Day 52: Tokyo/Hakone, Japan

We decided to end our Tokyo experience with a little actual sightseeing so we took the train to see the famous Meiji Shrine which is surrounded by parks and gardens. The shrine - which was build to commemorate the lives of Emporer Meiji and Empress Shoken - was completed in 1920 but was burned down during World War II. The current reconstruction was built in 1958.

Here is Frank at the main gate.




This is the area where those who come to pay respects at the shrine rinse their hands and mouth. Those things on top are dippers to dip into the water in the stone basin.




This is inside the shrine grounds:




While we were there, we saw a very solemn group walking in a procession in a very careful path around the grounds. Based on the outfits and the focus on the pair under the umbrella, we are guessing it was a Shinto wedding that was being performed there. The priest is in front.




There is a large tree with an area underneath where visitors can hang prayers (you can buy the small wood blocks to hang on there at a nearby window). I probably saw every language I can think of written on the different prayer blocks, which varied in seriousness but were very interesting to read.




We then left the immediate shrine area and wandered around some of the gardens. This is a view up towards a tea house that overlooks a pond.




Here's Frank standing on a bridge that overlooks an enormous iris garden, which was stunning. [Nad and Angie - they were all purple!]




In the afternoon, we took our first bullet train ride from Tokyo to Odawara (30 minutes on the slowest of the fast trains) and then transferred to a local train which brought us to our destination of Hakone. There was a hotel shuttle bus that took us from the train station right to the front door of the Kansuiro ryokan, which is a traditional Japanese inn. We had to remove our shoes right in the entryway, and then were escorted to our room by a kimono-clad woman who spoke no English at all. Here is our tatami mat covered room set up with the dining table and our welcome tea. You can sort of see our small outer patio room through the wall - we had views and the sound of the river/waterfall.




We had to be back in our room for the 6pm serving of dinner (a formal multi-course dinner called kaiseki), so we put on the robes provided and went off to find the outdoor onsen, which are hot springs. Absolutely nothing in the ryokan is written in English - which is part of the experience but does make it a bit difficult to figure things out. We managed to find the stone path leading to the onsen.




Careful observation allowed us to determine which was the men's and which was the women's onsen, since they are always divided. Luckily we didn't have to wait too long to figure it out. Here are the outsides of the onsen:




Frank managed to take a picture of the inside of the onsen because no one else was in there:




Here is Frank coming out of the onsen after we each had a nice soak. Please note the helpful signs that were on each doorway (the red one to the left is the women's door).




The ryokan is right on a river and the onsen faced out onto the river directly (they are to the left out of the picture).




Each room in the ryokan has its own private onsen. Here is ours, which is basically a large wooden tub with a constant stream of hot spring water running from the stone tap, overflowing the tub and going down a drain. The rooms have no tub or shower - you are supposed to soak in the onsen, then get out and soap up and rinse off using the stools/faucets/nozzle in front of the tub.




When we got back to our room, they were ready to serve us our elaborate dinner. Here I am at the table, smiling but actually very nervous because I was in mortal dread that I wouldn't be able to eat all the courses and I didn't want to be rude. I actually ended up getting too full to care anymore and had to stop finishing all the courses, but Frank held up his end like a trooper and ate every last thing.




Here's Frank happily eating his sometimes-unidentifiable-but-almost-always-tasty kaiseki meal:




After the hour and a half dinner, the courses finally ceased and they came in to set up our futons. They just move the table out of the way and pull out the mattresses and bedding from a closet in the room. They were extremely cosy beds, and Frank has decided he'd like to get rid of our bed at home and just sleep on futon mattresses on tatami mats.



After plotting out our route for tomorrow's course around the scenic loop of Hakone, we are headed off to bed to fall asleep to the sound of the river - very peaceful!

ILM