January 14, 2011
9:48 PM
13/14 Jan 2011, Japan Day 6/7
Bleh, Hakone didn't have wifi/lan. Wht they did have though, was snow and onsens. 40 minute bus ride up the mountain, and around 15 minutes of wandering around in the cold before we found our accomodation. Traditional japanese ryokan: japanese style room, complete with futon, tatami flooring, kotatsu, and yukata! The onsen they had was a true onsen, not those hot water baths we've been going to. The water was milky white. The bloody taste indicated iron, amongst the other minerals inside. All at a pH of 2: acidic!
Went out on foot towards the lake and boiling valley. Apparently we were the only ones brave(or stupid) enough to walk all the way there in that weather. Didn't keep track of time, but I could pretty much tell we walked a heck a lot. Unfortunately by the time we reached the endpoint, it was too late to take the ropeway(cable car) up to see the boiling valley. The lake, on the other hand, was quite the spectacle. Its the kind you expect only to see on advertisements or posters, yet there it was right before me. Add in the setting sun, a bit of falling snow, and an olden styled cruise shop by the lake, it feels just like a fantasy world. (The snow got heavier as we took the bus back to the inn. A tiny bit of snow is good. A lot kinda ruins the mood. =<)
Didn't get to fully see Mt Fuji. The top was covered in clouds. Oh well. Saw it on the train later on.
Next day, took the bus back down the mountain, followed by a 2 hour(!) Shinkansen ride to Nagoya. Made our way to Hostel Ann, dropped off the bags, then went to one of the nearby shrines. Not too much to note. It was pretty much like the Meiji shrine, which was better. Came back for dinner:omu-rice, bought a copy of Ni-no-kuni from the local Animate, then retired back at the hostel.