hakone! sept 30-oct 1
met everyone at a random station in tokyo - we left by bus a little late cause we waited an hour or so for a person to roll out of bed late. eh whatever, even with us being pushed back a little bit - we didnt miss anything, and so on for the day. the bus that we were on was little and scrunched. the seats were padded but did not have enough regular seats - we got extra seats by moving down the arm rest of the chairs on the left-hand side which magically became seats. neat.
the bus ride was about 2 hrs to the city of hakone and we randomly took a break after an hour. rest stops in japan are so nice and big and pretty. on this day there was a little fair, and my friend jesse and i did the scoop and water thing. this time there werent real fish, but bouncy balls instead. i only got 1 before my net broke - which then the lady grabbed me one by hand and gave it to me. haha i suck.
we stopped for lunch at this little place. they served udon and such, and a ton of tofu. i like tofu but this was a bit too much.. then we walked around and took pics. spiders.. wow are so huge in hakone. dang.. and pretty plentiful as well. then we headed to the outdoor museum, that place is pretty darn cool. all the statues and such are outside among the trees, rivers, and mountains. so the artwork changes with the seasons and weather. we were there for a while but it was a nice time. afterwards we took the bus again, just for a little bit this time. we got to a cable car thing - that would take us on the other side of a large mountain. it was only 7min long but it was fun, and finally got to see mt.fuji. very cool. the trip was nice and we kept waving back and forth with the passing cars on the other cable.
once on the other side we got off and headed up a mountain that had steam coming out of it - sulfur. natural springs were there too, but man did it smell funny. and on the mountain walk, they served hardboiled eggs to eat, nice huh? hehe. then it was back on the bus to head to our ryokan. we all divided into rooms and met up for dinner - all dressed in the ryokan wear, a yukata and green obi with a blue coat. my room only had size large of these, so i looked tiny. haha! we had a grand dinner with a little pot where you could cook your own food. we sat on the large tatami floor, and each of us had a little tray of many foods. sake and beer were served also, this time it was good tasting sake - plum sake is sweet and delicious. after dinner and desert, the karaoke box was brought out - very amusing. but while we were eating we heard a drunk old man singing from down the hall, he was very impressive haha! then it was off to the onsen. (natural hot springs)
the girls had their own and so did the guys, seperated far from each other. we got nekkie and washed ourselves off with the soap and shampoo provided - so that we wouldnt make the water dirty. we also got a little towel that we could cover up with. the one inside was soo hot, so we went to the onsen outside, it was a nice night. but i saw something in the water and since i did not have my glasses, i just ignored it and walked to the other side. thought it was a toe.. lol turns out it was poo. nice. nice.. so some girls found a few rocks and tried to scoop it out with 4 rocks. worked. then there was another smaller one.. we got out quickly and went back into the hot hot one inside. we think that there may have been a child or an old lady with bowel problems. no that is not a usual thing for these places, this ryokan/hotel is very very fancy and rich looking. (we got a deal to stay here cause the owner is a graduate from my school) - and the onsens are private. we reported it to the hotel. changed back into the yukatas - after washing off with soap and shampoo.. and hung out with peoples for a while before going to bed in our very comfy futons on the floor.
the next morning was a buffet breakfast - american and japanese food available. and random cold spaggheti. we saw a castle, that was pretty neat. and ate a bento lunch (japanese box lunch) on the bus that the hotel provided, yum. (this bus was a lot bigger than the other one, everyone got a real seat) then we headed to a large temple area, it was so cool! tons of trees and buildings within a small little area. it was pouring rain tho, boo. then from there we headed back to the train station, and i headed home from there.
hakone is simply beautiful, i had a great time there.
the bus ride was about 2 hrs to the city of hakone and we randomly took a break after an hour. rest stops in japan are so nice and big and pretty. on this day there was a little fair, and my friend jesse and i did the scoop and water thing. this time there werent real fish, but bouncy balls instead. i only got 1 before my net broke - which then the lady grabbed me one by hand and gave it to me. haha i suck.
we stopped for lunch at this little place. they served udon and such, and a ton of tofu. i like tofu but this was a bit too much.. then we walked around and took pics. spiders.. wow are so huge in hakone. dang.. and pretty plentiful as well. then we headed to the outdoor museum, that place is pretty darn cool. all the statues and such are outside among the trees, rivers, and mountains. so the artwork changes with the seasons and weather. we were there for a while but it was a nice time. afterwards we took the bus again, just for a little bit this time. we got to a cable car thing - that would take us on the other side of a large mountain. it was only 7min long but it was fun, and finally got to see mt.fuji. very cool. the trip was nice and we kept waving back and forth with the passing cars on the other cable.
once on the other side we got off and headed up a mountain that had steam coming out of it - sulfur. natural springs were there too, but man did it smell funny. and on the mountain walk, they served hardboiled eggs to eat, nice huh? hehe. then it was back on the bus to head to our ryokan. we all divided into rooms and met up for dinner - all dressed in the ryokan wear, a yukata and green obi with a blue coat. my room only had size large of these, so i looked tiny. haha! we had a grand dinner with a little pot where you could cook your own food. we sat on the large tatami floor, and each of us had a little tray of many foods. sake and beer were served also, this time it was good tasting sake - plum sake is sweet and delicious. after dinner and desert, the karaoke box was brought out - very amusing. but while we were eating we heard a drunk old man singing from down the hall, he was very impressive haha! then it was off to the onsen. (natural hot springs)
the girls had their own and so did the guys, seperated far from each other. we got nekkie and washed ourselves off with the soap and shampoo provided - so that we wouldnt make the water dirty. we also got a little towel that we could cover up with. the one inside was soo hot, so we went to the onsen outside, it was a nice night. but i saw something in the water and since i did not have my glasses, i just ignored it and walked to the other side. thought it was a toe.. lol turns out it was poo. nice. nice.. so some girls found a few rocks and tried to scoop it out with 4 rocks. worked. then there was another smaller one.. we got out quickly and went back into the hot hot one inside. we think that there may have been a child or an old lady with bowel problems. no that is not a usual thing for these places, this ryokan/hotel is very very fancy and rich looking. (we got a deal to stay here cause the owner is a graduate from my school) - and the onsens are private. we reported it to the hotel. changed back into the yukatas - after washing off with soap and shampoo.. and hung out with peoples for a while before going to bed in our very comfy futons on the floor.
the next morning was a buffet breakfast - american and japanese food available. and random cold spaggheti. we saw a castle, that was pretty neat. and ate a bento lunch (japanese box lunch) on the bus that the hotel provided, yum. (this bus was a lot bigger than the other one, everyone got a real seat) then we headed to a large temple area, it was so cool! tons of trees and buildings within a small little area. it was pouring rain tho, boo. then from there we headed back to the train station, and i headed home from there.
hakone is simply beautiful, i had a great time there.