We spend the past two days in and around Hakone. We loved the beautiful mountains and the views of Mount Fuji, as well as the many cultural experiences.
We started the trip off with the OAT signature experience of a Day-in-the-Life. We spend several hours at a tea farm on the road to Hakone. We learned a lot about tea, harvested some tea leaves, and then learned even more about how the leaves are to processed into various products. It was eye-opening! We enjoyed a delicious vegetarian lunch from vegetables produced on the farm, and learned to make Japanese rice “sandwiches”. Yum!
We visited the village headman’s house in the same neighborhood. It was a massive old traditional house with a thatched roof and cool garden.
As we drove into the mountains, we caught many views of Fujisan, (Mt Fuji) as it kept getting bigger and bigger. Finally we got to an overlook where we could see it in all its glory. wow!
We got to our fancy “Western” resort - with a spacious room, soft beds and French-Japanese Fusion Cuisine - and enjoyed all the amenities.
Today we started out with a ferry ride around Lake Ashi. The weather was beautiful, and the views of Mount Fuji were even better than yesterday - the air is clearer in the morning. So lovely and iconic.
We stopped at a tea house along the old Tokaido Road which had been operating for 400 years. The owner was the 14th generation to run the tea house. It was lovely, and we enjoyed seeing the road (we had played the Japanese Board game, so now it all makes more sense).
We spent an hour at the famous Hakone Woodworking shop operated by one family for many generations, having started out as a souvenir shop for travelers on the Tokaido Road during the Edo period about 1600 to 1800). It was so cool to see how the different kinds of wood products are made. It was hard to decide what souvenirs were necessary!
Our lunch today was a “Shabu-shabu hot pot - featuring delicious wagyu beef, with lots of vegetables and delicious sauces.
To work off our lunch we walked along the river to our next activity, an encounter with a geisha. We spent an hour or so with two geisha ladies who told us about their work, performed a dance and answered a LOT of questions.
Before heading back to the hotel, we went to the famous Hakone Open Air Museum, which was a beautifully designed sculpture museum, using the steep hillside strategically to display an interesting variety of works from Western and Japanese artists. There was also a building that featured various art by Picasso in several different media.
There is so much more to see in Hakone, but we must be on our way tomorrow!
Love the photos!
ReplyDeleteSo cool about seeing the Tokaido Road. Mike introduced Mom and me to the game, and we've enjoyed playing it many times. It's hard to fathom the ages of many places and landmarks you're visiting. (Margie)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos.
ReplyDeleteRuth and Cheryl, we enjoyed this post so much! As you know, Gary served in Japan in his first USAF assignment (3 years). He seems to have enjoyed it. As we went through this blog post, he told me how to properly pronounce the various Japanese names you included.
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