Ian Lewis' Blog

It's been a little while but I'm back with the comings and goings of day 2 of our trip to Hakone. So without further ado lets get started!

	Reiko and I woke up early at our Ryokan, and went for an early morning walk down to Lake Ashi to see if we could see Mt. Fuji. Unfortunately that objective was doomed from the start but we had a nice walk, enjoying the crisp morning air, and brilliant sunshine. After the walk we had great breakfast at the hotel which from what I'm told is part of the charm of Japanese Ryokans. We were planning to take the tour boat across Lake Ashi that day so after that we planned to head to take the tour boat early so we could see Mt. Fuji easier so we checked out of the hotel about 8:30. But we realized when we got to the dock that the tour boat starts at 9:30 and we checked out of the hotel too early.
	So we wandered around for a bit and then found that the ropeway that we had ridden the previous day was open at 9:00. So we decided to take the ropeway up to Oowakudani, where we went the previous day, and back. The idea being that we could see Mt. Fuji from the Ropeway. That turned out to be a brilliant idea since, being early, we got our own private car and a gorgeous view of the mountain.
	Our timing was perfect because getting back from the trip on the ropeway we had just enough time before 9:30 to get on the tour boat. The boat was pirate ship themed and wasn't terribly interesting itself. It was pretty nice to take in the lake scenery in the morning sunshine though.
	After that we went to the Hakone military checkpoint which is a small tourist destination in Hakone City. It's kind of an outdoor museum of sorts and has clay statues so you can try to get an idea of how the Samurai and workers used the rooms and spaces in their daily lives.
	After the checkpoint we headed to the Hakone observation building which is in Hakone Park. From there we got a great view of Lake Ashi and Mt. Fuji. I imagine that area is a favorite for photographers. The building was a kind of western style building but inside they had some Nebuta. Nebuta are huge parade floats created for Nebuta festivals, the most famous being in Aomori prefecture in northern Japan.
	After the observation building we headed to Hakone shrine. The grounds are quite large and has several smaller strines. I tend to like shrines because they are oasises of quiet and often have lots of plants and architecture built out of stone. So you feel like you are in a much more natural environment than in normal life.

After Hakone shrine we took the bus back to Hakone Yumoto station and took the train back to Tokyo, ending our two day vacation. I have to say that Reiko scheduled the trip at a perfect time. Both she and I were getting tired from working hard and needed some time outside of the city. The weather also smiled on us during our two days and was also perfect timing since the remnants of a typhoon came through the next day. All in all, a satisfying vacation. I hope I can live in a quiet place outside the city sometime. The city is just too hectic.