Heating up in Hakone...
January 23, 2006
After my fish market experience, it was now time to head off for my day-trip to Hakone that I had been planning on taking.
Basically, you experience several forms of transportation (train, little train, cable car tram, gondola ride, boat ride, bus) all in
the name of seeing and looking in awe at Mt. Fuji. Can somebody explain to me why a tall mountain capped with snow is just so
darn beautiful??? When we first spotted it on the gondola portion on our ‘mode of transportation extravaganza’, I felt my
mouth drop. Seriously, I did. I got off at the first stop the gondola made and admired it through the clear blue skies (one of the
perks of being there in the winter). This stop also was home to sulfur steam vents. The smell really wasn’t as bad as the book
made it sound. Unfortunately, the wind picked up a bit while we were there and we all got a sulfur steam bath. This is when I
went and purchased my egg that they boil in the sulfur springs which turns the shell a blackish-yellow. A hard-boiled egg is a
hard-boiled egg…but being as hungry as I was at that moment, it was the most delicious hard-boiled egg I’ve ever eaten
(unfortunately, the sushi at 6:30am made for a hungry Jen once 1pm rolled around).
When we got down to the lake, we took a replica pirate ship across the lake. There were even a couple of funny pirate statues
on-board. I then went wandering around the two towns on the lake that look onto Mt. Fuji.
Since Hakone is known for their hot springs, it was now time for me to just relax and soak. I went to a very nice one that was
close to the train station and they provided a shuttle (that made it a winner in my book). The process is very different than
what us Americans are used to. It goes like this:
1. Put shoes in a locker. Then go into the actual locker room.
2. Strip down. (Did I mention this isn’t necessarily for the extremely modest?)
3. Go to one of the many open stalls. Sit on the stool and bathe away. They provide shampoo and soap and little buckets
with scoop-things (to pour water on yourself). There’s also a showerhead to wash yourself down.
4. After getting totally clean, I first soaked in the indoor hot bath.
5. Then I went outside to one of the three hot spring baths. The atmosphere was so beautiful and peaceful. The baths were
made of huge stones and the railings were all made of bamboo. This was all nestled in Japanese gardens.
6. After getting very hot, I went back to the shower and gave myself a cold rinse. Then I went back outside to the hot bath.
This process was repeated another two times.
7. After you’ve soaked yourself enough that you constitute a raisin, it’s time to get out, put your clothes back on and
retrieve your shoes from the locker.
The shuttle is then there to take you back to the train station. The trip back to Tokyo is now underway…
Once I got back to Tokyo, it was time to move my stuff to the Westin. When I got there, I knew exactly why Dave needed to
get out of our other hotel (he stayed at the Westin last time he was here). The hotel is one of the nicer Westins that I have seen.
And then there’s that ‘Heavenly Bed’…
Standing in front of Mt. Fuji
| Catching a whiff of the natural sulfur springs in the area |
