Hakone

Yesterday, we made our way to Hakone, about a hour's train ride from us. We began our visit with a trip to the excellent Hakone Open Air Museum, an expansive outdoor sculpture museum (Picture 1). The museum also had lots of playground spaces disguised as art, so Laurea loved it, too. Picture 2 shows the "Net Castle," an almost muciferous rope sculpture that kids could climb through. However, the ultimate component of the museum was the foot bath (back of Picture 3), where we sat and dipped our feet in the hot spring water while admiring a sculpture garden.

We stayed overnight at a very nice 370+ year ryokan near the old Tokaido highyway, which joined Kyoto and Edo (Tokyo). Like most of the inns in this area, it contained a number of hot springs baths, one for women, one for men, and another one for families. It overlooked a river, which lulled us all to sleep (zzzz).

The next day, we made our way up a mountain by (1) a two-car train, (2) that led to a cable car, (3) that led to a first gondola ride (or ropeways, as they are called here). At this stop, we hiked our way up a mountain to see the hot (sulphur) gasses steaming from a dormant volcano. Midway through the path, you can buy boiled eggs cooked in the hot pools (Picture 3), which are black from the gas but quite good. Picture 4 shows the unenviable job of fishing out the eggs from the hot spring pools.

After getting back on two more ropeways, we made our way across Lake Ashi on (what else!) a pirate boat (Picture 5). On clear days you can see Mt Fuji reflected in the water, but it was just a bit too cloudy when we went across. After a bus, then two more trains, we finally made it home!

Once home, we went to the celebration of the 148th anniversary of the opening of the Port of Yokohama. There was a long (40-minute) fireworks display in the harbor - very fun.