafe (about 10 minutes from the hotel) where we enjoyed ice cream and beverages while soaking our feet in a hot spring bath! Our feet were a little swollen and tired from the previous three days of travel and the hot soak felt SO GOOD! Finally, it was time to head back to the hotel for tea in the Fujiya’s famous Orchid Lounge for…well..tea and of course some sweet treats. During the tea my mother convinced me to join her in taking a Japanese bath or onsen. The process was initially very intimidating and overwhelming to me (click the 'onsen' link for details) and I actually walked out twice before trying it, but I'm so glad I did. Soaking in the hot spring water left my skin feeling cleaner and softer than its ever felt and I've never had better sleep. I loved it so much that I ended up doing it again at our hotel in Tokyo...but more on that later.
Day 2: To make up for not being able to hit any of the sights on our list the day before, we got up pretty early and covered nearly everything before closing time!
Stop 1: Hakone Open Air Museum
Easily my favorite part of the trip so far! I love art museums, especially when the work is uniquely displayed or presented. I was literally rendered speechless by the sheer size of some of the work presented and the combination of art and nature was perfect. Ultimately, I ended up putting on my headphones and wandering around the museum by myself for most of the 2-3 hours we were there, and of course took a TON of pictures. I could make a whole post just devoted to this place (and probably will), but for now click the link and enjoy the few pics I've included here and in the video below.
We were also able to enjoy another foot bath here, which for some reason included oranges. Here is a clip of my mom sharing HER thoughts on the matter:
Stop 2: Gora
Our next stop was to a cute little area called Gora. This is where you can catch the Hakone Tozan Railway, which is the first step in getting to Lake Ashinoko (sight 3). Since we were starving we sat down and had a delicious soba noodle lunch (Gora is filled with soba noodle spots) and then hopped on the train. There isn't much shopping or other activities to do in this area, although there is a park in the area that has wonderful gardens and views.
Stop 3: Lake Ashinoko
Hakone is one of the cities from which you can get a clear view of Mt. Fuji. Lake Ashinoko, or Lake Ashi for short, is the perfect place to do this and is usually done by taking the ropeway or a boat cruise. Unfortunately for us due to increased volcanic activity in the area the ropeway was shut down (something I was actually not too upset about since the thought of dangling above a mountain didn't seem very appealing to me). Seeing as our only option was the boat tour we hopped on a bus that took us down to the dock and we got on a beautiful boat that took us on a ride across Lake Ashi and dropped us off on the other side where we could shop and eat if we wanted to before catching a city bus back to the train station. While the boat ride was very peaceful with beautiful views, it did get a little crowded with tour groups and we had a bit of a cloudy day and could not get a clear view of Mt. Fuji. However, the shopping on the other side of the lake was pretty decent (mostly touristy souvenir types of shops) and we were able to finally get some delicious bean-filled buns!
At this point a lot of things in Hakone were beginning to close and we needed to head back to the hotel and figure out what we were going to do for dinner. I will say that if you visit Hakone during the week, plan on eating an early dinner as most of the restaurants don't stay open very late. We ended up eating in our hotel's bar, which was actually really delicious, but there were a ton of places nearby that we wanted to try. As you can tell, Hakone has a very different vibe from Kyoto, but it was just as enjoyable. As I said before my mother planned this portion of the trip to give us a chance to rest before taking on Toky, and as you'll see in the next post we definitely needed it.
As always I've gone ahead and made a vlog of our short time in Hakone. Make sure to check it out and leave a comment to let me know what you think:
Before I close out I'd like to take a second and say that I almost didn't write this post because of all that is going on in the world in the past week, particularly around the lives of Black people throughout the diaspora. However, as I was looking for guidance and inspiration in my own processing of emotions around these events I came across the following quotes and offer them to you merely as food for thought:
"In every community, there is work to be done. In every nation, there are wounds to heal. In every heart, there is the power to do it." - Marianne Williamson
"Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but
by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it
can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may
even become friends." - Maya Angelou
Enjoy the journey...
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