Happy 82nd Birthday to my mom Solvei.
CJ was able to join his mom and I today on our exploration to Hakone. It was a day of trains, subways, taxis, gondola, boats, busses... We left early and took the train and subway to Shin Yokohama. There we boarded the Shinkansen (bullet train) which averages 200mph. It took us about 20 minutes it seemed to get to Hakone. Jean said she was glad she didn't go to the bathroom, or she would have missed the whole trip.
When we got to Hakone we then transferred to the electric train and rode that back and forth up the mountain switchbacks to the Chokokunomori stop and the Hakone Open Air Museum. We enjoyed a nice relaxing walk looking at the numerous statues and art works by Picasso. Jean and I after hitching our long flowing skirts up and around our legs, stepped in and sat down to enjoy a hot and very soothing foot bath. We then made our way through the rest of the park and up into the stain glass tower with so many beautiful colors glowing brightly in the sun.
We walked back to the train and rode it further up the mountain to the cable car platform. We stood in line for quite some time and then it seemed to be growing longer and longer and we were not going anywhere, so finally CJ went and asked what was up and we were told the doors were broken and so we could either go back down on the train and by pass the rest of the tour, or walk 30 minutes up the mountain side to get to the ropeway or gondola ride over the sulfer pits.
We started to walk up the very steep hill, but after reaching the 3nd cable platform we figured it was just too much of a hike so CJ flagged down a taxi. We thankfully arrived very quickly to the ropeway station and then boarded the gondola. WOW....what a view and a drop off we saw when we reached the 1st summit and then swayed way high above the steaming yellow sulfer pits below us. In the distance we too, got a glimpse of the top of Mount FUJI. Yeah, so CJ and I finally got to see what it was that we climbed back in late August in the cold, wind and rain.
We continued on the gondola and down to Lake Ashi, where we then boarded a ship and sailed across the lake while the sun was beginning to set behind the mountian tops. Once we were across the lake we caught a bus back to the train station and then back on the Bullet train to Shin-Yokohama. It reminded me of the Norway in a Nutshell tour Jean and I took in Norway last August 2007.
We were all pretty tired and hungry and so we stopped at the Ramen Museum to have a quick bowl of soup for dinner. We tried out shop #3 veggie pork recipe and shop #7 which was quite a robust soup with as strong garlic flavor. Walking back home from Ishikowacho station we came upon crowds of people in the street at what looked to be something like a taste of Motomachi celebration. All kinds of cooking was going on and people were drinking, music bands were playing and it looked like a good time. Too bad we don't know enught Jpanese yet to decpiher the signs . We knew NOTHING about it before then :-( We continued on and made our way through the mass of people and then up the slope and Stairmaster...and back home where we all plopped on the couch and in the chair while we savored our reward for the long travel day...what else but our favorite Jumbo-cho.:-P
Sunday October 19th
CJ had to work as he has a big new product launch on Monday and Tuesday. Jean and I had planned to go to Tokyo and try to find the Harajuku Girls, but it was a cloudy and overcast day and I just woke up pooped. So we ended up taking a day off and we just hung around the house and I did some catch up work on the computer,while Jean read and watched TV, relaxed. In the late afternoon we walked down to the mom and pop stores for some fresh meat and to look at her craft shops, but they were all closed up. Thankfully the grocery store was still open and we able to get some burger to make spaghetti for supper.
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