Day 5-6: Hakone

On days 5 and 6 of my time in Japan, S and I went to Hakone. Hakone is a tourist town that is famous for a few things. Hot Springs, outdoor activities and natural beauty.

Unfortunately, the day was overcast and a bit rainy so this ruled a few of the things out. This was the view from Hakone station...

Despite this, we headed towards the Hakone checkpoint, which was rebuilt using the original plans which were found a few years back. Due to the fact that all the signs were in Japanese, and the audio explanationswere also in Japanese, this was not the most educational of sites

We then headed to Lake Ashi for a sightseeing cruise on a boat was that built to look like a pirate ship of some sort but was actually just a normal boat. We should have been able to see Mt Fuji from the cruise, but because of the overcast conditions and fog, we could not see a thing...

We powered on, heading towards Owakudani, or "Great Boiling Valley" which is where the famous life increasing black eggs are found. The eggs are supposedly made by boiling them in the volcanic waters in this valley. For some reason its OK to eat to 2 and a bit eggs, but not OK to eat 3... The eggs are simply black on the outside but when the shell is peeled look like real eggs.


The area was very foggy, and there is steam and pools of boiling water everywhere, and the smell of sulfur is strong. I believe that the water here is pumped into the surrounding onsens.

Taking the ropeway and cable car, we ended up at our Ryokan, which is a traditional Japanese hotel. Our hotel was named Yusaka and had private and gender specific onsens. This was my first time in an onsen, and whilst I was slightly apprehensive, I found that the guys in there generally mind their own business and sit quietly in the corner of the onsen by themselves. I'd imagine it might be slightly more awkward with people I knew.

The onsen was extremely relaxing and enjoyed it. You can't stay in the water for more than 15-20 minutes at a time, but you can get out, rinse with cold water and then hop back in.

After Onsen, we had a kaiseki dinner, which is a Japanses style degaustation. The food was delicious and light. There wasnt a lot of butter/oil/spices, the flavours are from the food itself and the presentation was excellent.


Highlights:

The Salmon in the white bowl was amazing, and whilst I couldn't tell you what anything else on the plate was besides the prawn (i suspect some kind of shellfish is on the leaf and the cube is some kind of pressed pork) this plate was a delicious, with a mix of flavours and textures.


We did not leave anything behind. My first and hopefully not my last kaiseki dinner at a Ryokan!
Breakfast was a simlar affair, with an dip in the onsen with my new naked friends, and then a hearty breakfast, once again with light but with excellent presentation and variety.

Yes - that is confessions of an economic hitman in the corner.. some light conspiracy reading for S.

Overall rating for these two meals and experience 9.5/10. Excellent Service, Excellent food, uniquely Japanese experience and naked men. Whats not to like?

We reluctantly bid goodbye to our ryokan and headed back to Tokyo where we ate a small lunch of Takoyaki from Gindako, one of the best Takoyaki places. It only serves Takoyaki, it had a line of 10 people at 2pm so its definitely popular! I'm continuing to cross the list of Japanese foods off the list...

Dinner was a home cooked meal by S of Nikujaga
I'm off to Takayama and Shirakawago for the next 3 days - See you when I get back!