After a week in Tokyo, we jumped on the Shinkansen (Japan’s bullet train) and headed south for our overnight stay in Hakone.We checked out of our Shinjuku apartment around 9am and headed to the JR station to catch our train out into the countryside. Pro Tip: give yourself some time at the train station because there are a few additional forms to fill out in order to get your actual JR boarding pass. And there will probably be a line. After we got our passes, we headed up to the platform, grabbed a couple bento boxes and beers and waited for the train to arrive. We took the basic JR train even though we knew we’d have to make a connection to get to Hakone. There is a “romance train” that is nonstop, but it’s not included with the JR pass. We decided to just enjoy the voyage and skip the extra charge. In the end, that worked out for us considering what we learned once we arrived... After the two hour train ride, we got off and back in line for the cable car to take us into town. It was there that we noticed a weather update scrolling along the bottom of the monitors. Because the wind was so strong, the town had decided to close the public transit that runs along Lake Ashi and up to the top of the mountain where majority of the tourist attractions exist. With that knowledge, we decided to just head to our Ryokan and get settled. We were super bummed that we wouldn’t be able to see the volcano or the monkeys plus we were all revved up to eat some black eggs which we also didn’t get to experience... so sad. But we were thankful for a little down time in a slow moving town. We had the rest of the day to explore at our leisure without worrying about closing times or anything specific. Plus, there was still hope that we could see Mt. Fuji! After we unpacked our warmest clothes, the temp was around 45 degrees, we got a taxi down to Lake Ashi. Our first stop was the giant tori gate along the water’s edge. We took just a few photos ;) and then decided to run up to the main shrine before it got too dark. We donated some yen in exchange for prayer cards and blessings and walked around the open air part of the shrine. The forest was twinkling as the sun rays started to stream through the trees. Hakone is so beautiful! Then, we headed to the southern part of the lake to see if we could spot Mt. Fuji. We could! We stayed there through sunset and simply reflected on the beauty of the mountain and Japan itself. It was such a peaceful moment and so wonderful to experience with family. Afterwards, we hit up the 7-Eleven for some goodies to eat in the morning (specifically, some coffee) and caught the bus back up to our Ryokan. We ate dinner there and then took a dip in our onsen. Our first Airbnb host gifted us a bottle of sake (for Chase’s birthday) so we cracked that baby open and spent the evening hanging around the heated dining room table... kind of weird to imagine but it was super cool! We laughed, shared stories, and just spent quality time together. So many amazing memories made! Like that egg (keep scrolling). Funny story, Chase found it at the 7-Eleven and thought it was an actual egg. Turns out it was soap! Luckily we figured that out before trying to bite into it! The next morning we enjoyed our breakfast, packed up and headed for the bus to get us on the train to Kyoto. Although we didn’t get to see all of the tourist musts in Hakone, it’s safe to say we all enjoyed a calm recovery day in the middle of our trip.
Until Next Time, C + D
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6/30/2023 11:23:27 am
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