gurdymonkey | Hakone in the rain (Reply)

Well, I didn't make the 7:29 bullet train, mainly because I got stuck in line behind some lost people who jammed things up at the ticket gate manned by a live agent (to whom we rail pass users must show our passes). It was also raining pretty steadily and I wondered if the next leg of my journey was going to be a bust or not. Ended up on a later one that involved a transfer in Shizuoka onto another bullet train, just before which I managed to glimpse past my seat mate a ghostly Mount Fuji wreathed in misty clouds. (No photos, I was not going to lean across a stranger on a busy train.)

At Odawara, I headed for the Hakone tourism kiosk so I could pick up a pass that would get me onto all the transit I should need for the day (and back to the JR line in Odawara tomorrow too), and get updates on what parts of the area were still affected by typhoon damage. A section of the railway between Hakone Yumoto and Gora was still out, but there were buses covering that bit. Also, you could go via ropeway through Owakudani, but you couldn't stop and visit the volcanic hot spring area there because the sulphur levels were considered unsafe. (That same volcanic activity is also the reason is a popular hot spring resort.

Still, I figured I'd get to Hakone-Yumoto, get my bearings and take my bags to the guest house, then decide how much being wet I felt like dealing with. I picked up a tiny folding umbrella at Odawara station for about $11. It's turned out to fit beautifully into the large front pocket of my horrible rain jacket that doesn't quite keep me as dry as it should.

The train from Odawara was slow, because it had to climb into the mountains. Once in Hakone-Yumoto, I fired up Google Maps tp see if it could get me to the guest house. The town isn't that big, but it's perched on the side of a mountain on a river that forks, and some of the resort hotels are fairly tall. I also hadn't a clue about the topography when I'd looked at a map and picked a place to stay, and dragging a rolling suitcase and backpack up a steep hill had me drenched in sweat and panting as I made the final corner. (The good news is my stamina has benefitted from all this week's activity and I caught my breath fairly quickly.)

Guesthouse Azito looked tiny and cheery, and the young woman who came to the desk when I buzzed was happy to let me leave my bags and get my registration paperwork done then. Official check in wasn't until after 4PM.

Downhill being easier than up, I headed back through the main street lined with souvenir shops and eateries to catch a bus as far as Gora. From there, you take a cable car up to Sounzan, and then you pick up the ropeway. It meant dry seats, but it was misty and I have very few pictures for this stretch, simply because trying to shoot through rainy windows was impossible. (I did leave a couple of interesting failures in the photo batch so readers can get an idea.) The ropeway gondolas were kind of a bust because we were so socked in at the top of the mountains. Still, it was kind of fun, and it got me as far as Lake Ashinoko in time to enjoy a cruise down the lake on a "pirate ship."

They are so wrong, but it was still fun. Basically they took a ferry and slapped some ship-like bits on it and painted it brightly. It can carry a lot of people and there's even a cushy first class section if you want to pay a bit more for the fare. Honestly, I had long since reached the point of not being too worried about how wet I was, so I went to the deck that was open on the sides and shot a bunch of photos of the mist moving over the hillsides surrounding the lake. It was glorious. I chatted with some Irish rugby fans, a couple of girls from London, and I happened to be along the railing when one of the Japanese tour guides started pointing things out on the shore. "That black building was an Edo period checkpoint." "That island over there used to be one of the Emperor's residences, but it's public park now." "That's the torii of Hakone Jingu."

I left the Royal II at Motohakone-ko and headed up the street. I did poke my nose into a wonderful antique shop to browse, but I really did not see anything I absolutely had to have - also, this is a tourist resort and their prices were a reflection of that.

I decided to find Hakone Jingu, the shrine with a torii gate on the lake. It wasn't a bad walk. I passed a tiny Buddhist graveyard next to the big torii on the road through town, a few restaurants and cafes, a fishing supply shop.

It turns out the main shrine is at the top of a high hill formed by old lava flows. I looked at those stairs, had a moment of, "Oh, no!" thinking of all that slick stone, then I remembered getting luggage up the hill to Guesthouse Azito and knew I could do it. So I did. The shrine was quite lovely and I made an offering. Like one does.

Down was harder than up. My right ankle was a little unhappy with me - there will be Advil before bed. Still, I took it at a steady pace and headed back towards the center of Motohakone-ko. I stopped at a tiny bakery/cafe facing the lake and treated myself to a snack. "Hakone bread" turned out to be a square yellow bun studded with bits of carrot, burdock root (a carrotlike vegetable) and bits of ham. I also had a bottle of plum cider, barely alcoholic, and not too sweet.

The bus drivers up here are pros. You should see one of them back a full sized tour bus into a parking slot like it's nothing. The ride back was pretty misty and it was around 5pm by the time we hit Hakone Yumoto. I walked up and down the main drag for a little bit, then found a little place off a side alley and had a delicious bowl of teryaki beef over rice, with a bit of kimchee and a bowl of good dark miso soup.

Google Maps struggled, but I sort of remembered the way and slogged back up the hill to check in. The front of the guest house was ablaze with light and there were people in the small front lobby/bar. My bags had already been stowed in my tiny room. (It's second from top right with the bed practically filling the room.) I was given a free drink ticket and shown where everything was by a pleasant young man who spoke excellent English.

I came up long enough to ditch my wet jacket, give my sweaty self a wipe with a wet washcloth and change into a dry tee shirt, and I went down and used that ticket for a glass of plum wine and soda. There were paper Halloween garlands of skeletons and pumpkins festooning the ceiling and one of the girls behind the counter took a piece of gyoza dumpling dough and made it into a cute little ghost with soy sauce eyes. I chatted with a French couple who had a beer. Then it was time to go upstairs, wash some socks and write this.

(Can you tell I like this place? My economy single is as basic as it gets, but the people are nice and friendly and it's got a good feel.)

I really, really need to get those postcards in the mail tomorrow!

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