Hakone, Honshu (Japan)

The weather was supposed to be bad, but Thor and I decided to go over to Hakone, where there is a national park with a view of Mount Fuji and some hot springs. On the way, we saw the Odawara Castle - could be worth another trip. We rode in the front car of the train and enjoyed the pleasant, rural countryside. It took a few hours to get to Hakone-Yumoto station: we arrived just after 1400. We walked from the train station up the hill on the east side of the park, about 2 kilometers, until we came to the Tenzan resort. At first, we could only tell it was the place because we had a some information from our hotel clerk that included the Japanese. We had no idea where to begin besides that, but we picked the right door. Immediately, it was clear that this would be a good experience. We had to take our shoes off and store them in a little locker. We were lucky that one lady spoke enough English to tell us how much and where to go. The men and women are separated because no bathing suits are allowed. We changed (actually disrobed completely...) and went outside (temperature about 15 degrees C) - it had just started raining. There were a lot of other people there and we watched them for an indication of how we should act. We each sat on a little stool with soap and a small shower and took what basically amounted to a sponge bath. Then we went over to one of the springs (there were five outdoors). The first was extremely hot - much more than a regular hot tub! We moved to ones that were built with polished volcanic stone - they were much better. It was raining pretty hard by then, but the water was very nice. Spent over an hour in the different pools of water - and checked out the little sauna (hot!!!). Finished with another "sponge-bath." Saw lots of Dad's with their kids. Dried off and explored the resort: there was a room with cots that people rested in (wearing kimonos - perfectly quiet), there was a tea room (we had some noodle soup, sushi and tea - all while sitting on the floor) and a gift shop. We figured out there were two other buildings - different experiences: indoor baths made of Japanese cypress, massage room and a hotel. Would make for a great weekend getaway! Never made it to Lake Ashi or the rest of Hakone because of the rainy weather - next time! Stayed until nearly 1800 and rode bus back to the train station. Met a kid from Montreal who had stumbled across this place too - he was on the train with us for a little while. Turns out that poutine (see 2006 Montreal Trip) is very popular with the natives too (not just me...) - he said it was French. Transfering trains in Ebina, checked out mall - worth a future visit. [Staying at NAF Atsugi CBH] Nice relaxing day...